On our way south from St. Jean-de-Losne, we spent a night in Seurre – and then moored in Chalon-sur-Saône. You may recall that during our last visit (Chapters 67-69), there was nowhere to moor for boats as long as Aleau. The marina wouldn’t accommodate anything longer than 15-metres. At 20-metres, there was no way we could talk them into allowing us to tie up. This year, a pleasant surprise. The city has built a dock capable of handling larger barges. And we took advantage of the opportunity.
There’s a real camaraderie amongst barge owners in general – and Piper owners in particular. The next day, we were joined by Stuart and Vicky on their Piper, Victoria.
The following day, a beautiful Dutch tjalk complete with a wooden mast for sails – and leeboards on either side – moored behind Victoria. (Yes, it’s flying an Irish flag – but all tjalks are, by definition, Dutch.)
The bridge at the top left in the photo above leads to another new mooring spot in Chalon-sur-Saône. It’s more secure – protected by a locked gate – and has water and electricity. At a price. We thought it was too high a price.
€30 per night – plus €0.20 per night for each person onboard. Electricity costs €0.20 per hour and water costs €1.00 for every 100 litres. We carry enough water to last two weeks and have a generator to give us electricity. In addition, the way the mooring spots were laid out, Aleau would have infringed on someone else’s spot. While I commend Chalon-sur-Saône for constructing more mooring spots, the high cost and the short pontoon make this one far from inviting. We were happy where we were.
On the way down to Chalon-sur-Saône, we spent a night in Seurre. While there, we met a lovely couple onboard their barge, Final Fling. Much to our delight, a few days later they showed up in Chalon-sur-Saône. But with Aleau, Victoria, and the tjalk taking up all the room on the free pontoon, Final Fling moored in the “gated community.” (We would have been more than happy to have them raft against us. But we weren’t onboard when they arrived.) Nonetheless, they appear to be having a lovely time sharing an aperitif on the roof of the cabin.
One reason why we may not have been onboard when Final Fling arrived was Jeannie and I were spending a lot of time checking out places to eat.
On l’ile Saint-Laurent (an island in the middle of the Saône), the main street is called Rue de Strasbourg. I call it Restaurant Row. The entire street is restaurant after restaurant.
And what a variety of choices. It seems that on this street alone there’s a restaurant for every nationality.
There’s French. Of course. And many of them.
If each restaurant had a flag flying, it would have looked like the United Nations.
Did I mention that there were French restaurants, as well?
Jeannie and I had a delicious lunch at Les Canailles.
We each had the €24 Menu. Three courses. Tax and tip included.
Below is Jeannie’s lunch. She started with the velouté… (See the menu above for the full description.). Her ‘plat’ was the onglet de boeuf… No photo of her final course – but she finished the meal with the assiette de fromage.
I began with the tartine d’automne. I know. You’re surprised. It’s the first time I’ve chosen something other than oeufs-en-Meurette as an entrée. The tartine, as you see below, was gorgeous. And was just as good as oeufs-en-Meurette… Almost.
For my plat, I had the poisson du moment… Also delicious.
For dessert, I had the Octobre rose… It was October, after all. But for some reason, I don’t have a photograph. It seems to be a trend. Dessert disappears before I even think to grab a shot.
We didn’t just eat delicious food, we looked at it, too.
Chalon-sur-Saône has a market day just a few metres from where Aleau was moored. I should say ‘market days’ as it is held every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. It is huge – going on for block after block after block. And packed – with both vendors and customers.
Forgot to bring a shopping bag? No problem.
Tired of shopping? There were almost as many places to stop for a drink or bite to eat.
As popular as this market was, we found another (Were there even more?) in another part of Chalon-sur-Saône.
And like the first one, there was an endless choice of places to eat – each with a sandwich board displaying their “Menu” for that day.
We chose this crêperie. With “Chocolat” in the name, how could I resist?
We weren’t disappointed.
By 7pm, it was time to start thinking of dinner. Back to “Restaurant Row.” Le Poisson Bleu was a real find.
A few things make this restaurant unique. First, all meals are served as a trilogy. Each course has the same principal ingredient prepared three ways. Being Canadian, for her entrée, Jeannie chose the Trilogie du Canada – lobster cooked and served three ways. It may be difficult to see the different variations in the photo below – but the menu describes what Jeannie got. (I apologize, no matter what angle I chose, I could not get rid of the reflections in the glass over the menus.)
Above, Jeannie’s entrée (appetizer) – Trilogie du Canada. Lobster prepared three ways.
For my entrée (below), I chose the Trilogie d’écosse. After all, I have a wee bit of Scottish blood. Look at the menu above to see the three different ways the scallops were prepared before being served together on one plate. By the way, scallops are called St. Jacques in France – regardless of how they are prepared. In Canada, the term St. Jacques is reserved for scallops served in a shell with a layer of baked cheese on top – au gratin. All others, when described in Canadian French are called pétoncles.
The main course, the “plat,” followed the same theme – a trilogy of the same main ingredient.
Jeannie chose the Trilogie de Sète.
Again, you’ll need to check the menu above to see the three different ways her dorade (sea bream) was prepared.
I chose the Trilogie du Pays Bas – sole prepared three ways. (If you look closely at the photo below, you can see three different pieces of sole on my plate.)
By now, you may have noticed the second thing that makes eating at Le Poisson Bleu special – all courses are served on fire! You’ll have to look closely to see the flames – and in some cases, they were out before we could grab a shot. But when they arrived, the flames were clearly visible.
Dessert was not different. One ingredient prepared three ways – along with flames! Here’s my Trilogie Catalane.
Jeannie had the Trilogie d’Italie. Instead of flames, its smoke came from dry ice.
After a few delightful and fattening days in Chalon-sur-Saône, it was time to head home. As we walked over the bridge from Restaurant Row, a reminder that we’d be sharing the Saône with the ‘big boys’ – commercials that are much bigger and faster than Aleau. We’d have to be vigilant.
We decided to go all the way to St. Jean-de-Losne without stopping. One of the benefits of traveling in your home is there’s no need to stop somewhere for lunch. We each can take turns eating while the other takes over at the helm. It took us eight hours to cover the 73 km. and pass through two locks. It was a long but wonderful day.
The morning we planned to leave St. Jean-de-Losne for Auxonne was the morning we woke up to heavy fog. The next day was gorgeous. We filled our fuel tanks – both white and red diesel. And then, a first.
Until now, Jeannie and I had always worked as a team. I would – gingerly – guide Aleau into the lock and Jeannie would look after getting a rope around the bollard and keeping us safe in the lock. Today would be different. We had left Peugey in St. Jean-de-Losne. It was decided – with some trepidation – that Jeannie would take the car back to Auxonne and I would take Aleau back. Alone. It meant passing through the Auxonne lock. Alone. An uphill lock!
Jeannie grabbing a shot, waving, and wishing me good luck as I leave the fuel dock.
It was a beautiful day to be on the water. The last voyage of 2021 for Aleau.
The plan was for Jeannie to meet me at the lock – in case I needed help. But I beat her to the lock. No, Aleau isn’t faster than Peugey. It took her 20 minutes to get to our parking spot in Auxonne. It took me two-and-a-half hours to get to the lock. I was traveling faster than anticipated – having me arrive at the lock long before she thought she’d have to meet me. I decided to try it alone – while Jeannie was running as fast as she could to meet me. I made it through – just in time to meet Jeannie half-way along the Dérivation. Out of breath, she grabbed a few shots – proof that I had, single-handed, made it through the lock. I feel much more confident. If something should happen to her while we’re on the water, I’ll be able to get us home. Next step is for Jeannie to learn how to manage alone in case anything should happen to me. We’re not getting any younger.
Heading up the Dérivation (a detour around the stretch of the Saône that is not navigable) after passing through the lock. With the sun shining right into the lens.
After passing under the same bridge, the final shot of 2021.
