Midi Canal

Headed downstream from Carcassone.

Marseillette ...... met Jackie & Neil from Hawaii....in their 70's..travelling in their private boat ....very cozy with fire place and washing machine.......they were spending a year travelling the canals, rivers of Europe.

Little shop & bakery open 7 to 7 daily run by a very nice lady.......very insistent ducks who have obviously been fed on a regular basis by boaters.

La Redorte with its big winery right on the canal and big gambas for supper......person in a scooter shows how the towns are not geared for people with disabilities.....traffic built up behind her till she could duck into a street to let them pass.

Walk to great viewpoint behind Pechlaurier Lock.......over Argen and the valley of the Aude River & Canal.

Paraza downstream from Argen......little sleep with the sound of waves against the boat echoing in our heads.  Wine tasting at the Chateau du Paraza........80 acres of vineyards......cavernous facility.....knowledgeable young man.  Jeff expertly parks us between two boats with inches to spare on either side.

Stopped in Ventenac en Minervois at Cafe on canal for fresh croissants and baguettes and winery (cooperative right on bank)....watched the harvesting of grapes with a machine that shakes the grapes off the vines.  Charming affluent village with newer houses.

Le Somail.....best parking right in centre of action......lots of visitors, lots of artists.  Best creme brûlée in cafe with a white goose begging from the tables.

Cycled from Le Somail to Argen on a hot, sunny day....back to base after 10 days on board.

Some of the locks had little shops.....wine, ice cream, tapenade (the best ever!), etc.

Train to Montpellier tomorrow........it has been fun cruising the Canal du Midi....relaxing, seeing the scenery drift by.......lots of South Africans, Australians, & New Zealanders (rugby World Cup??)

Les Eyzies

Les Eyzies ......cute little tourist town centred around discoveries of limestone caves and prehistoric man.

Grotto de Rouffignac historical monument.......into cave 1 km to see rock paintings...on a little train.

Gite St Martin delightful, comfortable & quaint with Jane & Toby.

Les Eyzies ......part of the town is built into the limestone cliffs.  Pole International de la Prehistorie is free, modern & interesting.....part of the Vezere Valley with the greatest concentration of prehistoric sites in Euope.

Auberge de Layotte.....in the middle of nowhere!.....for a very delicious 5 course lunch....starting with dandelion apertif, including soup, salad with flowers, wild boar pate, ham, duck legs, beef stew, potatoes baked in duck fat, choice of about 8 cheeses, walnut cake with choice of several syrups including juniper & rose, coffee and disgestif.......all in a cozy cottage, served family style with a big bottle of red wine.

Sarlat with its medieval center, many restaurants, winding streets.

Chateau de Beynac high above Dordogne River with town built into the cliffs.

Jardins Suspendus de Marqueyssac.......topiary done by hand, view from belvedere of the valley, river and chateaus.

Chateau de Milandes.....Josephine Baker's chateau from the 1940's....memorabilia, falcon show, owls.

Paris ....day 2

We had two full days in Paris and managed to walk 30 kms in those two days......on day 2, from our hotel on the left bank alongside the Louvre, through the Jardin du Carrousel, Jardin des Tuileries,along the Avenue des Champs Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe, along to the Parc Monceau back via the St Augustin Church and the church of Ste Marie  Madeleine (roman temple style), and Rue de Rivoli.

Great meal that evening in a restaurant near St Severin......avocado & "crayfish", beef bourginon,

and (of course) chocolate mousse.

Up really early to catch the train to Les Eyzies via the metro.

Ah Paris

So many restaurants

So many people/tourists

So many beautiful public spaces/gardens

So many historical monuments, museums, churches

So easy to get around

So many shops/markets

So expensive

Paris

We arrived safely in Paris yesterday......a little weary but managed to stay awake until  7pm last evening.....we did get a little disorientated coming off the RER from the airport...couldn't decide which bank of the Seine we were on......and who helped us find our way?  Unbelievable that, of all the millions in Paris, we should bump into Janet & Dean Strongetharm (Derek's work colleague who is travelling in France as well) ....they had a map book.....which we have now purchased.
We settled into our cute hotel, had a shower and, ended up sitting outdoors, enjoying a couple of drinks, and watching the passers-by on a busy corner near the river ....very entertaining......then went and had some delicious Basque street food.

Weather was sunny and warm but with a cool little wind so needed a sweater later.
We have had absolutely no problem with threatening-looking people....and it is very busy here right now.....on the RER there was a guy with a baby who got on one stop and delivered yellow papers asking for money on all the empty seats...everybody ignored him, he did not speak to anyone, he collected the papers again and got off at the next stop.  Paris doesn't give the feeling of being unsafe although we are in the centre and we are careful with money.  And no one has approached us for anything. 
Today we walked......this morning to Gare de Austerlitz via the Botanical Gardens to pick up our tickets for Saturday's travel then on to the green walkway near the Gare de Lyon and back to the hotel and then towards the Luxembourg Gardens where we had a  mediocre lunch in a restaurant....back to the hotel for a rest after about 11 kms of walking.

One observation......people, even the young people, are not as obsessed with their electronic equipment while walking around or even in cafes etc as Canadians seem to be.

Cafe au lait here is delicious.

Off to do a night cruise of the Seine this evening.......Paris is lovely.