Update

Hello every-one
I am using Tom's PC to do this email hoping it will be faster than the
internet cafe and it is definitely more convenient. We are on the boat
now and have been since Monday - it is now Saturday. I will start
where I left off in Verona.
We were up at 4.30 to catch the train at 5.40. We went from Verona to
Milan then to Geneva. This was a great trip through the Alps. The next
legs were Geneva to Marseilles to Aix-en-Provence. There were no
mishaps except at Marseilles where the local train to Aix broke down
and we had to change trains =. There were messages over the
loudspeaker which we couldn't understand so we just kept asking people
using sign language - we must have asked 5 people who all said the
same thing - just stay on the train - but we kept asking anyway. We
arrived in Aix about 6pm and met the owner of the apartment. The
apartment was down a laneway - we were a bit worried about it as we
followed along but it turned out well. The apartment was a 16th
century building and it was just great. There were quite a few stairs
- 2 flights up to the bedroom floors up to the bedrooms - they were
large rooms - one with an ensuite (without the toilet) and another
large bedroom with a separate bathroom. The next floor up was the
kitchen, dining room and lounge room, and the next floor was the
rooftop deck. The rooms were all large with quarry-tiled floors and
white walls. The furniture was an eclectic mix of old style of
furniture. I loved it and am going to change our house to match now….
The Whartons arrived the same night - they had travelled for about 36
hours - from Canberra to Sydney to Singapore to Dubai to London to
Paris and then to Aix by train so they were pretty tired. Tuesday, we
mosied around Aix - great town. Lots of old buildings, pedestrian
streets with shops, the Cours Mirabeau - a boulevard with great shady
plane trees with cafes and people looking smart whilst drinking their
coffee. The women in these towns all have great style  - not that they
are expensivley dressed but they are well groomed and just look great.
Wednesday, Whartons caught the train to Avignon and we had a day in
town again. Dad and I took a walk out of town to see where Cezanne
lived and painted - that is what this town is about - Paul Cezanne was
born here and spent most of his life here so it well publicized. The
walk took us out of town and through a bit of the countryside where we
had great views - very pleasant. Later in the afternoon, I had the
hair done - cheaper and much quicker than Johnnie! Dad shopped for the
ingredients for tea - Risotto!
Thurday we picked up a car and took a drive to Cassis on the coast -
very pretty town with lots of sightseers - glad we are not here in the
high season for the crowds- we had brought a picnic for lunch so we
sat on the quay to have it - everyone else was sitting in the cafes!
Here we took a boat ride around -˜Les Calanquese - very steep cliffs
overlooking the sea - formed by glaciers once upon a time. Pretty
impressive. After this, we took a 16k drive called the Route de
Cretes which was along the top of the cliffs. Again this were
magnificent views all along the way. Then it was back to Aix for tea -
a special Marina cooked by Tom - we had bought all the ingredients at
the market just around the corner from our apartment. The markets
here are just fabulous - the food looks delicious and is delicious.
Friday was a long day - we travelled to Nimes - an old town with a
roman arena and other sights - they were very impressive - one was a
1st century roman temple/library. We had lunch in one of the squares
- very nice too. After this town, we drove on to Pont du Gard, another
roman leftover, but quite magnificent. It is a viaduct built in 19BC
and was part of a 30mile canal - it is very well preserved and looks
marvelous against the backdrop of the countryside. We were home about
9pm so it was leftovers for tea.
Saturday was a little more relaxed starting off so that we could have
a mosy round the Saturday markets - I bought a pair of Birkenstock
scuffs - 35 euros - very cheap. Richard Wharton had been in France
just a few weeks before and had recommended a restaurant outside of
Aix so we went off there for lunch - it was beautifully set in the
country. It was definitely worth making the trip. After that we set
off on our “Pilgrimage”. This was a scenic drive to Mary Magdalene's
cave - this was something featured in the Lonely Planet and was
fabulous. We drove to a town which then took us through the mountains
to a spot called Col D'Espoglieur - about 800m above sea level - I am
not sure how far from the coast we were but there was a point where we
were high enough to see the sea. Superb! The roads were all hairpin
bends and quite narrow but fortunately people seem to be reasonably
cautious with their driving and speed - except for the motorbikes -
but I suppose that is why you drive them! After that, we started to
come down a bit to a place called La-Ste-Baume and this is where Mary
Magdalene lived in a cave. The cave was a 40minute walk up the hill
but it was definitely worth the walk and, apart from the view when you
got there, the grotto was equally impressive. It was huge inside
and now has a chapel there where they hold mass every morning at
10.30am. It is interesting that she decided to live in a cave so far
from anywhere because at that time there wouldn't have been too many
people around anyway. The story is that Mary Magdalene came from
Egypt with Lazarus and Zacharias (and I am not sure whether Martha
came too) to escape persecution from Herod Agrippa. Perhaps someone
would like to google it and send it on for the correct story - I did
read about it somewhere but I am a bit forgetful of the detail. That
night, Jenny and I went to hear the ‘Cologne Chamber Orchestra' in the
cathedral of Sain-Saveur. Very fabulous - the principal violinist was
excellent.
Sunday today and we travelled again to a couple of towns in the
countryside - Joucas and Rousillon. Joucas was a flower town - very
pretty with flowers lining the streets. Rousillon is where they
produce ochre so all the houses are a different colour of the ochre -
this is where you buy your paints and pastels for your art. There was
a great walk through the ochre cliffs. And then home where we went to
mass at the Cathedral - long and cold - all that marble makes a
building very cold and the sermon went for 25 minutes - a bit long
when you don't know what they are saying.
Today is Monday and we were up at 5am to catch the early train to
Rennes where we took a taxi to Dinan to pick up the boat. We took the
early train as it went straight through without changing trains - such
a bonus for us as we worry the train will be late and we will miss our
connection or we wont find the right platform and also what about
hauling the cases on and off the trains!! Oh, it's great to be old!
And now the boat - it is a very flash boat - wider and longer than
what we have had before. It is a relatively new boat so in much
better condition. It also has a 3rd bedroom as the beds were a better
set-up. We had decided to stay in Dinan as it is a great little town
with old stone houses and cobble stoned streets - very scenic-
magnificent cathedral and magnificent ramparts around the town with
great views over the country side. The boat people were very helpful
and took us to a large supermarket to do our shopping and then
collected us. We even bought a little barbecue here! The first night
we ate in the town at a creperie where we had the regional cuisine -
galettes - savory buckwheat crepes - filled with whatever you like -
very delicious.
First thing in the morning I went for a walk into the town to do a bit
of a walk - found the square a joust was held in the 14th century
during the Hundred Years war with England - the Frenchman won and
freed his brother who was held by English - very good way of dealing
with things! There was also a tombstone without a head which is the
town mascot. It is actually pre-fab made during this same war. A
portrait bust would be attached to this generic body for a proper yet
economical, burial. Later we rode into a small town of Lehon which
had a magnificent abbey built in the 9th century, and the town was
pristine with flowery cobbled lanes.
We then started on the boat trip - the countryside was just lovely -
green foliage along the way - we stopped for lunch at a little village
called Evran. Jenny and I then had a bike ride into the next town, St-
Domineuc. We stayed the night here and had a barbecue tea (sausages)
on the bank of the canal. Just lovely!
Next day, Wednesday was an early start - well relatively, as we can''t
start until 9am when the locks open. We lunched at Tinteniac after we
had visited their market and had a bit of a walk around before we
continued on to the next stopover, Montreuil-sur-ille. Before we got
there, there was a bit of the canal which had 11 locks in 2ks - whilst
Tom and Dad negotiated the locks, Jenny and I had a walk into a town,
Hede, where we bought the beer for tea. Our stopover was a little
mixed -it was supposed to have power and water but to get it we needed
to have tokens which were to be purchased from a supermarket in the
town which was a 10minute bike ride away. All of this information was
written in French on the side of this unit. Fortunately a girl runner
stopped and interpreted for us. Dad and I rode into town where the
manager of the store said he had the tokens but he had to ring someone
else for the cost which was 5euro per token. When we got back to the
boat, we found that it only lasted only 30minutes and the cost should
have been 2 euros! But we didn't let us spoil our meal- we had
delicious salmon bought from the market at Tinteniac..
The markets are so good -the french wrap everything so beautifully.
Thursday, we had a few more stops at pretty villages -
St-Merdard-sur-Ille, German-sur-ille, Betton;and the stop for thenight
was St-Gregoire. The towns all have marvelous churches. Tom and Dad
have done all the driving of the boat and locks whilst Jenny and I
have ridden for a while or had a bit of a walk between the towns. At
one spot, we found a chapel on the side of the hill - it was an
open-air chapel. So picturesque!
We started off again to arrive in Rennes about 10.30 - we had to ring
the lockkeeper because she had slept in! Last night we stayed in
Rennes and now that is it for the moment. Tom is going to send this
later for me so will continue later.

Thanks for the updates from everyone¬ - that was just great. I will
try posting this to the journal address as well as to the mcinerney
groups. Love to all …m