August 19, 2016
Julien sur Dheune: We meet up with Rosemary and John
Where to have dinner was the question. There were two rather nice looking restaurants in the square and our hotel appeared to have one too. We went out and examined them, one was closed on Thursdays but the other looked nice if a bit expensive. We went and sat ourselves down. Up came the waitress. Did we have a reservation? No. With apparent great delight she told us that they were 'complete'. We asked if there another restaurant 'pres d'ici '. A bald NO. Oh well back to our hotel, with great delight he told us he had shut his restaurant. On further cross examination he said that the casino was 2 minutes away we could eat there. Wanting more than chocolate we decided to go. We set off by foot, he had failed to tell us that it was 2 minutes in a car that was breaking all speed limits. The bouncer took a copy of our passports then we were allowed in. What an awful place, no daylight of course and flashing lights with cliental all with glazed eyes concentrating on the business at hand. We found the restaurant. Yes we could get a meal, there would be a wait of an hour for a table. Saviour, I saw on the bar a glass case and in it were a few stale looking sandwiches, perhaps they were there for the people that couldn't tear themselves away from the tables for long enough to eat. We grabbed a couple and escaped. This is the first time we have had to show our passports to buy a sandwich!
Today was a very short day, basically a rest day. We had arranged to meet our friends Rosemary and John at St Julien sur Dheum. Rosemary and John spend the European summers travelling the French waterways on their beautiful old Dutch barge Petronella an idyllic way to spend the wet New Zealand winters. Just as I wrote this around the corner came Petronella with the smiling faces of Rosemary and John. With great expertise they tied up to the edge of the canal. It certainly was lovely to see them. The restaurant across the canal was closed for holidays so we set up under a shady tree for a picnic complete with a bottle of Rose, it felt like a real French feast and of course there was lots of chatter. What had to follow this was a bit of a sleep and it felt luxurious lying on my bed deeply asleep with a gentle breeze coming through the port hole blowing over me.
Chris from a nearby boat came over for drinks and Ken and I continued to be educated about life on the canals. As if by magic Rosemary produced a delicious meal of cod in Shrimp sauce. This was washed down with more wine and it wasn't long until we were fast asleep
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Today's ride: 28 km (17 miles)
Total: 770 km (478 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |