Saint-Quentin

Saint-Quentin

I met my new boyfriend in the beautiful town square. of Saint-Quentin.  On second thought he may be a bit too flamboyant for my taste.
 

Before Bruce and Tess left Rabelo we were able to give them one more experience:  A Tunnel.  But not just any tunnel.  This one is called Riqueval.  It is 5670 meters long which makes it about 3.5 miles of darkness.  We are not allowed to run our engine or generator.  Instead, twice a day up to 17 boats are tied together in a line and pulled through the tunnel with a very special electric boat.  The tunnel is very narrow and low.  You pray that you can stay on course because rubbing up against the walls can be painful to your boat.  We did well, but the new boat owners behind us played bump the walls.  Fortunately paint should cover up the damage.

Exiting the Tunnel Riqueval.

After two hours we finally saw daylight again.

Our next project while in Saint-Quentin was finding a car.  What were we thinking?!?  Instead of renting a car for a day to aid in our search, we walked.  And we walked.  And we walked some more!  We walked for hours.  We walked for miles.  Then, realizing that we would need insurance once we found a car we continued walking the streets of Saint-Quentin trying to find an insurance company that would take care of us.  They wouldn’t even consider insuring us.  One company said we would need a French drivers license!  That would mean taking the test in French.  Not me!  Fortunately Julian came to our rescue.  He put us in touch with an agent he had dealt with and they were happy to provide us with the car insurance we needed.

We found a used car lot where they repair and sell cars.  They had a car that sounded perfect which would be delivered to the lot the next day.  But Julian was taking a few days off.  Our French certainly wasn’t going to cover the negotiations involved in purchasing a car.  It was our lucky day.  The owner Santos was born in Spain.  He spoke Spanish.  Somehow we managed to communicate and bought ourselves a 2007 Megane Peugeot. 

Ruminations

Saint-Quentin is a lovely town but not a tourist destination.  They are surrounded by WWI history.  Their cathedral is beautiful.  We had an amazing dinner at the restaurant Ville d’Isle.  We were taken care of by the lovely owners daughter.  After eating she gave us a tour of the restaurant and kitchen, which was once a spectacular home. 

Poached egg in a mushroom cheese sauce.

            

Fish on Risotto with saffron sauce.

Scallops and potatoes on eggplant with olive tampenade.

The Restaurant Ville d' Isle

The second story floor had these glass panes which were lovely to look at from the main floor.

The restaurant ceiling and chandler.

We saw two movies in English:  Last Days of Summer and States of Grace.  While we enjoyed the first, the second kept us talking about it days after. 

The fishermen there are an interesting group.  They weren’t happy with where we were tied up.  It must be the best fishing spot for miles around.  They kept asking when we would be leaving.  On another note, people don’t pick up after their dogs! 

After having the car for one day we needed our first car repair.  Back to the shop we went.  Santos was very nice.  Lets hope that all the air conditioning needed was Freon.

Our car goes in for its first repair.

Life on the Canal

Runners, walkers, lovers, fishermen, families riding bikes together, kayaking, pleasure craft, commercial barges, private boats, swans, ducks, geese, herons, egrets and more.  Beautiful in every sense of the word.

It is time to lay off the pastries but not the baguettes.  It’s fun watching people walking with their daily baguette in hand.  When they receive their baguette they give it a little squeeze.  As they walk they nibble off the top.  They just can’t wait until they get home for that first bite.  Could you wait?

Baguettes and dessert on the run.

Saint-Quentin had a fabulous cathedral.

Our new car is airborn.

Tom and Julian hoist our new wheels onto the deck of Rabelo.

For those of you interested in learning more about food, wine and travel go to my friend’s web site Shaunaburke.com and sign up for her new blog.  She is a food and wine connoisseur.  The pictures of meals she has eaten in her travels made my mouth water. I’m finding her information informative and it is presented in a very professional manner. I can't wait for her next installment.

Next stop Compiegne.