From Seurre to Fragne, France

View as we walk around our marina.

Entrance/Exit to our marina which is called The Old Lock

Looking from the bridge at the entrance into our marina.

Our neighbor Linda with Wilson.

Another neighbor

First time this season putting our car onto our deck.

There are good days.  There are bad days. And then there can be really bad days.  We had one of those really bad days.  In the end, no one was hurt and issues that weren’t completed eventually will be resolved.

We're off!  Finally!

This was high tide two weeks ago.  We're happy we weren't on the river then.

It started in Fragne when we got in the car for the hour drive to Dijon.  The car wouldn’t start!  Fortunately we were right across the street from a car dealer.  Since we didn’t know yet why the car wouldn’t start (I assumed a dead battery), I went back to the boat.  Let the men handle the car troubles.  While waiting a boat passed by much too rapidly.  Next I hear a commotion on deck.  Kevin has run back to the boat with Tom on his heels.  Since there were no bollards for us to tie up to we had driven heavy stakes into the soft ground.  The boat going by created too much wake rocking Rabelo, which caused the stakes to pull up.  One even landed in the canal.  Kevin’s keen eye saw our pilothouse bobbing up and down and knew there was a problem.  Had we not had car trouble our boat would have drifted across the narrow canal blocking traffic in both directions.  Getting permission to move Rabelo to a mooring just vacated by a hotel barge, Tom had to maneuver our big 130 foot baby backwards a fair distance to our new mooring.  At least here we would stay put!  By now we had a new car battery, a safe mooring, and we were over an hour late meeting a friend for lunch in Dijon. 

Dead battery.

After a quick but lovely lunch with our chief friend Alex Miles it was off to HSBC to complete our banking transaction so we could have our French account.  The problem was (making a very long story short) our French debit cards and pin numbers were being sent to our California address.  That wasn’t going to work.  I was finally told that in an emergency HSBC members could receive emergency funds from our United States account by making a phone call and answering the security questions.  Using the bank phone I proceeded to do as instructed.  After being on hold a LONG time I finally got a real person on the line.  I told her what was needed in order to get the funds to their Dijon HSBC branch.  She understood but said she must speak to someone at the branch who spoke English!  There was no one available who spoke English!  She refused to send the necessary email to the Dijon branch confirming the available funds until she spoke to someone who spoke English!  I’m in France!  They don’t have to speak English here!  It isn’t normal for me to hang up on someone but after the day we had experienced, my frustration level was too high and I hung up after telling her I didn’t think HSBC was going to work as our international bank.  If it hadn’t been such a frustrating day I might have asked to speak to a supervisor.  I honestly don’t understand how people are supposed to do international banking in foreign countries when it is expected that the world will speak English.  By the way, we’ve waited weeks for our debit cards and pin numbers to be sent to the Dijon branch as requested.  They are promising that next week all will be resolved.  I’m not holding my breath.  Besides, Monday is another bank holiday!  They have many bank holidays in May in France.

Optimistic couple before spending two frustrating hours at HSBC.

OK, on to more pleasant topics.  ICE CREAM.  We have now made chocolate ice cream, which was amazing, roasted banana ice cream that was ok, and rum raisin, which will knock your socks off.  It had tons of raisins soaked in lots of rum.  The coffee ice cream was also excellent!  It’s all delicious!

We stopped for a night in Seurre where we came across 3 couples from California.  They had rented a canal boat for the week.  We enjoyed meeting them.  We counted 4 boulangerie in the little town.  The one we choose was great!

We are finally getting some good walks in.

Where are my eggs?

Next was Fragne where we had our troubles.  Our time there wasn’t all bad.  We drove to Chalon-sur-Soane, which we had visited last year.  We wandered around, had a good lunch with wine at a Bistro filled with locals.  Then we found a wine shop!  We were running low on red wine.  How can that be when we are in Burgundy?  We took care of the problem by buying over a case of wine.

Today was a beautiful cruise on the Canal du Centre to Chagny.  It feels like fall here instead of spring.  The wind has a crispness to it and leaves were blowing into the canal.  How windy was it you might ask?  Windy enough to wish we had a bow thruster on Rabelo.  Windy enough to watch beautiful wave patterns playing around in the fields of grain.  Instead of amber waves of grain it’s green waves of grain.  We will be here thru the weekend.  We have a special treat for our first guests on Monday.

Fragny Square.  Last time we were here this was an outdoor market.

Some local French news:  Paris is almost doubling fines for dropping cigarette butts.  They collect around 350 tons of them a year!  Can you imagine?

This morning as I cut into a freshly baked crusty loaf of bread the crumbs sprang from under my knife to jump and spread all around.  

My new web site is almost complete.  Check out the progress at www.lisamillerartist.com  

Saint Jean de Losne, France

We went truffle hunting.

We were supposed to be moving the boat Thursday but discovered that the crane motor was broken.  No crane, no car, no land transportation…you get the idea.  We needed to get it repaired, so Tom and Kevin (our new captain) went into town only to discover that Thursday was a religious holiday, Ascencion.  Being that this holiday fell on a Thursday, and we were in France, our guess was that nothing would be open the next day.  That meant we couldn’t move until Monday.  

We got lucky.  Between our neighbor who is an amazing electrician, and Kevin they spent the day tearing down the motor for the crane, oiling, greasing, and doing whatever people do to motors.  By evening we had a working crane again.  Amazing.  With strong winds and some rainy weather coming through we decided Kevin should have a long weekend and Monday we will leave Saint Jean de Losne.

Let me tell you what we have been doing to amuse ourselves for this last week.  We enjoyed a BBQ with the marina residents, which gave us the opportunity to meet some new people.  We went to dinner with our immediate neighbors Bobby and Linda as a thank you for watching our boat all winter.  Then we had cocktails and a long get acquainted evening on the boat of John and Sandra.  Sandra is a quilter, knitter and painter.  John also paints although lately his painting has been focused on his 1906 boat, which the two of them lovingly restored over four years.  We then had them over another evening for dinner.  We never ran out of things to talk about, and didn’t even touch on quilting, knitting, or painting.

We went Truffle hunting!  While we enjoyed doing it once, this operation needs work in being more English-speaking tourist friendly.  While I think our host was knowledgeable about truffle hunting; his English wasn’t strong enough to convey much information to us.  We still got the idea of what is involved and have a better understanding of why they are so expensive.  The dog that was used loves truffles and probably ate half of what he found.  We did buy some truffle infused products to enjoy on board Rabelo.  After truffle-hunting Kevin took us wine tasting.  Of course we had to buy wine since our wine cellar was a bit light after last season.

Alf with his summer hair cut.  Ready to search out (and eat) truffles.

Alf has found a truffle but who gets to it first?

After a hard afternoon of truffle hunting we need to sample the delicacies available for purchase.  They were delicious!

The Truffle Farm

Thanks to Kevin I now have a real French phone, which means Internet service (when it’s available).  I don’t recommend trying to call us since I rarely have the phone with me, and I am not set up for messages.

For my birding friends I think you would love it here.  Judging by all the different bird sounds we are hearing there must be a whole slew of different types of birds.  Let me tell you what happened!  I thought someone must really like cuckoo clocks since they kept going off at odd hours all day long.  I was mistaken.  This place is full of cuckoo BIRDS!  For real!  Here is a little education about cuckoo’s:  This species is a widespread summer migrant to Europe and Asia and winters in Africa.  The cuckoo is a brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nest of other species and will provide no parental care of its young.  There!  Now you know almost as much as me about cuckoo’s.

Finally, our 4^th season and I have an herb and flower garden.  Kevin and I went shopping/errand running and left Tom behind on Rabelo.  That was a good move.  He wasn’t around to tell me I couldn’t buy those wonderful pots with water reserves on the bottom.  Kevin and I had a very successful day with the post office: buying stamps and mailing cards, getting a French phone, planters and plants!  We could have done more but it was time to return to Rabelo and prepare dinner.

Here I am planting my new garden in my shed.

My new herb and flower garden.

Tom and I made a quick visit to Dijon thinking we were going to open a French bank account.  Unfortunately our papers hadn’t arrived yet.  I’ve grown to love Dijon.  It helps knowing where things are in a town.  With very little time before everything closed for lunch, we went to our favorite bakery and then wandered through the covered market.  The cheese stand was still open and the woman (who spoke a little English) guided us in selecting cheeses that were made no more than an hour away from Dijon. 

With Kevin off this weekend we had a little excitement.  First, the weather has changed daily.  A few days ago we had the air conditioning on because we were sweltering.  The mistrals blew in and brought rain and cold with them.  Now it’s warming up again.  I’ve gone from sleeveless tops to my down vest in a short time.  It’s crazy.  Because it got so cold Tom had to start up our heaters.  There were problems!  Ultimately he figured out that the exhaust vent is a good nesting place for birds.  Having a boiler system blocked isn’t a good thing.  With the vent belching black smoke and then creating a small explosion, Tom figured out what the problem was and got things cleaned out and running.  The birds didn’t understand that their home was under attack and returned the next morning. 

In the food department I’ve made the Ultimate Roasted Potatoes from Cooks Illustrated.  Using duck fat they came out incredible!  We are also making ice cream again.  I bought The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz.  So far it’s a winner.  I also love following his blog.  His recommendations for restaurants thus far have been spot on.

I finished the book When the Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin.  It is extremely well written and very informative.  If you’ve ever been to Africa, are planning a trip to Africa, or are just plain interested in the history of Zimbabwe during our lifetime I strongly recommend this book.

Check out Tom Miller’s book The Wave.  It is the second in the Chuck Palmer Adventure series.  It is now available as an E book.  Having been re-edited it is a winner and a great summer read!

From Los Angeles to Toronto to Brussels to Paris

 Time for a new adventure.  It is May 2015 and we are returning to our 1929 barge in Burgundy, France.  Preparing for this season was challenging.  Entering our 4^th season you would think the preparation would be easier.  Not yet.  We are dragging four huge suitcases plus heavy backpacks through three airports, a taxi, two train rides and then another taxi.  Two suitcases are clothing for three seasons.  The other two are filled with things we need for the boat.  Some items are less expensive back home, some are better, and some we simply can’t find in France. 

We tried a new airline called Jet Airways.  The price for business class tickets was so much better than any other airline that we gave them a try.  We were pleased.  Jet Airways is an Indian airline flying from Canada to India with a stop in Brussels.  The seats were comfortable and my dinner was surprisingly delicious.  I had an Indian meal with the various side dishes.  The whole meal was full of flavor with just enough heat (seasoning) to make it interesting without being overbearing.  The only disappointment was that the first class bag they gave us had no earplugs or eye shields. 

I have a new favorite museum “Foundation Louis Vuitton.”  It is rare when I can say I love the building as much as the art it houses.  The Frank Gehry building is breathtaking in its design and construction.  Forgive me if I have included too many pictures, but I just can’t do proper justice to what was created.  As for the art, they are claiming to have an unprecedented selection of major works that have shaped the history of modern art. The art and building sing together.  Or should I say they sail together. The exhibition is called “Keys to a Passion.”  Tom and I were both hugely impressed by the collection shown in this exhibit.  Although long I will list all the artists being displayed with a few of their paintings, for you to get an idea of the magnitude of what we saw.  Bacon, Bonnard, Brancusi, Delaunay, Dix, Gallen-Kallela, Giacometti, Holdler, Kandinsky, Kupka, Leger, Malevitch, Matisse (The Dance), Modrian, Monet (Water Lilies), Munch (The Scream), Nolde, Picabia, Picasso (Woman with Yellow Hair), Rothko (Black, Ochre, Red Over Red), Schjerfbeck (self portraits of her aging), and Severini.

We celebrated Tom’s 65^th birthday in Paris.  Lunch was at Faust, which is under the Bridge Alexander III.  The bread was delicious.  The soup wasn’t great and the fish course was ok.  Dinner was amazing at Josephine Chez Dumonent.  We will definitely eat there again.  Their Boeuf Bourguignon is out of this world, and their grand marnier soufflé perfection. We were rushing to dinner as we were a few minutes late.  Unfortunately Tom didn’t see the curb and tripped.  He landed on his face!  I think he received a mild concussion, black eye, sprained wrist, and skinned knee.  He is fortunate it wasn’t as bad as he sounded when he hit the pavement.

Louis Vuitton Museum

We found this guy on a walk.

Bullet holes in buildings remind us of the history of Paris.

Fish dish at Faust.  The fish was perfectly grilled and once everything was mixed together the flavors improved.

Tom has an admirer on the Pont Alexander III

One shot of the interior structure of the museum.  Notice the play of light and shadow which is constantly changing.

A view of the back of the museum.

Capturing the views of Paris through the Louis Vuitton structure.

Tom's birthday celebration.  Icing his face at dinner.

Magnificent fields of mustard.

Symphony in the Subway

Our Luggage

Tom's birthday black eye which is healing.

Sailing from Tonga to Fiji in 1994

August 18, 1994

Bula Bula (hello in Fijian)

It’s hard to believe but we are currently tied up at the custom’s dock in Fiji waiting for permission to enter the country.

We made a 500 mile ocean passage from Tonga to Fiji.  During the 3 day and 3 night passage Robbie learned to plot our progress on our charts.  Randy fine tuned all his navigational and sailing skills.  Tom was in his glory and I lost weight.  Actually I wasn’t seasick the last night and day.  That was great progress for me.

Our crew Steve and Marja are wonderful.  I’m coming home with loads of new recipes that Marja is generous enough to share with me.  I never get meals this fine in the best of restaurants.

We didn’t get to spend much time on our boat in Tonga but the time we did spend was delightful.  We found the most gorgeous island with a long sandy white beach and then a dense jungle of coconut trees and undergrowth.  There was a beautiful reef snorkeling distance from where we were anchored, with incredible colorful tropical fish.  At some points the reef couldn’t have been more than 6 feet deep.  It had hard and soft corals, clown fish, parrot fish, etc.  We kayaked to the beach for walks and swam to the reef.  A little heaven on earth.  We wish we could have spent more time exploring different islands in Tonga but Fiji was calling to us.  We pulled up anchor and off we went.

The boat is beautiful and very comfortable.  Since this is a shake down cruise, anything that can break will, and more than once.  Things (such as the outboard motor for the dinghy) was repaired in New Zealand and has since died completely.  It makes getting around interesting.  Fortunately we had a spare dinghy and motor which we finally dragged out.  The jetski and kayak’s were also pressed into service for getting around.  We were disappointed that the boat fax has not been receiving faxes.  Those of you who wanted to get in touch with us – I hope you tried mailing letters to Tom or my parents.  All news, gossip, scandal, etc. is always welcome.  We haven’t seen a newspaper in a long time, but family and friend news is much more interesting. 

I finally got my sewing machine out.  Even though it was stored in a damp, cold jet ski locker for a long time I oiled it and it works beautifully.  It felt so good to be able to sew again.  Unfortunately, the iron pulls a lot of power, so I’m limited to the ironing part of my sewing when we’re running the generator.  Since we run the generator morning and evening I’ll get some sewing done yet.

While waiting for our yacht we stayed at the Royal Sunset Hotel in Tonga for a week.  That was an experience we could have mostly done without.  Going to a Tongan church for Sunday services to hear the singing (very loud and enthusiastic) and seeing how they dress (men in wrap around skirts with hairy legs and big feet sticking out), and women in big woven mat skirts covering western style dresses. What a sight.  We weren’t able to take pictures afterwards because of a huge rainstorm, which came through just before services ended.  Since the church was in a village on the island where we stayed, we were soaked by the time we walked back to the hotel.  All in all a great adventure.  One of the local village pigs decided that our fale (hut) was going to be his new home.  I convinced him that he was NOT invited into our room.  Actually our fale was so dirty and buggy that we probably wouldn’t have noticed the difference anyway.

The Royal Sunset could have been a better experience than it was, but it is a very tiny island with only the village and hotel.  No one seems to realize that it would be to everyone’s benefit to clean the place up.  The beaches were gorgeous but had too much trash on them.  The village seemed clean when we walked through, but then you realize they have no facilities for trash.  Burn, bury or throw out the window and onto the beach.  By the way, no plumbing or electricity in the village.  I guess that explains why the native girl who “cleaned” our fale never gave us toilet paper.  I’m sure she didn’t understand its use.  They get rid of their beer bottles by lining their paths with the bottles turned up side down.  Interesting concept. They also used an occasional shell for added decoration.

The boat had many delays before leaving New Zealand and finally left without being completed.  There had to be a cut-off eventually and there we were waiting so very impatiently in Tonga for their arrival.  Their voyage to Tonga was extremely rough.  Of the eight people on board three managed not to throw up. From no winds and rough seas to heavy winds and rough seas, but the boat did make it through.  The two crew members from the boat yard didn’t show their heads until the end of the voyage.

We’ve been very fortunate to have our boat designer and his wife on board for 2 weeks.  They have been a tremendous help.  It was interesting when Robb decided he didn’t like the location of one of our phones.  He pulled up the floorboards, removed wall panels, and basically tore the boat apart.  But the phone did get moved and the phones eventually worked again.

As some of you know, Tom was home for a month working while I wandered around with the kids.  We did some sightseeing in New Zealand.  A beautiful country, which I would recommend to everyone (just go in their summer).  It was so much colder than we are used to at home.  When the boat had more delays we almost went home, but I wasn’t looking forward to that much flying.  Instead I decided to take the boys to Club Med in New Caledonia.  One week stretched into two weeks as we waited for the completion date.  We had a good time in New Caledonia sailing, snorkeling, archery, power walks every morning and eating ourselves silly.  It was a nice break after being in the extremely cold New Zealand for a month.  I also met some lovely people from Australia whom I hope to see again some day.  I never dreamed I would go to New Caledonia, but it was another adventure to add to our list.

Tom goes home shortly for a week while we try to take care of some of the more important repairs that need attention.  Suva is the largest city our boat will see until Hawaii.  So, this is our big chance.  We are very lucky that this week is the big yearly Fijian Hibiscus Festival.  We are looking forward to it.  I’m looking forward to doing a little sight seeing in Suva, but we are particularly anxious to get away from civilization again and back to deserted islands with beautiful beaches.  As far as I’m concerned that’s what this is all about.  I think that for Tom, the cruising from location to location is his heaven.  Sometimes I think that the cruising part was designed to test my personal endurance.  As Tom says, we have to take the good with the bad.  When I’m over my seasickness the cruising isn’t as tortuous.  It’s just that not being able to read or move around for days on end isn’t my idea of fun.  But swimming, snorkeling and gorgeous uninhabited islands are, so there has to be a compromise.

This summer has been difficult for Robbie.  I’m not sure whether it’s not having any privacy, the uncertainty day to day of where we are going to be, not having his daddy for a month, having his brother around too much, or what, but it hasn’t been his happiest time.  He came to life when the cruising started, so I hope things will improve now.  He is standing watch with Tom and me and plotting our course during the night cruising.  (Actually, I’ve been such a help, I generally sleep through our watches.)  

Randy is very happy.  New Caledonia was good for him and being on the boat has been incredible.  He is one of the men and part of the crew.  He stands watches and helps with everything.  By now he has probably read every manual for every piece of equipment on this boat.  Going back to school will be a real shock for him.

August 31, 1994 Dear Sandy,

Fiji is beautiful.  Lovely, friendly Fijians, warm water, great diving, and magnificent scenery.  We went to church again which is very different from Tonga.  Beautiful singing with harmonizing.  We sit on the floor (uncomfortable), women wear ankle length skirts under dresses.  Men wear jackets and ties with wrap around skirts.  No one wears shoes.  This was at a village we visited which had 30 families, and 100 people.  They had very gentle, sweet faces.  Everyone is friendly.  We drank kava with them, toured their village etc.  David Miller visited us for a week.  He and the boys went fishing, scuba diving, water skiing, jet skiing, kayaking, etc.  Lots to do.  I wasn’t so sea sick from Gamea back to Suva. Maybe I’m getting used to the boat a little bit.