A Return to France: 2022

 

The town of Saint Jean de Losne, our winter home.

France.  I’ll say it again France. After a night at the hotel Citizen M at Charles de Galle airport, Philippe picked us up for the four hour drive back to Rabelo. It’s been five months since we were last here.  As tired and jet lagged as we were I couldn’t stop drinking in the sights of the French countryside. What we saw was a patchwork of farmland. Miles and miles of verdant green fields broken up by brilliant yellow swatches of rapeseed (Colza, what we know as Canola oil) gently waving in the breeze.  The tops of the hills were covered with trees. The wind turbines gently spun in lazy circles.  Here and there were little villages nestled into the valleys with a church rising up above the houses.   We were home!  

Our first day on Rabelo meant it was time for a major marketing.  Don’t worry, this was only day one.  The next day we went marketing again.  I was also able to go to a nursery and get my garden started.  

After two days of getting settled we pulled up our lines and began this years cruise.  We apparently brought Southern California weather with us.  It was crisp and beautiful for our first days out.

Rabelo is leaving her winter mooring, anxious to carry us off to new adventures.

We are about to leave the marina.

The first two days of cruising took us from Saint Jean de Losne to the town of Val de Gray.  Pictures can’t do justice to the magnificent scenery we saw along the way.  

Cruising along the River Saone.

Another view of our cruising.

Estelle is our new captain.  Philippe is taking a few weeks to train her.  Philippe has been a wonderful addition to the Rabelo experience and we will miss him terribly.  He promises to help us with any emergencies that come along.

I’m back in my kitchen doing a lot of cooking.

The first night we tied up in Pontailler-sur-Saone.

Our second night of cruising we arrived in Gray where we stayed for the Easter weekend.

The woman from the tourism office remembered us from the last time we were there with our family.  This picture was posted on their Facebook page.

Lovely chocolates at the Boulangerie for Easter.

Spring is all around us.  The grassy fields are covered with little flowers.

Saturday we went to the local farmers market.  It was a disappointment.  But I did buy a few more flowers for Rabelo’s garden.  It wasn’t a total loss.

Tom at the local farmers market.

We had a delightful dinner at Le Chateau de Rigny which is a hotel-restaurant.  While situated between Dijon and Besançon, it was only a short drive from Gray.  It was established in 1789. 

Our evening started with an aperitif in the reception area.

While we enjoyed our drink and appetizers we were able to peruse the menu and place our dinner orders.  

A delightful way to begin the evening.

The dining room was beautiful, service excellent and food lovely.  

And now…Politics from my international perspective:

In the United States I read about the high cost of fuel and food, difficulties in finding employees, and the breakdown of the supply chain.  There are those who blame President Biden for all these problems.

Now I am in France where the people are dealing with the high cost of fuel and food, difficulties in finding employees, and the breakdown of the supply chain. They are blaming President Macron.  We also have heard from friends in Australia and England that have the same problems.

People need to look beyond their front yard and realize that the world has become very small and everyone everywhere is affected by the same factors. President Biden, President Macron and many other leaders don’t have the control that we would like to believe they have. We need to become more aware of the world beyond our borders.