A number of people have asked us how we came to be boating on the canals and rivers of Europe. In we visited Amsterdam. In , acquaintances told us about their recent second honeymoon aboard a rented canal boat in southern France , and gave us a couple of brochures. That was so much fun, we rented again in , this time for a week in northern France, near Sarrebourg.
Then we did it again in in central France, south of Auxerre. Each year we enjoyed it more and the third time was the charm, as they say: we decided to buy our own boat and spend a lot more time boating. Three weeks experience and we were off to buy a boat. In the Fall of , we spent two weeks looking at boats in Holland and France, aided by the internet listings by dealers. We came home and spent the winter reading about boats and boat-buying, and thinking about what we had seen.
Then, in the spring of we rented a small vacation house on a lake in Holland off-season it was very reasonable and a car and started our search again. We need to look some more. See picture. All boats are compromises — each person must decide what they need and what they can give up to get it. We started out looking for a barge and chose a motor cruiser.
Arrivals are always interesting. We landed in Paris in mid-April, returning to France with great anticipation of another season on the Estate. What a wonderful re-entry! The weather was lovely, flowers and trees were blooming, and friends were there to welcome us. After an overnight at the Hotel des Trois Gares , a comfortable, two-star hotel just a few blocks from the Gare du Lyon where the Air France bus from Charles de Gaulle airport arrives , we headed by train to St Jean de Losne , the inland boating center of France.
We arrived in France earlier this year than we have previously. April and May are dicey months for the weather. Also, there are several holidays, state and religious, during these months. Weather and holidays can both contribute to the complexities of travel planning and the availability of boating services. But we were anxious to be aboard the Estate again, and knew we would have lots of work to do before we could start cruising.
