Do You Want The Macon? Why,Are You Going to Spill It?

As much as we loved our stop on the river Seille and the ambience at La Truchere, the weather we awoke to was yet more rain! A lovely member of EIWS (European Inland Waterways Section , Cruising Association) had recommended this stop and potentially travelling further along the canalised section of the river.

It was always our attention to take our time travelling through France, we had no real deadline as to our destination, love France and had a long-stay visa which allowed us to stay for six months in France, without using any of our Shengen days.... thanks Brexit:(

However, the weather was beginnning to get us a bit down. The boat is well equipped and we are set up for living down below if needs be, but really we wanted to be eating out on deck more, or in riverside cafes and exploring without raincoats and a wet dog!

So a decision was made that we would persue our trip south to Lyons with a bit more speed and hope then to reach some better weather. We have family in Lyons though, and they have headed south in total disgust with the weather this year!

The journey towards Macon was lovely, mist rising from the fields, more cows wandering down to the water and a feeling of serenity.

Macon was our destination, there is a large marina here and we had ordered some mattress springs to use in the front cabin.

Our berth in the aft cabin is large, and we had a mattress specially made to give us extra comfort, although we had been a little disappointed with it. As the weather was also, hopefully, going to warm up, we thought we would try the fore cabin as there is much more height and a larger hatch to allow through air, and also we can rig up a wind shute if needed.

Although there was much rain, when the sun did come out it was with quite a ferocity and the air was heating up quite rapidly, so the aft cabin was becoming a little claustrophobic.

Mike has done much research and ordered some plastic sping thingys which he assured me would be easy to fix together and place under the original mattress...mmmmm!

The marina at Macon was quite large, and in quite a countryside setting. The river infront and a large park, with sheep which Sprocket quickly found...aghhh!, and then leading onto an industrial area with large hypermarkets etc.

Macon, obviously is home to many wine stockists and we were looking forward to wandering into the city to experience some wine tasting.

It is quite a journey from the marina to the centre and the public transport is not great, there is a good cycle track but, yes you've guessed it, the rain was torrential and we weren't that desperate for wine tasting to have to suffer the deluge bestowed upon us.

It was also another England game that night, and the chap next to us had found a sports bar on the industrial estate where we could watch.

So, four wet sailors and an even wetter spaniel, arrived at said bar, which was open and welcoming, and watched another tense England match.

We did get through to the semi-finals on penalties no less!!

The next morning we awoke to sun, finally, we could use the marina washing machine and get everything dry.

Mike had ridden to collect the bed springs the previous day, in the rain getting soaked and thus refusing to do another ride to the wine houses. He was to spend the morning figuring out how to install them, it was supposed to be simple....mmmm

I also took the brompton bike to the supermarket, a dreadful place akin to Asda, and I didn't quite manage to reduce my shopping to fit the bike ride back.

I did manage somehow, and we were well stocked for the trip onwards in the sun.

Casting off after our chores, the bed spings fitted and seemingly give much comfort, we really enjoyed travelling south.

Our neighbour in the marina had bought his boat rather cheaply from a syndicate who had crashed and sunk it the previous year. There is a submerged roman wall in the river by Macon, and due to the low water levels last year, it was apparently eay to hit it..it is quite well documented on the charts we thought.

Anyway, no fears today as the river was fulll and we were charging along.

As the town of Thoissey aproached, we noticed quite a party going on by the river front, it loked quite jolly and there was a brass band playing.

There did not look to be much room at the exterior port, but the guidebook told us that with less than 3m headroom, we could go under the bridge and tie up at moorings on the Canal des Echudes, a previous irrigation canal.

Always up for a challenge, we decided we would give this a try, obviuosly realising the river was quite high and there was also rather alot of silt in the canal. We got through the bridge without too much trouble, but I don't think the canal has been used for anything other than small fishing boats for a while and certainly not recently dredged, so we managed to plough our way to a little pontoon and tie up beside.

It was a lovely spot, under the trees, quiet and with the music from the park drifting over.

Leaving Ramukanji, we walked along the canal, over the old bridge and into the delights of Sunday afternoon in the park by the river.

A great local brass band were playing, the beer was flowing and everyone was enjoying the hot sun on a Sunday afternoon, this was more like what we had imagined our trip to be.

The following morning was again sunny and warm and the pretty village was alive with holiday makers from the nearby camping ground. Sprocket and I had a pleasant stroll along the river and into some woods , emerging into Thoissey village and returning to Ramukanji along the canal.

Casting off and ploughing our way back through the silt under the bridge, we entered the Saone again and headed south towards Trevoux.

Trevoux was capital of the Domes, an independent principality with its own Parliament until 1762, and so quite a grand town.

There was a modern pontoon mooring , although not at all sheltered from the river current which was very strong.

Arriving at lunchtime, Mike thought it prudent to scoot into town before all the shops shut, as we had no fresh bread for lunch. He fired up trusty 'google maps' to see a boulangerie only a few minutes away, and reporting to be open, off he rushed.

I was suprised when, half an hour later, he had not returned.....you've guessed it 'said boulangerie' was in fact 'ferme pour les vacances' , of course!

The next boulangerie was also close by, but as he discovered Trevoux is set on a hill, a very steep and high one at that!

Having recovered from his travels, had lunch and a snooze, we set off to explore the delights of town.

Another pretty French town, with riverside park, a former Houses of Parliament,ruins of a feudal castleand an ancient hospital. There was even a little restaurant next to the castle walls with a splendid view across the river and its impressive suspension bridge and country beyond...and it was open..and it was serving dinner!

The following morning we enjoyed more wandering around town and along the river and planned to leave just after lunch.

As we were casting off, another boat arrived and decided to moor right behind us, even though there was plenty of room further along as there were no other boats. Unfortunately Mike's lassoo skills failed and the rope miraculously managed to tie itself again around the pontoon cleat , leaving us at the mercy of a very strong current and heading towards said motor boat. Which we landed alongside!

The lady at the bow had just tied onto the pontoon and didn't seem the least bit bothered that we were laying alongside, surely she couldn't think we had mean to do this? Mike yelled at her to cast off our rope please, and we were then on our way again, with a slightly bent stantion and the motor boat seemingly unconcerned as to what had happened, they were French and very laid back.

Our destination today was to be Lyons, a fantastic city and where we would also join the 'Mighty Rhone'.

The marina was near to the confuence with good transport links and easy walking into the city. We had not booked, but no-where we have been travelling has been the slightest bit busy and we weren't concerned.

Having some French family nearby, we were looking forard to staying in Lyons and had both the French and English semi-finals of the football to look forard to, sort of...

Entering and passing through the city of Lyons is quite breath taking, there is so much to see from ancient,to old, to very modern. There is something to see everywhere from high up to the river bridges.

Entering the marina was straight forward, but it was really windy and we had no communication from the capitainaire regarding mooring. We moored on a pontoon with some larger boats, as it was very windy and there was lots of space. Then the captain appeared and told us to move, which we argued against as it was so windy and where she was asking us to go to was quite tight to get into, Mike was still traumatised from this mornings little bump.

Anyway, we moved and with great skill moored up where she wanted us, not sure why as no other boats came into the marina in the four days we were here.

The marina is lovely, very modern facilities and right in the centre of a 'Westfields' shopping centre. Good walks to the confluence of the Rhone past really interesting archtecturallly designed buildings and along the river to Bellecour Square, from here to all parts of the city.

The capital of the Gauls during the Roman Empire, Lyon is the seat of an archbishopric whose holder bears the title of Primate of the Gauls. Lyon became a major economic hub during the Renaissance. The city is recognised for its cuisine and gastronomy, as well as historical and architectural landmarks; as such, the districts of Old Lyon, the Fourvière hill, the Presqu'île and the slopes of the Croix-Rousse are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Lyon was historically an important area for the production and weaving of silk. Lyon played a significant role in the history of cinema since Auguste and Louis Lumière invented the cinematograph there. The city is also known for its light festival, the Fête des lumières, which begins every 8 December and lasts for four days, earning Lyon the title of "Capital of Lights".

Economically, Lyon is a major centre for banking, chemical, pharmaceutical and biotech industries. The city contains a significant software industry with a particular focus on video games; in recent years it has fostered a growing local start-up sector.The home of renowned universities and higher education schools, Lyon is the second-largest student city in France, with a university population of nearly 200,000 students within the Metropolis of Lyon. Lyon hosts the international headquarters of Interpol, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, as well as Euronews. According to the Globalization and World Rankings Research Institute, Lyon is considered a Beta city.

The Rhône and Saône converge to the south of the historic city centre, forming a peninsula – the "Presqu'île" – bounded by two large hills to the west and north and a large plain eastward. Place Bellecour is located on the Presqu'île between the two rivers and is the third-largest public square in France. The broad, pedestrian-only Rue de la République leads north from Place Bellecour.

The northern hill is La Croix-Rousse, known as "the hill that works" because it is traditionally home to many small silk workshops, an industry for which the city has long been renowned.

The western hill is Fourvière, known as "the hill that prays" because it is the location for Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, several convents, and Archbishop residence. The district, Vieux Lyon, also hosts the Tour métallique (a highly visible TV tower, replicating the last stage of the Eiffel Tower) and one of the city's railways. Fourvière, along with portions of the Presqu'île and much of La Croix-Rousse, is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our stay in Lyons was great, meeting up with the Fernandes to watch the French football in a marina bar which was very livley and fun.

A day spent with them and woderful hospitality having a superb bar-b-q, and learning and enjoying several games of petanque, which we surprisingly quite good at, once we had explained to the spaniel that he didn't need to fetch the ball each time it was thrown!

The weather had improved, but we took late afternoon nibbles under the awning as there were spots of rain, the Lyonaisse have been horrified by their weather this year!

The city is great to explore, lots to see and of course the Lyonaisse cuisine! It really should be a more popular city break I think.