Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

We're in France as of Wednesday, April 24. The blog is getting a bit of a slow start because of yet-to-be-resolved internet issues. That, and I seem to have a bit of a case of "travel brain", which is making it challenging for me to concentrate on writing.  However . . .

We are planning for a 5+ month stay in Europe. This means, of course, that we are operating under the "no Zipper" plan. Sadly, we lost our little one back in January, one month shy of 21 years of age. It has simplified our travel planning, but we do miss her.

We lost our Great Loop "little buddy" on Jan. 24, 2019

If travel schedules running like clockwork are an omen of things to come, we’re in for a fantastic few months in Europe.  We left St. Petersburg on Tuesday, April 23, and our flights on Delta Airlines could not have gone more smoothly. Everything on time, no stress. From Charles de Gaulle Airport we had to get to the Gare de Lyon train station in downtown Paris in order to catch a Train a’ Grande Vitesse (TGV, high-speed train) for the city of Lyon. Normally we would take one of the Paris RER express trains from the airport into the city, but because this time we were lugging two large and heavy duffel bags, we’d already decided that a taxi was a better option--more expensive, but easier on the body.

We have never packed this heavy for a trip--and hope
never to do it again!  We also had heavy backpacks AND our
musical instruments.

As it happened—and France being France—the RER transit employees were staging a one-day strike on the day of our arrival in Paris, so the RER wouldn’t have been an option anyway. We couldn’t really pat ourselves on the back for our far-sightedness however, because the strike did have some consequences for us. With large numbers of commuter trains out of service, Parisians took to the roads in droves and traffic was horrendous. In addition, the extra demand on taxi services meant that the fixed fares to Paris went into “congestion pricing” mode and more than doubled from their usual levels. The silver lining to the ridiculously pricy ride was the “creative” and thoroughly amusing navigational skill of our taxi driver, which got us to Gare de Lyon well ahead of our train’s departure time.  After a relaxing 2-hour train ride, we collected a rental car and made an uneventful 1+ hour drive to Pont-de-Vaux, where we rejoined C.A.R.I.B. III. Lon worked his magic on the water and heating systems and we were able to move aboard immediately.

Pat is greeted by the local Welcome Wagon rep

We’re spending the first days here re-learning the boat and adjusting to changes in time, temperature, language (thank goodness for Google Translate), and culture. It’s all rather tiring, so it’s a good thing we’re not on a strict schedule. On Friday we managed to navigate the French banking system with the assistance of the very kind Mme. Elise Hireche, and opened a checking account so that we can acquire a French mobile phone (with data plan) that will make it possible for Lon to work remotely when we’re on the move. On Saturday we thought we'd managed to navigate the French mobile phone system, but that turned out to be only a partial success and will have to be further dealt with. We’ll be making some shopping trips and working on boat projects up until we leave for Italy (a return to the Ischia Chamber Music Festival) on May 2. We’ll also spend a few days in Geneva, Switzerland before returning to the boat on May 16. After that it’s anybody’s guess. We’ll probably need more project time, but hope to be on the River Saone headed south by the end of May or first part of June.

Some interesting cultural differences that we may have noted in previous visits to France, but which have the potential to take on greater import now that we're going to be temporary residents for a few months:

1) No boxed or canned chicken broth in the grocery stores. Given how much I like to make soups, this is a big issue for me. I refuse to spend hours at the stove making my own homemade stock!

2) The French measure their ingredients for baking by weight, not volume. Therefore, my search for measuring cups and spoons--at least as I'm familiar with them--has been fruitless so far.

3) The outdoor laundromat (in the parking lot of a local supermarket) makes me glad all over again that I have a washing machine on the boat.

It's a tough job when it's raining

4) Croutons (no crackers) for tomato soup, no already-peeled mini-carrots (I will need to reacquaint myself with the vegetable peeler.)

We will try to cut ourselves some slack as we ease into this new adventure--taking walks and enjoying the local sights--even as we work to get ready for cruising.

An old, half-timbered local barn in Reyssouze (a village near Pont-de-Vaux)

Walking around the small lake in Pont-de-Vaux