The Fallibility of Google Maps

It should have been a simple Sunday afternoon bicycle outing yesterday in (finally) beautiful weather. We decided we would like to ride to the nearby town of La Truchère on the banks of the Seille River.  The Seille is a tributary of the Saône, and a cruising destination in its own right, so a foretaste of possible things to come seemed like a fine idea. Our Google Map directions gave us 3 options:

3 choices of route from Pont de Vaux
to La Trouchére

We picked the center route because we'd already done much of the "left" route the previous Sunday when we cycled to the town of Tournus, and the "right" route was mostly over a busy road. The first few kilometers were fine, but it would be putting it mildly to say that we were surprised when the directions to "turn right" took us onto a pasture with a barely discernible path.

Lon biking on what--apparently--counts for
a road in rural France on Google Maps

And this wasn't the only "pasture road" we were directed to.  It was funny the first time, but the next time the only visible track turned out to be a ditch, so we quickly turned around and tried to find an alternate route. After several dead ends, fenced off entry points, a "Close Encounter of the Bovine Kind"--and the fact that it was by now getting quite warm outside--we cried "uncle" and returned to Pont de Vaux.

Curious Charolais cows, who galloped over to check us out after we
 encroached on their pasture while in search of a way forward to La Truchére.
Cute, but rather muscular, so I took this photo from the other side of the fence.

After a little research, I assume that what we encountered would be termed "country lanes", which belong to the local municipality, but are not required to be maintained. They are intended to be used mainly by farmers to access the various parts of their farms. Why Google Maps treats them as suitable for biking I will never know.  Next time--we take the "left" option!

The previous Sunday's outing was more predictable and sedate.  We followed the well-marked and well-maintained "Voie Bleue" (Blue Route) cycle route for about 10 miles along the Saône river to Tournus, a town of about 6,000 people. Tournus became an important religious center in the 9th century.

Lon just above the boat quay in Tournus. 

The tower of the Romanesque
 Abbey St. Philibert, from the
 11th and 12th centuries. 

The Eglise Saint-Valerien, which served as Tournus' abbey
from 1008-1028.

Lon at our relaxing lunch in Tournus. We were lucky to find
a place to eat--May 26 was Mother's Day in France and many
of the restaurants were fully booked.

We intend to stop at Tournus with the boat and spend at least a couple of nights there when we leave Pont-de-Vaux. There's a lot to explore that we simply didn't get the chance to see during our brief visit--the Old Town, the interior of the Abbey, and a bicycle museum. It's a shame we aren't more interested in gastronomy, as there are several Michelin starred restaurants in the town.

Otherwise our week was primarily spent working on projects, interspersed with some relaxation and social activity.  While Lon was working one afternoon I cycled the Pont de Vaux canal towpath to the nearby village of Fleurville, which is about 3 miles directly west of us (just across the Saone). These days Fleurville is a fairly non-descript small village; nevertheless, it boasts two (2) chateau (castles) from the old days. Talk about tripping over history in the most unlikely of places; however, it is not an uncommon occurrence for small villages in the area to have a really amazing old church or chateau.

Side view of the round tower and main
building of the Château de Fleurville. It
was built by the Counts of Fleur Ville in
1624 and is now a hotel

The Château de Marigny. Construction begun in the 13th C,
finished in the 16th C., pillaged during the French Revolution,
later renovations and expansions. Currently privately owned.

Springtime in France means poppies.

We are visited fairly often by this young man
from a neighboring boat. Besides being very cute,
 a big plus is that he seems to understand our English
 about as well as he understands French.

Docktails on Sunday (June 2) with South African boaters
Elaine and Tony Underwood. Elaine and Tony have been
cruising French inland waterways for 15 summers.

The Port de Plaisance (pleasure port i.e., marina) hosted a party
for their customers on Saturday (June 1). Four of us were
native English speakers, everyone else spoke French. A few
attempts were made to bridge the language barrier, so all was
congenial. 

We're waiting on the completion of two items before we can cast off our lines and leave the dock. Lon is still working on the installation of navigation electronics and for that we are waiting for an Amazon delivery on Wednesday with a specialized crimping tool that he couldn't find locally. We also need to put the new name on our boat, and for that we are waiting on the delivery of fiberglass panels. Unfortunately, the delivery date for the panels is uncertain. Fingers crossed, we'll be underway by early next week, but that remains to be seen.

We've changed our tentative cruising plans. Rather than heading south and doing mostly river cruising this summer, we've decided we would rather head north and seek out more of a canal experience. That's today's "plan" anyway, always subject to change!