Bordeaux on the barge Rosa day 7,8,9 Bordeaux

Day 7 
Sadly the trip is over, after breakfast we said our goodbyes and Nicole drove us all back to Bordeaux dropping us off at the same spot Julian had picked us up at, the week before, a journey of about 150 kilometres. As our plane was not due to take off until 2145hrs. we had the day in town and not wishing to cart our bags about we left them at a “Nannybag” depot. near where we were dropped off. This worked very well and a large green tag was attached to our bags that I had to photograph, when we returned about half five to pick them up I had to show the photo.

Once the bags were stored we were on our way heading for the open top bus for a ride around town, unfortunately this is not a hop on hop off service, its a non stop round tour but a good way to see what’s on offer going both sides of the river and crossing both the new and the old bridges .

After the bus tour round we wandered about looking at places of interest

A squash growing in the crack of the pavement

The scaffolding around the tower looks to be semi permanent.    The carving above the door and round the side. Above it it says reproduction but I cant read the date.

While we were sitting at a little street café for a very light lunch this small band came playing down the street and passed right by us .

We caught the last shuttle bus from the station to the airport at 1830hrs so we were there in plenty of time for our 2145hrs. flight but it was already showing as delayed. We checked the bags in and went to look for something to eat, very limited, a couple of cafés and Starbucks, the restaurants closed so the café it was. We tried to go up to departures but we were told we were too early, then an announcement, because of the delay we were entitled to a refreshment voucher, €4.50 and the flight would be after midnight. Soon ours was the only flight on the board, we were the only people at the airport and at about 2300hrs the delayed turned to cancelled. No announcement of what to do, no sign of life, we all made our way to the EasyJet baggage check in where we were given a slip of paper with instructions of what to do, go to the app, choose a refund or book another flight, there were no direct flights on Sunday but 2 on the Monday, I immediately plumped for 1630hrs Monday, it then gave the option of EasyJet booking a hotel which we went for and spent the night at the Kyriad Hotel-Merignac Aéroport but it wasn’t near the airport and after walking a bit I stopped a taxi and got the driver from hell.

Day 8
We caught the tram into town and dropped our bags off at the Ibis Central before doing more exploring.  One of our aims was to visit the Maritime Museum, this is up in the dock area where the water level is maintained by a pair of large locks, the smaller one looks out of use but both have two swing bridges crossing them that not only carries a road but also a tram way with overhead power cables. Due to the size of the lock, 22 Mts wide, the gates are curved to withstand the weight of the water.

Another feature at this end of the town is the wine museum, a somewhat futuristic building on the river bank, as its handy for the river bus stop we did have a coffee there, but as the entrance fee was €20 each we gave the museum a miss.

However the maritime museum was well worth the entry fee with dozens of superb boat models on display.

          

 

 

Day 9
We again left our bags at the hotel for the day as todays flight is not until 1630 hr. so most of the day is free. Firstly we caught a tram to the other side of the river and then caught a Bat3 river bus, for €2-10 each we got to travel the length of the town on an electric powered catamaran, OK they don’t serve wine but we saw as much as some of the trip boats. They may be electric but they certainly nip along.

The bridge is quite interesting as the central span lifts vertically to allow the cruise ships through, we were told this happens about 60 times a year and takes quite some time to cycle. We didn’t see it happen as the cruise ship was gone when we returned.

We picked up our bags from the hotel and caught the tram to the airport and booked our cases in. This time it was all automated with quite a queue, but it all went well, then through security. I have never had my boarding pass checked so many times, first for dropping the case then to get in to security, before I was allowed to put my stuff through the scanner, when I went through to departures and again when I arrived. We did manage to get a bite to eat which was  just as well as the flight again was delayed . They called the flight and all the people with priority boarding were trying to make their way down the zigzag to the head of the single queue. Once we were all boarded there was yet another delay to get the paperwork signed off prior to take off. We did eventually get back to Gatwick and collected our car.

Bordeaux on the barge Rosa day six-Boè

 

As we approached Agen locks we were informed of a problem with the second lock in the flight which had suffered a power failure. EDF were on the case and had the necessary spare part, but when would they be there? Luckily for us the VNF were thinking the same thing and turned up with a generator in the back of a van which they plugged into the control box.
I stayed on board while we were waiting on the lock moorings but Diana walked up to the first lock and was able to keep us updated by phone. The lock moorings are actually on a T junction but the way straight ahead is now cut off. We were there about half an hour before getting a call to proceed. Not the easiest spot to get off and turn 90° not helped by another boat moored behind us and a well silted canal.

 

Once in the bottom lock I hopped off and we walked up to the Pont-Canal d’Agen aqueduct, one of the longest in France at 539M long with 23 arches. I walked down to the river bank to take a few pictures before re-joining Diana and the boat . VNF have a small base there and hold stop planks to insert at the ends of the aqueduct if necessary. A bit different to the ones on UK canals.

Once we had crossed the aqueduct we sailed through the town of Agen to our over night and final moorings at Boè. Our moorings were a small port with several other boats there, it was here that we boarded Rosa on our last holiday on the Garonne when we sailed to Montauban.

In the afternoon there was a trip to a winery and a wander around town, I decided to miss out on this and doze on the deck in the sun until the rain started, but Diana and the others all went and here is what she saw.

The Vineyard and winery has its own irrigation lake, as this vineyard produces the every day wine and not the more expensive named wines controlled by the Appellations regulations.

The owner of the vineyard is an ex rugby player and is quite a big chap.		They even sell wine in boxes which is often used in cafés and sold by the glass.

After their visit to the winery it was a visit to the town of Agen to see the Cathedral    

		The round mosaic is actually a Roman floor mosaic that has been repositioned behind a protective screen to be on display.

   This modern shopping complex had a metal laser cut screen above the main entrance indicating what the original building looked like.    

When they returned to Rosa, Dominic the boat owner visited us to say hello, it was 8 years since we had seen him last on Rosa, so time for a quick photo with all the crew.

Mike, Agatha,Julian, Dominic, Nicole

As it was our last night onboard Rosa and is traditional on the last evening of cruise boats, we all sat down to the Captain’s Dinner, but by now the Captain wasn’t someone special but a friend sitting down at the fifth place laid at the dinner table.