Lucy-sur-Yonne to Chevroches back to Lucy sur-Yonne

As expected last night we had a good storm, It was so bad all the goats in the field just along the canal got out. We walked down to see them before our excursion and boy, did they stink. Well so I am told as I can’t smell them . We had an uneventful ride to Vézelay. Parking the minibus at the bottom of the hill we were pleased we were doing the climb to the Abbey along the narrow streets in the morning rather after lunch, on  the way we passed a couple of water fountains, I didn’t try them.

Inside the Abbe we wandered round and were able to spot some Mason Marks in the stone. It is not until you are inside you realise just how big it is, one of the masons had a bit of fun creating some mice at the bottom of a pillar.

    At one point there is a rather battered cross attached to the wall. The story is below.

We went down into the Crypt with its rugged rock floor, just bare bedrock with no finish or covering, the ceiling is painted to look like bricks, most of the building would have been painted at one time,

The vault above which is behind a heavy metal grill contains relics of Mary Magdalen

We parted company with Mathew when we left the Abbey, he went down to collect the minibus and would meet us at a pre arranged time at the bus stop so not so far to walk, thankfully we had time to visit a café for a swift pint and a wee. On our way down we passed an old well, it is still in water and has a very faint inscription above it

  We were all down at the bus stop at the allotted time and Mathew soon came into view with the minibus to whisk us back to the barge for lunch.

  Then we had another change or plan, we couldn’t cruise to Chevroches  because of the hot weather and low water levels, so we would do another three locks to Coulanges-sur-Yonne where we could wind (turn round) ready for next weeks trip back to Auxerre and return back here to Lucy to moor at our last night on board. Coulanges-sur-Yonne we fond the Barge that was moored ahead of us earlier in the week moored up there, but still plenty of room for us to turn.

On our way we passed another stretch where the canal and river were only separated by a wall, as well as a mile stone and a small Lavoir or wash house, we also passed another newly installed  paddle and rymer weir. This is a very historic way to control water flow that the VNF have brought into the 21 century .

There was a rather well preserved Lavoir right beside where we were moored back in Lucy-sur-Yonne, it even has a fire place in it for winter time, it faces the river, not the canal.

After we were moored up we had a little time to explore Lucy before the Captain's Diner. Mathew was officially our Captain but Frank our piolet who steered the boat. Mathew acting as deck hand but running all activities of the week, so it was Mathew having dinner with us. We found a couple of village pumps and went inside the church, which was very plan inside with lots of rough stone work.

This really was the end of our holiday, bags all packed and ready to go.

Next morning after breakfast our at 9am our taxi turned up, this time all seats faced forwards, much better. In less than an hour we were back in Auxerre where our holiday started and on our way to Paris. Paris traffic wise was a nightmare with closed roads with no warning for some festival. Our Taxi finally arrived back at the Hotel Windsor to drop us and one of the other couples off, the third couple were off to the airport. We caught the Metro back to Gare de l'Est and then a very short walk (yes we went the right way) back to Gare de Nord.
The checking in process has changed and I think our passports were scanned 4 times before we could get to the departure lounge, It was hot at the station and we had an extra half hour wait for a Technical issue, at least we had a seat unlike the people with priority boarding standing on the bridge.

Next Stop London, click here

A couple of night in London

We arrived at St Pancras and first caught the underground and then the Dockland Light Railway to Greenwich where we booked into the Ibis hotel for two nights, then off exploring. Walked to the banks of the Thames banks by the Cutty Sark and explored the pedestrian tunnel under the river . Access to the tunnel is via a lift or stairs. It says no cycles but they hurtle down the sloping floor to the deepest point under the river. 

This was the entrance to the tunnel in the evening and the view back to Greenwich from the far side of the river .

We were surprised the number of places to eat in the area, really spoilt for choice, but just down the road from where we were staying was a vegan Indian Restaurant and the flavours were great.Hullabaloo | The Greenwich North Indian Vibe.

The reason we came to Greenwich was to visit the Observatory which is built on the top of the hill, we went first thing which was good because by the time we came down the hill it was sweltering hot. The views from the top are something else.

After spending a bit of time looking at all the things on the top of the hill, including a chance to observe the sun through a special telescope we made our way back down to visit the café for a cold drink and lunch. The afternoon was spend wandering around the maritime museum and the Queens house.

Of course we spent a bit of time watching the river and the antics of the trip catamarans going to and from the pier, O and we had a quick half at The Ship before wandering back to the hotel, we were so bushed we just ate at the hotel that night.

The next day we didn’t need to check out until mid day so the morning was spent wandering along the river looking at where the old ferry ran from, those Victorians knew a thing or two and visiting Deptford Creek before returning to the hotel, picking up our bags and checking out.

It was then back to the Docklands Light Railway, Underground and short walk to Victoria Coach Station. Our coach was packed and due to an accident on the A13 we were stuck in London for an extra hour, but luckily arrived at Norwich 10 minutes before the bus for Beccles was due to leave,