Spring Cleaning

Towards the end of last cruising season Matilda was showing she had a few problems. The engine was becoming difficult to start and when it did it was smoky and the exhaust left an oil film on the water. We have mentioned on a previous post that Peter diagnosed the problem as dirty and leaking injectors and erratic operation of the diesel injector pump.

The pump and injectors were removed and we took them to Bosch in Nuremburg, Germany where they were to be fully serviced.

They were sent back in early March and Peter re-installed them. We used the services of a good young local diesel mechanic who tuned the motor. It was started, and all the port knew.

The smoke cleared quickly and when warmed, the motor showed none of the old problems. It now starts immediately and the exhaust is very clean. Life in the old girl yet!

Spring was coming to France, the daffodils were appearing, blossoms were abundant and the weather was becoming warm and sunny. Boats are starting to move. We spent the winter moored beside Soraya and got to know Margaret and Geoff, her owners, quite well. They were keen to get going and left last week.

With the weather warming up we spent some time cleaning the winter “euro-grunge” from Matilda’s decks and covers. If we are not careful it tends to take over without being noticed.

We are continuing our wanderings around Nancy and find more of the beautiful Art Nouveau architecture that this town is famous for.

Our friends Thomas and Cecilia share the first floor apartment of this beautiful building. They invited us for dinner and we were in awe at the space inside.

Opposite their place is a public building of the same era with these stained glass windows by the famous glass artist Jaques Gruber. He headed the Ecole de Nancy for many years and collaborated with Daum in the design and detailing of some of their glass creations. He made many beautiful windows decorating the grander Nancy mansions and public buildings.

 Very soon we will wish Nancy goodbye and start our meanderings around the European waterways again. We have some visitors arriving on board in a few weeks and there will be more to tell. So we will keep in touch.

Marking time.

Winter was still with us on Matilda and the weather had been fairly cold but we were not too worried as we were going skiing. Once again we have booked a week in Labellemontagne’s resort at Hohneck near La Bresse in the Vosges.

We travel by train from Nancy to Remiremont, then bus to La Bresse and finally a taxi to the resort.

As the weather in Nancy was fine and sunny, albeit cold, we were relieved to find plenty of snow and ideal skiing conditions. Much better than last year.

We were fortunate this year to have a ground floor unit facing the slopes. We could ski up to our verandah, take off our skis and step inside.

The slopes were lit and busy till about 22.00 hrs (10 pm)

For those who don’t know, this is an electronic ski lift pass. You put it in a pocket in the left sleeve of your jacket and when you front the gates at the base of the lift, if it likes you, it will let your through.

For those who DO know, these usually cost many dollars – a day pass in Australia is between $80.00 and $120.00

This will make you all jealous, this one cost Peter 2 Euro ($2.75) as a refundable deposit and he skied for NOTHING. Of course being over 75 in age they thought he would not ski much. How wrong! Two weeks later and his legs and knees are still trying to recover.

To be fair, Margaret’s day pass only cost 21 euro. She is only a senior.

Back to Matilda and the preparation for the season continues:

The problem with a 105 year old iron boat is rust. And you never beat it! We have a number of chores to complete before the season starts. We have started some and painting is the most time consuming. There is some timber to varnish, the cabin roof and walkways to paint and the carpet under the bikes and on the rear deck both need attention. Also we are fitting a new radio – to keep us up with current requirements.

We have some visitors arriving in about a month and our cruising season will start. There will be plenty to talk about so we will keep in touch.   

Our Bordeaux adventure

Early February in north eastern France can be pretty grey! Nancy was cold, overcast with the odd shower of rain. Not cold enough to really snow but sometimes bitingly windy. We had things to do both on and off Matilda and life was at its winter’s worst.

We needed a break!!!

We decided to take a trip and see Bordeaux.

A map of France will show that Bordeaux is on the Garonne River close to where it joins the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic Ocean. Its climate is tempered by this and we were looking for some relief from Nancy’s winter.

We tried a different train from Nancy, this one a high speed train that stops between Nancy and Metz on its way from Strasbourg direct to Bordeaux. This meant a bus from Nancy to Lorraine TGV-  the name of the stop. We boarded the train about 0900 and apart for an unexpected stop near Paris where we lost about an hour, we were in our hotel 1630 (4.30pm). Not bad for a distance of about 850kilometres.

The weather was a bit of a letdown but we were very impressed with the city.

Bordeaux is the capital of the region of Aquitane. History shows that it has been a major settlement since the 3^rd century BC. The valley of the Garonne became the shortest and quickest route from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and the Romans had established a centre here in the 1^st century on their way to England

We found these Gallo – Roman remains of an amphitheatre commenced 2000 years ago

The Romans introduced grape vines to the area and the rest is history. Planting began in about 50AD and huge areas are now under vines. These areas produce many distinctive styles  - both white and red.

We decided to do the obvious and take a small English speaking tour and see some wineries and sample their wares. We joined a group of 6 other people – 5  Chinese and one Belgian and spent the day touring several districts.

We covered both the Medoc and St Emilon. These chateaux were everywhere.

  

Their production and display facilities were all state of the art. We were told that these concrete fermentation vats were a modern adaptation to assist in the control of the wine’s temperature as it matured. Peter recalled a family trip many years ago to the old Morris vineyards in the Rutherglen district in Australia and seeing concrete vats that were in use well before the second world war.

We stopped at a lovely out-of-the-way family run restaurant and had a high class three course lunch. Excellent food and very well presented.

We continued on to another area and visited the medieval village of St Emilion and the Chateau de Pressac, nearby. This chateau was where, in 1453 the surrender of the English was signed. This ended the One Hundred Years War and their occupation of this area. We talked with the present owner who produces some excellent reds. It is unusual that an estate of this magnitude is privately owned. Most are owned by large corporations. We were impressed.

Bordeaux has a number of historic monuments, the Porte Cailhau (upper) and the Grosse Cloche (lower) are just two examples of the many gateways to the old town.

 Of the many monuments and fountains around the city, we were taken by  Aux Girondins. This dramatic collection of bronze figures and animals, set in a fountain at the base of a pedestal with the Spirit of Liberty breaking out of the top was completed in 1909. The fountain was empty when we were there but it would have been a sight in the warmer months.

During the second world war, this fountain (and others in the town) were dismantled to be shipped to foundries by order of Hitler. Fortunately the transport was a little tardy and they all seemed to disappear. They were located after the war but this group was not reassembled until 1983

Another interesting landmark on the waterfront are these second world war U-boat pens. Originally built and used by the Italians and then the German navy, the base could hold up to 30 subs with full dry docking facilities. They are derelict today but remain as a reminder.

We thoroughly enjoyed our few days in Bordeaux and would recommend it as a place to visit. But now it was time to return to Matilda. We will have more to talk about soon, so we will keep in touch.