Pedalos, hikes and family visits

At the end of my last post, I'd returned to France, where I stayed for another two weeks, most of which has become a blur of activities surrounding the house. But rather than going into detail about our DIY efforts, I thought I'd share some of the more relaxing and enjoyable things we did, these being more interesting to most than how to dispose of rusting steel sheets and general ground clearance. 

The most unexpected delight was going for a spin on a pedalo along the Marne river in Joinville. My daughter, Mo, had been before, so we arranged to meet her there at the Quai des Peceaux (see the post before last) where the pedalos are 'parked'. We were already in Joinville for other reasons, so we arrived a bit early only to be puzzled by the lack of any sign of boats for hire. All I could see was a chalk board outside a restaurant saying "Pedalos ici".

"It all seems a bit vague. Shall I go and ask?" I said to Koos, who vaguely agreed this would be the best plan.

I entered the restaurant and went to the bar. Luckily, the girl serving assured me this was the right place to book, asked how many we would be and told me to come back at 18:15.

"Ici?" I asked, for certainty.

"Oui, ici, here," she said.

It still seemed a bit odd, but I supposed all would be revealed, which indeed it was. When my daughter appeared, she told us the pedalos were kept a little way along the quay behind a hut, which was why we couldn't see them. Sure enough, just after six, a young lass came out of the restaurant and led us round to the small craft. Judging by the looks alone, it's hard to think of them as real boats, but I suppose they are, technically, paddlewheel boats.

Anyway, we were all supplied with life jackets and the three of us, plus the two spaniels, Zoe and Mack, climbed on board and, after some undignified scrabbling around (on my part at least), we found our seats. Mo and I elected to be the pedallers, while Koos took photos and looked after Zoe. She, bless her, curled up between his legs and went to sleep, thus demonstrating her familiarity with all things floating. Mack, on the other hand, wanted to keep an eye on what we were doing, especially my steering. 

We didn't go terribly far, but we were out for 45 minutes and it was most enjoyable; in fact, much more fun than I imagined it would be. The river is really so beautiful and once out of the town, it is very natural. To our huge pleasure, we even saw a kingfisher skimming over the water – or rather, Mo did. With my dodgy eyesight I only saw a flash of blue, but given their rarity, I was thrilled to have caught a glimpse.

The photos below are just a few Koos took after the obligatory group grin pic taken by the girl who helped us. Incidentally, she told us she has a spaniel and it seems that almost everyone we meet in France either has or had American Cockers. Our dogs can do no wrong!

Then, at the weekend, my other daughter, Jo, joined us and we had some terrific walks. The first was to the remains of the old castle at the top of the hill overlooking Joinville. It's a pretty steep climb and one I'd failed to achieve earlier in our stay, but this time the weather was cooler and Zoe and I managed it with encouragement and urging from my girls of the "You can do it, Mum" variety (of course, I had to!). The view was worth every step.

Then the following morning, we took quite a hike through some wonderful woodland, although it transpired we were somewhat off the beaten track, a factor which was the more unfortunate when Jo lost her car key. A search by the girls ensued, but despite their efforts to retrace our steps, the key remained buried, probably deep in the forest. We just hope it won't unlock any anxiety traits among the resident wildlife (sorry). 

However, the loss meant some car shuffling so Jo could get back to the Netherlands for work, but we made a plan involving most of the family in cross border arrangements, and all was well.

My girls and all the dogs

And this was on the beaten track, so you can
imagine what it was like off it!

The last bit of fun we had was a family game of 'boules'. I've never played it before even though it's typically French. Mo had two sets of the heavy steel balls needed and we found a nice piece of flat ground down by the village hall. If you don't know it, the game is something like bowls, but it doesn't have to be played on grass and any old piece of smoothish ground will do. Great fun and lots of good natured ribbing. 

So that was it for my French adventure this summer. I'll fill you in on the rest next time, but for now, have a good weekend allemaal. Keep well, keep cool and have fun!