Pissing people off

Today once again started with the away team cycling for boulangerie supplies. Then we had kilometres to make after our slow day yesterday. But to be clear, when your max speed is 8kph you’re not exactly speeding along.

We have become adept with locks, a well oiled machine. I was on helm today while Peter jumped onto locks and Jane and Jennifer thew ropes.

Our first cultural exchange came as we motored down a very beautiful stretch of canal and a Frenchman screamed at us for going too fast. For clarity we were at that point being overtaken by a granny using a Zimmer frame.

A bit later we got shouted at again. This time it was a boat full of people, who turned out to be German, who thought we were jumping a non-existent queue.

International relations were better on the other side of that lock when we turned around to rescue some English people who had run aground.

In the afternoon we visited an adorable vineyard. The owner who showed us around was a beautiful older woman whose family had owned the estate for generations. She showed us around, chatted away and introduced us to her wines. It was utterly charming.

We had to do some clever fiddling to get our bikes back on board and then headed down to Carcassonne. Safely moored, we were cleaning the boat when one of neighbours – a South African – managed to make a sexist comment which created a seething mass of Jane which was only  somewhat aussaged by French Champagne on our upper deck.

Jennifer has meetings this evening so abandoned us for a hotel (it is a common thought that the meetings are a ruse, and she’s really just going for a proper shower). Jeane, Peter and I had an excellent Lebanese meal in the heart of Carcassonne and managed not to find another culture to annoy (that we know of).