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Introduction
I'll present you my holiday experience of the last autumn holidays. We were in France, in the Burgundy. We made holidays on a boat of Connoisseur. Connoisseur is supplier, which offers boats to drive on the channel of Burgundy. This channel starts in Pouilly-en-auxois and ends in Laroche-Migennes. Everybody which is 18 is allowed to drive such a houseboat.
The Trip
We started early in the morning, because we had to be there punctual to get the boat. We drove by car to Venarey-les-Laumes were the base of Connoisseur is. We got there our boat. It was a terrible small one, but each boat is compared with a flat very small. We met our luggage into the boat. This is an acrobatic sensation, because you aren't really able to walk on the ship, naturally because of the space which you haven't got there. The weather was fine... I mean it was to fine, no, it was too hot. The thermometer climbed at about 28 degrees. After a long journey by car and an acrobatic action, you really feel death.
After a few instructions of the mechanic and the war of papers, our voyage began...
The Voyage
Our ship had two steering wheels, once in the living room in front of the ship, and the other one was a flying bridge. We decided to start our voyage on the flying bridge. We drove in the direction of Joigny, the little town in the end of the channel of Burgundy. When the weather is as fine as our weather was, is this a very nice experience. The water is as flat as a mirror, the sky is blue, the sun was shining and the water was splashing in front of the bow. But the work is waiting, then after the first 17 hundred kilometres we entered the first lock of this voyage. Entering a lock is a very difficult thing, if you don't know how to drive a ship or if the wind is blowing very hard. But it was no problem for us, then we got already used to it, because of our several voyages we made other times. The most impressing lock was the last lock. It was morning and a really stupid swan took his shower in the lock. When the water raised, the swan swam between the wall and the ship. The ship almost crushed the animal. I'm happy that it did not happen, then I don't think, that a splattered swan is a nice thing see.
The Channel And His Locks
The channel of Burgundy is a standing water. But this channel is not a natural work, it has been made of the humans work, better said of slaves. These channels of all the France were very useful for the professional skippers some hundred years ago. But today, the road and rail have detached the almost all channels in France. Because the terrain wasn't flat, they had to build locks. A lock lift and lowers boats without any energy. The ship enters the pool and the man of the lock closes the doors. This is a very stranger work, because you have to close them by a simple mechanism. When the doors are closed, the man opens the slide and the water raises or lowers. When the water level is equal to this outside the lock, you are able to open the doors. The ship is raised or lowered and leaves the lock. In Burgundy exists a stupid rule which says, that all the locks have to be emptied, this was our great chance, then we wanted to pass all the locks from the higher side!!!
Sometimes there are a lot of locks in the same section of the channel. I mean, there are always a lot of locks in the channel of Burgundy. But this has his positives aspects: Every day, I took my bike to drive along the channel. I drove about 20 kilometres a day. This holidays were some fitness holidays too.
The Burgundy
The Burgundy is famous for it wins and the food, like "living as god in France." But this saying is absolutely nonsense! In all our voyage we ate in only one restaurant. Compared with the Brittany is the Burgundy nothing. But this fact takes care of the purse an the body... And the wines, we did not even see one vine in our trip!
Autumn isn't a touristic season. We remarked this on the closed museums and stores. Most of the attractions were closed. So the holidays were very silent and we were able to enjoy our trip.
You know, that photographing is my hobby. Because of that I'd like to show you some slides, to show how our holidays were...
SLIDES
1. Ship
2. kitchen
3. surroundings
4. captain
5. channel
6. lock with mountains
7. trees
8. castle of Tanlay
9. entry
10. entry
11. entry
12. the place inside
13. iron door
14. inside
15. view of the helicopter
16. view of a window
17. living room
18. kitchen
19. lock
20. door of a lock
21. door of a lock
22. sortie of a lock
23. driving on channel
24. driving on channel
25. driving on channel
26. driving on channel
27. entry of a lock
28. last great ship
29. town
30. experience of Burgundy
31. Joigny
32. Joigny by night
33. Joigny by night END
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