Did we stay or did we go?

Sunday 28th May 2023

To cut a long story short we decided to go and left Digoin on Thursday 18th May.

There were good reasons to make the decision either way but when we arrived in Digoin we were relieved to find 1.6 metres of water under our keel. This means it won't accidentally run aground if we leave it for a week or two.

Added to that the marina feels like a safe place, lots of people around keeping an eye on things. Some of the so-called marinas we've visited have felt like ghost towns. There's nothing like having some neighbours to look out for the  things that can go wrong, like a loosened rope or an open hatch, while you're away.

Not only did the marina seem to be a good choice but we both had things to do at home.  Returning sooner rather than later would allow us to see to the business stuff that can't be done remotely so we will start the next canal knowing everything is in hand.

Finally, tidiness. We've 'ticked off' the Canal Lateral so when we come back we'll start a whole new canal, instead of getting half way down and then interrupting our journey.

So far, so good. I booked the air tickets to fly from Paris to London tomorrow. We went to the capitainerie and spoke to the harbourmaster Nicole. She was very helpful, telling us how to get to the shops and suggesting that it was cheaper to pay for two weeks than 10 days because the daily rate is so much more expensive than the weekly rate.

Having purchased our flights, the next thing to do was book rail tickets to the airport. French railways are renowned for their good service and cheap fares, right?

As we were setting off an Englishman who lives aboard a nearby barge introduced himself.  He told us a short cut to the station, then warned us that tomorrow was a public holiday which might cause some disruption. We live in a very small town in England with a pretty unreliable rail service so this didn't worry me. It couldn't be worse than Greater Anglia, surely?

The station was less than 10 minutes walk and we were optimistic. We even saw some restaurants open. I'd looked online but there hadn't been an option to book so we asked the woman behind the counter for tickets to Paris Charles de Gaulle for tomorrow. She gave us a look, then tapped away at her computer. 'It'll be 160 euros.' Ouch. That's a bit expensive but then we are booking at the last minute. 'Each. 320 euros please.' (I paraphrase, it was in French, apart from my bit). We told her we'd think about it, and she said that the booking office was closing in three minutes and wouldn't be open again until Friday. We still decided to think about it.

Igor and I sat in the evening sunshine studying Google Maps for inspiration. He discovered that the train from a nearby town, Moulins sur Allier, cost a fraction of the price and would take us to Paris. From there, we thought, we could just get the Metro, 'cos the Metro, y'know, works. I called the local taxi firm, Boris Taxi (yes, really). I told him what we needed and the answer was 'non'. He did give me an explanation but he spoke very fast and I didn't catch a word so I asked him to repeat it, slowly. This time I caught the words 'Je suis désolé'. That was enough.

We tried another firm. They asked if I'd called Boris. Then the same flood of fast French and 'Je suis désolé' again. They were désolé? Not as désolé as Igor and me.

What could we do? We had the tickets but no way to get to Paris. The only person we could think of to help us was Nicole at the capitainerie. We didn't even know if the office would be open.

Sometimes people surprise us in the best possible way, and this was one of those times. We explained our situation and she took over. She signed up to a ride sharing app, found us a lift and promised to take us to the next town along in the morning as otherwise we wouldn't be able to get there. What a hero!

She was as good as her word. Next morning at 9 she knocked on the boat and dropped us by a cinema in the middle of fields. A young man, cap on backwards and covered in tattoos stood smoking by a car. He was extremely polite and a good driver and dropped us in Moulins sur Allier an hour later.  We had time for a wander round and our train arrived a couple of minutes late and whisked us to Paris.

This is where it started to go bad. The Metro wasn't running to the airport and we were advised, after attempting to follow the directions on Google maps, to catch a tram and then a bus. The tram arrived but then we couldn't find the bus stop. There were roadworks, the whole area felt like a building site. We asked a couple of bus drivers who were waiting around for directions and eventually were directed around the corner. It was dirty, with homeless people trying to sleep among the rubbish on the broken pavements. A temporary bus stop had a few disgruntled people waiting with bags, and on checking we were told that this was the place to catch the airport bus. It was due shortly, at 15:39, so it was just a matter of waiting.

Time passed. More and more people joined us. We wanted to be at the airport for 4pm and the bus route would take 20 stops to reach terminal 2. Igor took the decision to call a taxi, which was a mighty relief. He had to sign up for an app, but it worked and ten minutes later we were on our way, watching the huge queue at the bus stop still staring down the road hoping to see their ride.

So there we were, finally at Charles de Gaulle Airport with time to spare.  We had a beer to celebrate. We relaxed and waited for our flight. The queue formed. We decided not to move until everyone else had boarded. We had no luggage to stow overhead so there was no point rushing. Once the queue had subsided we went to the desk with the fifteen or so people who had the same idea.  'The flight's been cancelled and you'll have to rearrange it.'

Disbelief! We ran back through passport control to the Easyjet desk. Nobody told us anything for ages, then word came that the flight wasn't cancelled after all, so we'd have to go back. Off we all trouped, back through security, got our passports stamped again and back to the departure gate. Again, nobody told us anything.

The Easyjet app was still showing the plane as departing on time despite the fact that it was half an hour after this should have happened. Eventually we were told that a replacement plane was coming to get us from Gatwick. We finally arrived in Luton Airport just before midnight, rather than at 6.30pm as we'd booked.

So, what did I learn?

Firstly, don't make travel plans for a bank holiday in France. There were four this month - May 1st Labour Day, May 8th Victory in Europe Day, May 18th Ascension Day and May 29th Whit Monday. I've already broken this rule, we're booked to travel back on 29th, but hoping that the motorways won't be too affected.

Secondly, check the whole journey before booking anything. If we'd done this we would have realised the extent of the public transport disruptions. Also, it may have been more direct to fly via Lyon as it's a lot closer than Paris.

Thirdly, we were reminded that there are some truly good people in this world and Nicole is one of them. I have no idea what we would have done without her help. What a great lady!

Also going above and beyond were our son Max and his girlfriend Bea. We originally invited them for a curry at 7pm in Mill Hill and asked if they could pick us up from the airport. Instead of this they picked us up at midnight and all we could get them was a McDonalds, then kept them up talking half the night and nicked their bed. More heroes!

So, all going well we'll be in France this time tomorrow, I'll keep you posted.

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