Food

Castelnaudary Part One – Getting there from Toulouse, 30 June to 3 July

Port Saint-Sauveur vanishing bike act; champagne at Castanet; Bo Peep and her boathook; my many and multifarious roles; lunch hour rules; important-little-towel philosophy; sympathetic éclusier at Sanglier; Le Diné at Port-Lauragais; the insightful M. Riches from La Rochelle

In the wee hours of our last day in Port Saint-Sauveur, Toulouse, neighbour Hans (Comtesse) had a bike nicked from our shared pontoon. In full view of the surveillance camera, someone had come through the gate – must have had a key – and carried the thing away, lock and all.

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Everything Toulouse! – 24-29 June

Welcome to the Canal du Midi; high drama in Bayage lock; Victor Hugo market; Toulouse dry docks; IKEA is cool; double martyrdom at Saint-Sernin; cultural cuisine at L’Ouverture

Having waved off daughter Wendy, who was returning to her job in Marseilles, we set off from Grisolles. Lock Emballens was followed by Castelnau, l’Hers – and it was at L’Hers that Roy resolved to push on to Toulouse, rather than moor somewhere overnight. (L’His decision, not L’Hers.)

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Easing into Summer 2019: Moissac to Montech, 12-21 June

 

Summer itinerary; travel travails; party people; broken bones; fetching the Twingo; music in Montech

Summer plans

So, after two months in Durban, what’s on the cards for the next four months in France aboard Karanja? Nothing hectic, it must be said. We’ll start the cruising season by heading eastwards along the Canal de Garonne to Toulouse, and spend a week in that lovely city. Then we may continue along the Canal du Midi to Castelnaudury for a few nights, before retracing our steps back to Montech. There, you can  join the Canal de Montauban, which takes you to – you guessed it! – Montauban.

Flashback to August last year, aboard Karanja on the Tarn River

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Viking Sun Cruise: Sydney to Durban – Part 4, the Three M’s

Mauritius, Madagascar and Mozambique – how exotic they sound! And after eight days of prolonged pampering at sea, we were itching to go ashore at Port Louis.

#1 Port Louis, Mauritius

It’s only a four-hour flight to Mauritius from Durban, so it may be surprising that this was my first visit to this African island.

Berthed in Port Louis, Mauritius – and taking on fuel from that bunker barge alongside us

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Viking Sun Cruise: Sydney to Durban – Part 3

From Perth’s port of Fremantle, it’s eight straight days at sea to Mauritius. Roy had been looking forward tremendously to the many sea days on this cruise – around 15 in total – and he wasn’t disappointed.

What can one say about eight days at sea? On Day One, the prospect seems endless… endless in a good way, if you’re a hardy sailor such as Roy; but if like me you’re already popping the Kwells and calculating whether your stock is sufficient to last all the way to Durban, it may not be an unalloyed delight.

Here’s how the Indian Ocean should (but doesn’t always) look

That said, after a couple of days of wind, high swells and general queasiness, I’m happy to report that the sun came out and the Indian Ocean unruffled its feathers, settled down and suddenly turned the mesmerising shade of blue that it should be.

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Viking Sun Cruise: Sydney to Durban – Part 1

After three months with the family in Perth WA, how comes it that Roy and I are indulging in such an extravagantly long cruise?

Well, my Chief Planner of Travel & Leisure found a ship that could take us from Australia to South Africa – the Viking Sun would be docking in Fremantle port during the 28-night Sydney-to-Durban leg of her Miami-to-London world tour.

Just one leg of Viking Sun’s 2019 World Cruise itinerary: Sydney to Durban via Hobart, Geelong, Adelaide, Albany, Fremantle, Mauritius, Madagascar and Maputo

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Margaret River Getaway, 11-13 February

Famous for its world-class wine, cheese, chocolate and surfing beaches – almost everything that makes life worth living – the Margaret River region, around three hours south of Perth, WA, is a place to visit and revisit whenever the opportunity arises.

This time, it arose from my inbox in the form of an irresistibly priced Groupon for three nights at a hotel called Stay Margaret River. ($429 for three nights in one of their big Deluxe Rooms, and that included a $75 F&B voucher and a bottle of local wine.)

Brookwood – just one of 187 wineries in Margaret River

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