Not the longest days’s trip we’ve done. We slid out of the
port at a reasonable hour, but with few signs of life aboard the dozen or so hireboats
there.
The river was very attractive in the morning sun, though
after a while the sky clouded over and there was a nip in the
breeze.
Quite a few boats had spent the night on the riverbank out in the wild. We would do the same, but are
having problems with the battery running our domestic services (including the pressure pump for the shower), and so really
need to be plugged in at a port.
We tackled the first DIY lock in the company of a hireboat
that had an extremely efficient crew, so not much winding for us. Then we
arrived at Cuisery.
To begin with there were rumblings of thunder, and even a
few spots of rain. But it went away, and after lunch we headed up the fairly
steep hill into the village.
Taking a brief rest after those exertions, I was joined by a
friendly cat.
Cuisery has a reputation as France’s fourth most important
book village, and certainly a lot of little secondhand bookshops had diligently showcased their wares. But not many
customers. In fact the place seemed pretty dead or dying, sadly.
We admired the town hall, the 10th century church
of St Pierre, and the tower that once stood proudly on the town's castle. Cuisery was sacked and
destroyed many times over the centuries, suffering particularly during the wars
of religion.
The 16th church has a fine exterior.
And also interior, though it was locked so we couldn’t get
in to have a closer look. The triptych over the altar is supposed to be beautiful, but it was difficult to tell from a distance.
After all that, we strolled down the hill and paused at
the harbour bar for refreshment. This area specializes in frogs’ legs so tonight we
plan to risk the Menu des Grenouilles.
Tomorrow we should reach Louhans.
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