Paray le monial was the place Ariane and I met up with Sally and Tony Pritchett, grandparents of Sam who I know from back in Sydney. He had mentioned to me a while ago about his grandparents cruising around the canals of France on their houseboat and that I should stay with them if I ever crossed paths with wherever they happened to be. It seemed like something that would never get round to actually happening…and yet here I found myself, stepping onto this dream of a boat called Sable, with the coolest grandparents I have ever met.

We were spoiled so very much during our stay with the Pritchetts. We had our own room and bathroom to ourselves, were fed amazing meals (one night out to Vietnamese, coq au vin and thai curry made by sally, such a good cook) and got the treat of living on a houseboat, IN FRANCE, for 3 whole days. Going through the locks, sitting up the front with legs resting next to the French flag, eating some baguette and cheese, watching the effortlessly gorgeous French countryside go by, complete with cream cows and donkeys and little old farmers and fishermen in berets. Does it get better than this? No siree bob.

So we went from Paray le monial to Digoin, Ariane and I biked some of the way and it was so prrreeettty!!! We checked out the Loire/Saone museum and then stopped for the night. It was such a relaxing time being on the boat every day, such smooth living, I forgot about everything that I could ever worry about. It was very comforting. From there we went all the way along the Loire canals, through many a lock and many a frosty morning (-1 degree one morning when we stepped outside onto the icey grass to feed the ducks), until we came to Roanne, which is where they ended they grand 8 month tour for the year and leave their boat on the port.

Sally and Tony were so welcoming, so fun to get to know and this was truly a highlight of the trip, a very unique experience that I am so grateful for and that will be treasured. Oh, plus they taught us the legend that is the Mexican train game, a gift in itself.