France 2014 | SALLEY MAVOR

During our visit to France, we spent a week navigating a barge along the Canal du Midi. There were were many locks to go through and each had a cute lock house, all with signature red tile roofs, and green doors and shutters.

The canal was beautiful, with tall plane trees arching over, creating a shaded waterway. Our excursion included 18 friends from home, 9 couples who were divided into 3 boats. The barges were like floating Winnebagos, with accommodations for sleeping, cooking and eating aboard. Like renting a camper, you are given a key and simple instructions and off you go! Some of us rode bikes along the side path, faster than the barges, which puttered along at 5 miles an hour.

Each lock had a keeper who operated the lock, which in this case lowered us down.

I was so taken with the charming lock houses! The canal took us to several towns and villages, which I’ll be showing in future posts.

Toulouse, France

We’re home from a wonderful trip to France, where we spent the first week gallivanting through Provence. Then, we piloted a rented barge along the Canal du Midi from just outside of Toulouse to Argens. Over the past couple of days, I’ve been culling through 1000+ photos, grouping them in my usual collections of windows, doors, streets, misc., etc. I thought I’d start the tour with the iconic images of French store fronts. I’ll be posting more photos over the next few weeks and will be sure to feature Polly’s adventures, too!