There’s no rest for the weary. Even though we’ve been tied up in Dijon for almost two weeks we’ve had plenty to do. To begin with Julian’s father has been very ill. Julian had to rush back to the U.K. to help his mum, and see how dad was doing. At one point we weren’t sure if Capt. Julian would be returning this season. Fortunately his father has rallied, and is doing better. Capt. Julian has booked his flight back to France, and we are looking forward to his return.
While we’ve been on our own Lisa and I successfully moved Rabelo within the narrow confines of the Dijon Marina, so that we could get water. We filled her tanks and then turned her around and went back to our mooring. This was all done without any outside help, though we did have a lot of spectators. The maneuvering of our oversized floating home went without a hitch, and our confidence handling Rabelo continues to build. We enjoy the security that comes with having a professional captain, but at this point Lisa and I can handle Rabelo without any help.
“Filling Rabelo with water.”
“The view from our pilothouse at our Dijon mooring.”
“Our main salon with a painting that Lisa has been working on.”
We spent a couple of exhausting days painting the port side of Rabelo, and that was just the blue stripes. Julian and his girlfriend Nicole had already repainted the white portion of the hull. Now that we know Julian is returning we’ll let him finish the starboard side.
While here in Dijon we’ve been doing a lot more than just painting. Our friends Judy and David, who used to be in the wine business, set us up withan incredible private wine tasting. We drove about forty minutes towards Beauneto meet Christine Dubreuil at Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine. The family has been making wine since the 1800’s. They only use grapes from their roughly fifty acres of vineyards. When you consider that many wineries in Burgundy only own three to five rows of grapes, 50 acres is a lot of vines. While making wine in Burgundy may sound romantic it is definitely not all fun and games. This was the third year in a row that their vineyards where damaged by hail. This year they lost up to 80% of their Gran Cru (the very best) grapes. The damage to their other vineyards was less, but the losses ran from 25% to 70%. Christine and her daughter Clementine were so nice, and their wines were so delicious that we ended up buying fifteen bottles. That ought to last until our friends arrive next week.
“Lisa standing outside Domaine Debreuil-Fontaine.”
“Lisa wine tasting with Christine Debreuil and her daughter Clementine.”
“A smiling French Postman.”
“a clear stream running through a town along the Burgundy canal.”
“Lisa’s favorite merry-go-round in Dijon.”
-Tom Miller
Author of “The Wave” and “When Stones Speak”– Chuck Palmer Adventure novels
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About the Author:
Tom Miller graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science in Geology. He is a consummate adventurer with over 1,000 dives as a recreational scuba diver, and an avid sailor who has traveled 65,000 miles throughout the Pacific including the Hawaiian Islands. Miller has also cruised the canals of Europe on his canal barge and given numerous lectures on cruising the canals of Europe, as well as sailing in the South Pacific. Piloting is also an interest of Miller's, and He has completed over 1,000 hours flying everything from small Cessnas to Lear jets.