Milk To Go: Canal de Bourgogne / The Burgundy Canal ... continued...

I love watching the girls go through the locks. They are enthusiastic, like to help and love yelling “merci” or “merci beaucoup” and “au revoir”. The lock keepers always has a special smile after hearing MJ and Phia calling out to them. Kids break through all boundaries.

Today was a bit of a “taking care of business” day. We hooked up for electricity and water and Peter went into town for some groceries. Madelyn had a shower and hair wash (a little logistically challenging in our bathroom/shower room combined) and so did the grown ups. But we arrived this evening in another magical, quaint, old and tiny French village with a big chateau that… damn it!... is closed tomorrow and we won’t be able to see. We did plenty gawking through the gate though. We also had a delightful night eating together, laughing and telling stories. Madelyn and Sophia often ask us to tell them a Real Story. A Real Story is a story about Peter and I's past – The Time of Pre-MJ/Phia. Tonight we told the story of Peter and I meeting and getting engaged. It brought lots of bashful laughter and squeals. It melted our hearts and reminded us why we do this. Traveling with kids is never easy, but it is worth it.

History is a complicated concept when you are 3 and 6 years old. The understanding of 500 years old, 1,000 years old is pretty abstract. They understand time as either now, when Grandma and Grandpa were little kids and then “a long, long time ago.” They are definitely absorbing that visual, emotional and visceral understanding that I am sure will resonate through their lives. You know those memories of childhood that are more impressionistic than specific?

Phia has started making up words. “Phisual means cat in French Mommy.” “Taluae means princess in German Mommy.” I find this hilarious and sweet, but also an example of her “trying out” this new idea of different sounds meaning the same thing. It is something European kids learn at a very young age, but our American kids aren’t really exposed to until they hit Middle School.

Madelyn is asking complicated questions about God, church and the story of Jesus. European towns are often seeping in Christianity. Ancient homes have Jesus and Mary carved directly into the facades. Village centers, fountains have Christian ornamentation . Every town has one or more churches in the center of town and their bells chime their presence all day long. As soon as Madelyn is well and we can travel into the third world again, I look forward to introducing the girls to Christianity’s place in the Great Systems of Belief.

I love this boat. Living in a small space has always appealed to me: efficiency and no excess. The boat is great because you can create a home environment, but yet be mobile. Did you know on the canals and rivers in France you can travel from Bordeaux, to Provence, to the Loire and Burgundy, into Paris and north into the champagne region and over into Alsace? It is a wine lovers (me) dream, but also a new adventure when Peter and I are Sans Kiddos. We will definitely spend 6-8 months navigating the French Waterways. We met a couple from the UK who has been doing it for 5 years since retiring. The company Editions du Breil (http://www.carte-fluviale.com/) have created amazing guides and maps of each region. It tells you where each bend in the canal is, where each lock is and where you can find a Boulangerie! It tells you where marina’s are, electricity, water, supermarkets, moorings and anything else you might want to know/do.

The girls are also very happy on the boat too. They have their spare amount of toys that they use to their utmost utility, they have their cute little single bunk that have decorated with daisy chains and pictures. They have parks with play grounds, they get chocolate bread every morning (Nutella on baquette), they ride bikes, they meet new people and explore and learn and have new adventures every day.

~Lisa

July 10

Some scenes from the "road" :

rainy day

life is tough. morning cappuccino on the deck.

Holding the boat on the side as we wait to go into our next lock.

Sometimes there were lines of boats waiting...

The Skipper.

Pit Stop.

Look out Elvira.

ancient bathhouse

the old and the new

This lock house is being lived in and beautifully kept.

They sold local wine and jam to boaters.

Turned the bend into the town below and the girls saw this :)

working on her "writing" on deck

Mommy! Stop taking pictures!

Here is an example of a typical barge boat that people live on.

After a few days on the road we were much more confident maneuvering the boat. We were SUPER proud of ourselves for squeezing our boat into this small spot left at the marina that night.

Front of the boat.