French Waterways – Canal du Rhone au Rijn – Dole

August 2016 – Time out in Dole

We spent three nights and two days in Dole. The first evening we located the tourist office where we got the usual city map, as well as the walking tour. Most French towns have a self guided walking tour marked out on the street by small brass plaques.

We were tied up next to another UK couple who invited us onto their boat for a drink. It was most interesting to see another boat, which was so completely different from Shangri La.

Saturday morning, we moved Shangri La across to the marina as planned, got the shore power connected and started charging up phones and computers, and the lock remote control. Most important. How did we live before without mobile phones?

Market Day

Saturday was Market Day in Dole. These local markets are becoming a bit monotonous now, but we did get some lovely fresh organic local produce.

The weather was stinking hot, to put it mildly, so there was nothing for it but to have an afternoon nap! Once it cooled down a bit, Karen and I headed for the Tourist Office and availed ourselves of the wifi to catch up on the outside world.

On the way back, we visited the Port Captains office to pay for the 2 nights. Worked out relatively expensive at 32 Euro, as the shower tokens were 3.20 euro each.
They turned out to be a waste as you only got about 2 mins shower time. Much better to shower on board.
There wera a number of restaurants in the town, but not much for us would-be vegans to eat.

There was a hot air balloon launching site just across the river, and we were entertained by the sight of several of these contraptions rising up into the sky and drifting off into the distance. All this of course, while sipping a Leffe beer or a glass of red wine on the back deck!

La Circuit du Chat Perche

Sunday we did the self guided walking tour – La Circuit du Chat Perche (Circuit of the Perched Cat) – (see picture of the brass plaque above) a title apparently inspired by the writings of one Marcel Ayme who spent his childhood years here in Dole. (Unfortunately he didn’t seem to be on my reading list). Anyway it was a pleasant and interesting walk, taking in many ancient buildings, the birth place of Louis Pasteur, some attractive gardens and an underground tunnel and spring dating back to Roman times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had heard much about Dole, and it was indeed a very attractive place, if somewhat touristy.

For a different slant on our travels see Karen’s blog – http://www.greenpointgreenie.co.za

Bon voyage.