Einville au Jard to Nancy

27 kms, 9 locks

We left the quay at Einville at a about 8.45, in tandem with Brunel, the very pretty 17m barge of Sue and Philip, and most important, their Bedlington terrier Dolly who is quite a character.

We ambled along in the spring sunshine 

Following in Brunel's wake

Watch out for floating trees!

Dombasle-sur-Meurthe

The canals are getting busier

The huge basin at Dombasle, built to accommodate barges waiting...

....to load/unload at the enormous Solvay factory

The cathedral at St Nicholas-de-Port

On the aqueduct over the Meurthe River

Fishermen on the aqueduct- they must have very long lines

A well-cared for lock garden

until the outskirts of Nancy where we stopped at a quay with bollards right alongside a huge Intermarche supermarket, and there just happens to be a Lidl supermarket next door.  We spent over 3 hours there.  After a hasty lunch, we went first to Lidl for the bulk of our purchases, then to the Intermarche for the a few items few items we could not get at Lidl.  Tempted by the easy access and ability to wheel the shopping trolley right to the boat, we stocked up heavy items such as milk, water, fruit juice, wine, canned goods, coffee, potatoes, onions….It was rather a long list!  Somehow I found place to store it all away.  This brought back memories of stocking our yacht for an Atlantic crossing! 

The Intermarche also has a fuel station with the cheapest diesel we have seen and it was time to topup up our diesel tanks again. So we borrowed a shopping trolley and wheeled our 2 jerrycans back and forth as we did in Pinon few weeks ago.

It was after 4.30 before we set off again.  Ian is complaining that the boat is so much heavier and more sluggish now!

Just 3kms further we stopped for the night at the Port de Plaisance in Nancy.  It is definitely not the cheapest place we have stayed at €15 per night for boat under 10m and €1.55 for a shower, but we saw lots of ne’er-do-wells hanging around on the banks of the canal, as you do in all large towns so we prefer to stay in a secure marina.