Sunday 26th August Gissey-sur-Ouche to La Bussiere-sur-Ouche

Trip 8kms Departure 10am Locks 8 of 410

A lovely breakfast of crumble yoghurt and egg cheese and ham crepes before we set off with Dave at the helm. He negotiated his first lock like an old master and the trip to La Bussiere was delightful except for a chill to the breeze and an overcast sky in the morning.

La Bussiere was a pretty little town and we moored just past the lock. Sadly we missed the boulangerie by minutes as it closed at 12.30. No more fresh bread for a couple of days then I pondered with it being Monday tomorrow.

The sun had burst through and it was now a lovely hot sunny day. We sat down to a fabulous cheese board including, eppoisse, langres, the bomb, roquefort, puy angloys, and pepper boursin and some sanglier and crab pate with the bread and sun dried tomatoes, cornichons and yellow chilis. Bloody super!

We strolled into the village, home to a Cistercian abbey and Eglise. The abbey was now an exclusive hotel and michelin starred restaurant. It looked mighty fine. We stopped and chatted with a couple from salisbury who had bought a gorgeous old property in the village and were busy still renovating after 7 yrs of ownership. They we very charming and we were invited in for a tour of the house and cup of tea. We gracefully declined although the girls were bursting for a nose really. Next stop was the cemetery. It had suffered serious storm damage and land slip and was being renovated. We discovered 7 commonwealth war graves. Dave suggested it must have been A lancaster bomber shot down killing all the crew on august 13 1943.

We toured the cistercian abbey and enjoyed the old town square

and views of the enormous dovecote in the hotel grounds. A huge mystery house like something from a scary movie was all but hidden by massive trees and our salisbury friends confirmed on our way back to the boat, that indeed it was a mystery house as nobody apparently knew the owners.

On our return It was time for Dave and I to take the folders and retrace our steps to get his car. Back at Gissey, we bumped into Francoise who had been walking his dog. Nice to see him again and we exchanged pleasantries.

Back at Doucette, it was time for dinner. Gin and tonics flowed and we sat down to starters of avocado and crab. The beef was cooked on the cob to a medium rare. Collette cooked the squash as per instruction and added the rest of the haricot, potatoes and the courgettes I sliced and cooked on the cob with the beef. Dave and I knocked up a sauce from the meat juices and some mustard and merlot and we had just the most stunning meal. The squash was a massive success and I recommend you try it if you can find it.

We had more cheese and biscuits for dessert.

We all went to bed at 1am very drunk and very satisfied with life.

 

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