Moissac in the Midi-Pyrénées region of southern France.

After waiting 2 days for a new throttle cable from Marseille, we continued on our way & spent the night at a quiet bankside mooring. The next day we did a side trip on the Montech/Montbauban canal to Montauban, which is a delightfull city with a large pedestrian area. We bought a new TV dish as the previous one was broken under some trees when the throttle cable broke.

Last year an old lock was reopened. Now boats can go into the Tarn River, so we travelled the 9km's up river & had  a very peaceful stay. The next day we returned do the Garonne canal & arrived in Moissac today. This is where we will be leaving Cezanne for the winter. We are also leaving Cezanne here when we go to Bordeaux & England,later in the week.

Location of Moissac in France.

Garrone Canal

Yesterday we left Toulouse & the Midi & are now on the Garrone canal.

Garonne Canal

We enjoyed our  5 Days stay in Toulouse.  It is a city full of high rise apartment buildings. The port, which is very pleasant & well run is in the city centre. There were interesting shops & all the buildings which we saw looked well cared for. There is a large park near the Port. On sunday we went to a big market. We bought  some catalanise olives which Barry says are the nicest olives he has ever tasted.

Toulouse.

As we neared the 8th lock on the Garonne we lost our throttle control. As a result we did not have enough power to either steer or reverse. We have found a person who can get us a new throttle cable. Maybe tomorrow it will arrive in Toulouse. Meanwhile we are securely tied up with the main railway line 25 M  from Cezanne. It is not so bad as there are very few trains during the night.

location of where we are stranded with no throttle, train line is behind the trees...

 Location of where we are stranded with no throttle control...

close to a castelnau-d'Estretefonds  which looks like it might be worth a look... a little village just nearby, with population 5000 and a castle.

Downhill to Bordeaux

 It is now all downhill to Bordeaux.

The canal du midi is picturesque with plane trees along both sides. Some of the tress have a virus & are being cut down.

There were vineyards in the fields until Homps.---10 days after leaving Agde.  The small villages along the way all had wine sales of the local wines. Most of them sold wine on tap. We could take along a container to get filled for a minimal price. Now in the fields there are young sunflower plants, cereal crops & sweet potatoes, growing.

We have had a variety of weather. Hot sunny days & cool days. Now we are having a thunderstorm & rain.

All the locks, which are an oval shape, have been uphill but oday we reached the summit-----------the parting of the waters between the 2 seas. The Mediterranean & the Atlantic. Now it will be downhill locks which are much easier.

In 1663 Pierre paul Riquet, a salt tax collector, travelled to Versailles & was able to convince the finance minister & Louis X1V of the value of his project to build a canal joining the 2 seas.

The digging began in 1666. The canal was filled with water in 1681 & has operated without interruption since then. Most of the original constructions are still present. There are many little humpback bridges, built on a shoe string at a time when Riquet had no more money.

Today we visited an obelisk erected by Riquet's descendants in the mid 19th century which commemorates his incredible achievment. He died 6 months before the canal was opened.

A plane tree ringbarked, ready to be removed.

Cezannes, parked for the night beside a humbacked bridge.

Grapes growing beside the canal.

looking over the bow, where we are parked for tonight.

The parting of the waters.

The Obelisk dedicated to Mon. Riquet.

In Castelnaudary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castelnaudary

Carcassonne

We had a big day yesterday& have arrived at Carcasonne, where it is very warm, early this morning, to do some shopping. 
Cezanne is parked under some plane trees which helps to keep us a little cooler. 
A few days ago we had a little experience with the 'bumper boats'... when a hire boat came into a lock behind us & forgot that it had to stop!!!!!!!!! Barry had his rope around the bollard, then the cleet on the boat & I had temporarily tied the stern rope on. Cezanne was hit with such force that Barry says his arms were almost pulled out of their sockets. Our bicycles were tied at the stern but moved forwards & the stainles steel railing at the stern has a slight bend in it!
On the canal du midi, until we get to Toulouse, the locks are all an oval shape & are more difficult to tie up in, than straight sided locks. They were built like this during the 17th C, for extra strength & take 3 or 4 boats.

We are looking forward to the canal after Toulouse, which everyone tells us is much nicer. Not many private boat owners like this section.