When you leave the bassin at Castelnaudary, you're immediately at a set of 4 locks, so really straight into it. However, the massive difference with UK narrowboating I've done is that the lock gates and water flow is controlled by the dockmaster (l'eclusier, sometimes l'eclusière). So you just need to drive the boat in and … Continue reading First Day of Cruising →

A lot to catch up on already! Fortunately I have some time as the rest of the family are either snoring next to me or chain - going Peppa Pig in their cabin. We arrived to Castelnaudary at 2pm and had the boat explained to us. I'm not a complete stranger to boats but had … Continue reading Day 1 – An Intense Blur! →

One of the stops on the way to Castelnaudary is Villenouvelle. I suspect it's not a ville, and it sure as hell ain't nouvelle. I'm sure on the canal proper everything will be achingly twee and charming...we'll see!

Staying at the on-site hotel was a good move as waking at 5.40 doesn't leave a lot of fat before a 7.30 flight. Perfect timing really and the girls are pretty good travellers. A quick shuttle bus from Toulouse Blagnac then a bit of hanging around at Matabiau station and now on the train to … Continue reading Day 0 – Transit →

This is the first post I'm making on my transformational leave itself, but of course the journey began long before now. I will expound on some of these points in future, but as a summary to kick things off: The Enlightened CEO, Dilip DaSilva, of the company where I work, Exponential Interactive, launched a kind … Continue reading Day -1 →