18th - 22nd July. An early start to reach Rechicourt lock by 7.30 am. On to Parroy, Crevic and Saint-Nicolas-de-Port, before reaching Nancy.

Tuesday was our earliest start ever, as we set off at 5.30 am to complete the canal du Sarre.

Back on to the Marne au Rhin (est), this is a really pretty stretch of canal, just past the junction.

It is now sunflower time, as their heads follow the sun.

On to Rechicourt Lock 2 by 7.30. This lock was open at 7 am, but they like boats to share, so we had to wait an hour until 8.30 am, before we could descend the 15.385 metres drop.

We moored at Parroy at 1.45 pm, having completed 33 kilometres and 10 locks today – it is still Tuesday, and has been our longest sailing day for a long time. After a quiet afternoon, with some table tennis thrown in, we walked up to the nearby étang de Parroy to watch the sunset.

The next night we were at Crevic, and were surprised to be on our own here, as it has always been busy here previously.

Hey, you forgot to open the side for me!

This is our third time along this canal, and this is the view that persuaded us that we must visit Saint-Nicolas-de-Port, to see the basilica there.

Close to, it is even more impressive.

Inside, it is the sheer height which makes it stand out for us.

We moored with Peter and Barbara on Siyabonga, just before Nancy, then managed to squeeze both boats into the lock at 9am on Friday. Only going down is such a squeeze safe! We both then headed on the half mile to the supermarket, for a much needed top-up of everything.

Two trolleyfulls of food, and lots of diesel later, we continued on into Nancy, mooring opposite the main port. On this side it is free to moor!

We have been lucky with sunsets, haven't we?

This is the mairie, in daylight. It overlooks  the famous Stanislas Square in the centre of Nancy.

At night, though, it is brought to life by the Son et Lumière.

Shannon did not like this part though, with everything falling over!

It was time for a bit of culture, so we went to visit the Musée des Beaux-Arts. We were impressed by this picture, La Toussaint (All Saints Day), painted in 1888 by Emile Friant. He is a new artist to us, and makes his subjects look so real.

In the Museum-Aquarium de Nancy, this strange fish was the most interesting exhibit, though there were plenty more in second place!

The thunderstorm, which had been forecast, arrived a couple of minutes after I took this photo.

12th - 16th September. We continue our return along the canal towards Nancy.

Back through Arzviller tunnel, but no trains this time.

The approach to Niderviller tunnel is in perfect order – those strimmers have been out again!

What a lot of goats! We bought some goat cheese from this farm, and it is very tasty.

The church at Xouaxange had an unusual tower, which goes quite well with the unusual name of the village. We have not yet discovered the correct pronunciation for it!

Another pleasant mooring at Xouaxange.

It was busy at Rechicourt lock today, with three boats going down ahead of us, and another three waiting to come up.

We then had to wait for nearly an hour, in case any more boats arrived to share the lock. During this hour a boatowner climbed up from below the lock to demand, “Are you coming down then?” As there was a red light ahead of us, we told her that we would, as soon as we could. She seemed to think that we were just waiting there to annoy her and hold her up! She was probably on a schedule! As no more boats did arrive, we had two floating bollards to use in the lock.

Did we really come in through those gates up there??

We sailed on through the heat of the day to this shady mooring at Moussey. Andy is just tying a fender to the tree to protect the topsides of The Puzzler. This is a first!

Our next stop was at Parroy, where the weather was cooler at last. This is an extremely pleasant mooring beside a campsite, with a table tennis table too, although the wind made for some interesting games! Barge Henrietta arrived on Thursday, with a friendly English couple, who had heard of the imminent closure of the Embranchement, at Nancy. We had planned to take another couple of days to get there, as it would add 40 kilometres to our route, if it were shut.

By making an early start on Friday though, and covering 32 kilometres and 10 locks in seven and a half hours, we made it to the junction, near to this lock. These last few locks have different gates, with just one hydraulic paddle on each one. We are now moored just past the junction, near to the supermarket and garage, having spent the rest of the day in getting provisions from both of these.