July 01 – Chateau Canet and Cruising the Canal du Midi

Our shore excursion today took us an hour into the countryside.  We saw sunflower fields along the way.  The flowers weren't facing the road so the effect wasn't as dramatic.  

The wonderful tree lined roads.  Lining roads with trees originated with Napoleon.  The shade from the trees protected his soldiers from the sun as they marched around the countryside.

And some photos of some villages we passed through.

We are visiting the lovely Chateau Canet on this shore excursion. 

The Chateau Canet grows both olives (a very small part of their business) and produces wine.  We met the owner out in the olive groves near some of the vineyards, where she talked about the operation.

Then we headed into the “cave”, which was an area full of stainless steel fermenters and other modern, industrial scale, equipment.  Didn’t seem like a cave but that is what the industry calls the wine production areas. 

And the resident dog spent some time sniffing around the operation. 

We had lunch out in the olive grove under a large tent (they host large events on the property).  Was a great meal and a great shore excursion.

Then we were back to the boat.  Near our dock was a map that showed the elevations of the locks along the canal. 

Then it was back on the boat for an afternoon of cruising on the canal. 

A highlight of the cruise was the Malpas Tunnel.  The tunnel was excavated in 1679, Europe’s first navigable canal tunnel.  It is 541 feet long and rises 26 feet above the canal’s water level.  There were towpaths along the sides through the tunnel.

Another magnificent dinner tonight.  We ate inside because it was just too windy outside to enjoy dinner on the upper deck.