Day-to-day life on the river is pretty laid back. We clocked a fairly constant top speed of 1 km every 7 minutes travelling upstream (the wiers reduce the river flow so that it is almost imperceptible), which works out at about 4.6 knots. At this speed, we needed to spend about 5 hours a day underway (including locking time) to make it to Pont a Bar in good time. This was pretty easy going, since we typically chose our evening moorings about 4 km downstream from the next town of interest.
After a leisurely breakfast, we'd typically pull out our stakes and make our way into the next down to stretch our legs ashore to find a boulangerie, an artisan patisserie, and once or twice a friterie for some authentic French Fries. Patisseries in France usually make miniature versions of their various tarts and cakes, which enabled us to sample a variety of these delicious treats without being overly gluttonous!
Most towns have either a public quay or marina where you can tie up for a few hours for free. Overnight stays often cost a few euros, but you can usually access the shore power, tapwater, and sometimes even showers and laundry facilities. Apart from topping up the freshwater tank every few days, we didn't really need the other facilities, as our boat had a gas-fired instant hot water service, and a reasonable handheld-shower arrangement.
Our first couple of stops were Hastiere and Givet, Givet being the most memorable and interesting due to the fortress and associated ruins that overlook the city.
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