Actually, it was Condé-sur-Marne to Chalôns-en-Champagne to use the full names. Chalôns changed from sur-Marne to en-Champagne back in 1998. Clearly being associated with bubbly had a better marketing angle than the murky waters of the river Marne.
The guidebook from the tourist office in Reims had icons of a coffee cup, supermarket trolley and a knife and fork for the only town of note adjacent to the signed route, so I figured a detour may be in order. I had already had breakfast as the perk of staying in a B&B is the breakfast. However, in the afore mentioned town, the restaurant never materialised, the store was C’est fermé, and the adjacent cafe/pizza joint had a charred roof (C’est fumé perhaps?)
Lots of pleasant walking beside the canal today. It could have been for the whole day except for my overly optimistic diversion. After many miles of walking on tow paths, I realise that the appeal of a canal holiday in France would only disappoint: the canals are lined with trees, and the romantic idea of a coffee at a cafe while the locks are working their magic is an illusion. The locks are no longer manned, let alone sufficiently frequented to merit commercial activity. I did see some barge activity today, which was kind of exciting. The first one, as per the photo, was a classic DIY aquatic RV-ing, complete with the barge equivalent of the car being towed behind. The second one was clearly a commercial operation. The barge was immaculate, but there appeared to be only two passengers, with three crew (unless three guys inadvertently took matching shirts and shorts with them on holiday.)
Tonight I’m in the youth hostel, enjoying the irony of youth hostelling just two days after riding the TGV using the seniors’ discount.
I tried to do this post using the WordPress website, but after three failed attempts to upload the photos using the website, I have reverted to posting by email. WordPress seems to be designed for PC or laptop users with high speed connections. Field testing using a smartphone is proving that. Yesh!
Daily km: 20.7
2saunter 
I’m looking forward to seeing whether you follow the straight road or the VF after Chalons. Remember to bring a packed lunch!
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I packed a great lunch. Why do all communal kitchens have bags of pasta on the ‘share’ shelf? Anyway, this kitchen also had a big can of tuna on the shelf, so I hit the trail with a very large pasta/tuna salad to sustain me!
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