We had some light overnight rain and woke to a cloudy morning. While Rita continued her studying, I went for a walk along the river shoreline to the north of our mooring, where many "holiday houses" were located. Not many people at home at this time of year (after the summer holidays), but it looked like a very pleasant place to live, especially if you could get a boat mooring out the front of your house!

Around midday, we decided to ride into Dole along the bikepath. It was a pleasant ride (even if I did have to stop a few times to tighten my pedal). When we got to Dole, we headed up towards the Mairie building, where Rita had an appointment to talk to someone about Scotch'n'Dry playing there later this month. Along the way, I went past a patch of small trees that were alive with pigeons, who were busy eating all the ripe berries that they could find. Normally, pigeons are very timid and will fly away when approached, but this lot couldn't care less how close I got to them - they just wanted to eat more berries!

After Rita finished her (successful) meeting at the Mairie, we wandered into the old city for a cool drink, then headed for the Basilica. We had seen the outside of the Basilica many times, but had yet to go inside, so today was the day. The inside of the Basilica had the same sense of solidity as the outside, and the organ was quite impressive. Sadly, there were too many people inside for Rita to bring out her flute - it would have been interesting to see what it sounded like.

Another reason for the trip to Dole today was to visit Jean-Paul Vernier, the artist who was sketching our boat a few weeks ago when we moored in Dole. We were interested to see what the finished product looked like, with a view to buying it (if the price was right). We had his address from his business card, and eventually found his house. But after we knocked for a while, it appeared he was not at home. As we prepared to leave, a face appeared at an upstairs window. It was his neighbour, and when we explained who we were looking for, he said we should try the door on the other side of the courtyard, which was where his studio and business office was. So we crossed the courtyard and tried that door, but again no response. Perhaps we will never see the finished product.

So we hopped on our bikes and rode back to Rochefort, where I enjoyed a beer and some peanuts on the rear deck, while I checked scores from the 4th Ashes Test. After missing the 3rd Test with concussion, Steve Smith had again saved the day, scoring 211 not out. He seems to be playing rather well, for someone who has been out of cricket for 12 months!

I also followed some of the happenings in the UK House of Commons surrounding the Brexit Debacle. What an absolute mess they are making of that country - I'm so glad I never got that British Passport.