The 12 of us gathered for a sumptuous four-course gourmet dinner, each dish seasoned, served and savored with elan. The artistically folded napkins were rivaled only by the several glasses at each setting aligned to designer specification. The conversation flowed as freely as the wine, laughter bubbling up and over the table like a fine bottle of champagne.
It was hard to believe we had met for the first time just a few hours earlier when we boarded our luxury barge for a week-long cruise along the waterways of France. This is not a “cruise” as most of the world defines it. The boat is small; the body of water of choice is canal, not ocean; there are no swimming pools or discos on deck; shipboard activities range from reading on the sundeck to reading in the parlor area. Yet according to every passenger aboard, the trip not only lived up to but exceeded expectations. A rare show of unanimity among travelers.
This particular barge, the Nenuphar — one of four operated by French Country Waterways, Ltd. — lumbers through a beautiful stretch of the Loire Valley on some of the oldest canals in France dating back to 1604. The waterways wind along tree-lined towpaths, past medieval villages, stately chateaux, rolling fields, and ever-famous vineyards.
All the senses are satiated, but taste and smell predominate, with wine and food the focus of the trip. Both lunch and dinner, exquisitely prepared and presented, are accompanied by a select red and white wine; at dinner, exclusively from Grand Cru or Premier Cru vineyards. The de rigueur Plat de Fromage, a selection of three different cheeses, is served up with as much reverence as the wine.
Each bottle of wine is tenderly caressed as its characteristics are lovingly described prior to serving. The table is hushed as it learns of the wine’s vintage, heritage, blush, fruity nose, supple taste, sweet aroma, lightness, elegance, finesse, its children, hobbies, indiscretions — whatever.
Comparable homage is paid to the cheese. There’s always your basic cow’s, goat’s and blue varieties, farm fresh, 5 months old, 2 weeks old, square curd, penicillin rind, pasteurized, unpasteurized, mild and nutty, light and fresh, tangy and robust — this is a cheese we’re talking about! But once I returned home, I found it hard to look at a glass of wine or wedge of cheese without wanting to know its entire history.
The French take their wine and their cheese very seriously. No doubt, if the barge were to sink, the crew would save the wine and the cheese first. Fortunately, this is not a concern in four feet of water.
When not actually eating, we participated in a surprising number of diverse activities, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs, sometimes as a group.
At any moment in time, I’d look around to see several people reading, a few playing cards and avoiding the discussion of politics, or maybe scrolling through their phones. Still others might be off walking or riding bikes along the towpath. And not surprisingly, after lunch, more than a fair number of passengers might just be napping. The fact that Wifi was only available topside – and at odd hours – bothered no one.
“Decadent laid-back living,” is how Irene Hosford, a lawyer from Dallas, Texas describes the trip. “The tension just rolls away. Especially just walking along the towpath – you see things you don’t ordinarily notice even if they’re always there.”
It is indeed the service, the attention to detail that distinguishes this company from other barge operators: from fresh fruit and fresh coffee to fresh flowers and fresh linens. And it is the crew, hailing from across Europe, who themselves worship French wines with more than typical enthusiasm, that sets the tone for the trip.
Captain Sam steers a steady course both at and away from the helm; Matilda brings as much grace to keeping your stateroom spotless as she does to the elegant presentation of wines and cheeses; Adrien, always there with a helping hand, whether tying up at a lock or negotiating a bike on or off the barge at just the right moment; Sabine, tour guide extraordinaire, imparts so much appreciation and enthusiasm to every attraction it’s as though she, too, is discovering it for the first time; and Millie, resident chef and culinary artist — “People taste first with their eyes before they taste with their tongues” — provides the centerpiece around which everything else revolves. But it’s Alice who offers to bring you a drink on the deck just as you were thinking you want one.
Literally true. I was sitting on the deck reading and lusting after a refreshing glass of white wine. And Voila – Alice appears with a glass in hand. I raised a very skeptical eyebrow. “Télépathique,” she explained in her irresistible French accent.
Delightfully planned excursions to French chateaux, abbeys or villages, or perhaps to a well-known vineyard for a wine tasting — after all, it had probably been at least an hour since our last sip of the grape — take up most of the afternoons. A dinner ashore at a renowned Michelin three-star restaurant provides a break from barge cuisine — not that anyone wants one. And everyone agreed it wasn’t close to comparable. So much for Michelan stars….
My husband and I chose to skip a tour of an artisan oak wine-barrel making facility because it sounded boring. Apparently, each sliver of wood is handcrafted and the artistry throughout impressive. The other 10 passengers spoke about the outing with reverence for the next two days.
We didn’t make the same mistake with the pottery factory outing where the totally hand-crafted creations, fashioned here since 1821, more resemble works of art than household furnishings.
Your typical French town lives up to storybook expectations — narrow cobblestone streets and windy alleyways; half-timbered, turret-topped buildings adorned with gargoyles and intricate iron work dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries; lace curtains in every window; flowers in every window box; pastry shops on every street corner, cafes in every square. You stop to absorb the history, only to have your reverie interrupted by a teenage girl with plum-colored hair and a walkman in ear racing by on rollerblades. So much for nostalgia.
Although on the surface, this is not a vacation for the person who thrives on activity — admittedly, the most exciting thing to happen some days may be that the barge goes through a particularly deep lock — somehow there’s always something to do.
Rich Genererson and his wife Marie from Venice, Florida have celebrated their five-year anniversaries aboard a barge for the last 20 years. “We enjoy the serenity of the surroundings and the comraderie of meeting new people. The food and the wine are just a bonus.”
Barge cruising is synonymous with slow. You could probably get to your destination faster by walking, but that’s not the point. Traveling by barge is about enjoying the process, reveling in the countryside, and mastering the fine art of relaxation. Oh yes, it’s also about the wine and the cheese.
For more information, visit www.fcwl.com.
