“Bonjour, la belle fashionista!” I called out to an unlikely canal lock operator: a 20-something blonde who rewarded me with a smile and a wave.
But just like her more usual older male lock operator counterparts on the Burgundy Canal, she cranked the big lever to open and close the gates so our barge could be lowered to the next level.
I guess you could say she was part of the delightfully varied scenery on this six-day cruise aboard La Belle Epoque, a barge originally built in 1930 to carry logs from the Burgundy area to Paris and Amsterdam. Renovated in 1995 as a luxury hotel barge by European Waterways, Europe’s largest hotel barge operator, she now carries up to 12 passengers as she cruises along Le Canal de Bourgogne, south of Paris.
And what a memorable cruise, especially for food and wine lovers. For each meal we enjoyed, chef Brendan announced the details of the food courses while servers Lola or Carlo did the same for the 22 wines (open bar) and 19 cheeses.
After the first dinner, deckhand Albert set up one of the mountain bikes and a helmet for me so I could burn off at least some of the calories before it got too dark, something I did every evening – and also every morning, while Albert or Captain Jolanda was picking up a large bag of fresh bread and sweet treats from the nearest village bakery.
One day dawned windy, which meant no hot air ballooning, much to the relief of Sue, who was celebrating a late 70s birthday on the cruise. Instead, there was plenty of time to visit a small, local market as we wandered around medieval Noyers-sur-Serein, just one of the varied natural and historical sights and sites we encountered.
Whatever the weather, several of us made good use of the hot tub on deck with its hydromassage jets, and regular “Can I bring you anything?” offers from Lola or Carlo.
Yes, this was true luxury: Being water massaged in a hot tub, a cup or glass of our favourite beverage in hand, while the scenery drifted slowly by: Burgundy’s famous white Charolais cattle, hay in distinctive round bales, unharvested grain fields, bikers on the towpaths, locks to go down, bridges to go under.
On the van ride back to Paris after the cruise ended, we reflected on all our scenic and other experiences, on cruises large and small, and were quite content with the idea that less could indeed prove to be more if we were cruising on La Belle Epoque on the Burgundy Canal at 4 km/h.
For more information on river cruises, see europeanwaterways.com, toll free: 1-877-574-3404.
Mike Grenby is a travel writer who teaches journalism at Bond University on Australia’s Gold Coast: [email protected]
