Eating Well on your Camping Vacation in Burgundy.

Wine round the Bend Burgundy Barge Bliss Read Jetsetters Mag at beaune vineyards To read this whole feature FREE with photographs cut'n'paste cut & paste this link : Famous Burgundy Reds Reflected daylight from the water outside dances on the chestnut ceiling of my cabin the 1st morning I awaken aboard the luxurious barge La Belle poque.

I am getting up to look out the open porthole window and am met with a friendly squawk. A massive white swan approaches expectantly, followed by many mallard ducks. On an antique oak sideboard in the main salon hostesses Fanny and Barbara have laid out a breakfast of granolas, yogurt, and fresh fruit. Whilst I was still gazing at the ceiling of my cabin, Captain Lee had been in the hamlet of Auxerre purchasing fresh baguettes, croissants and pain chocolate. La Belle poque is an example of many luxuriousness canal barges operated in France by ECU Waterways. It is a fine fall day in France, still summer in the afternoons, with nights that provide a crisp reminder of winter to come. This up to the minute hotel barge carries just 12 passengers, with 6 crew to look after each probable passenger need. At the junction of the Canal du Nivernais and the Stream Yonne, Auxerre was a crucial city on the ancient north-south road thru France. It had been a large market city for lumber and wine and a vital religious center. Many folks I meet are convinced that camping vacations are still hosted in wet fields, where food is tough to cook as conveyable stoves fail to light in the damp weather. Its a horrible image, but thankfully something that is now a thing of the past as many of Europes quality campsites boasts all sort of hotel style features from restaurants to bakeries to quality shops on site. The Beef The main beef in the area is the Carollais meat cattle, and as such beef eaters are warranted huge rich portions. This style is repeated with lots of other dishes, and if your French isnt that good, watch out for the phrase "a la Bourguignonne". There are lots of other meats if you are not a chicken or meat eater, assorted hams, hare, calf head and even some brook fish usually poached in white wine, with bacon, onions, garlic and butter. Finally naturally, there are the snails, and though many of us will turn their noses up at them, the common-or-garden escargots are delicious, served as they are stewed with Chablis, carrots, onions and shallots, then crammed with garlic and parsley butter. The best ones are Chaource ( creamy and white ), St-Florentin, the orange skinned poisses and numerous sorts of goats cheese from Morvan. Because canal barges were originally pony drawn, poplar trees were planted along the way to guard the horses from the sun. This wood trade was the main source of revenue for this area till the 1920s. The canal saw the last of its merchant traffic in the 1970s. After lunch there's another lock, and whilst the barge rests we pile into EU Waterways' minivan.