Wine round the Bend Burgundy Barge Delight.

While I was still gazing at the ceiling of my cabin, Captain Lee had been in the town of Auxerre purchasing fresh baguettes, croissants and discomfort chocolate. It is a fine fall day in France, still summer in the afternoons, with nights that provide a crisp reminder of winter to come.

Nick, our guide, had picked us up in Paris the prior day in front of the Hotel Ampre. We enjoyed a fizz welcome accompanied by freshly-baked popovers.

After meeting the crew and getting settled into our cabins, we explored the cobblestone streets and trendy shops of Auxerre.

At the junction of the Canal du Nivernais and the Brook Yonne, Auxerre was a significant city on the traditional north-south road thru France. It is a gigantic market city for lumber and wine as well as a crucial religious center. Its a hideous image, but fortunately something that's now a thing of the past as many of Europes quality campsites boasts all sort of hotel style features from cafes to bakeries to quality shops on site. These are some of the appetising treats you may expect while camping in Burgundy. If you regard yourself as a connoisseur, you may need to consider the black snails ( the very best of which are raised on grape leaves ) which are thought to be among the very best in France. The Cheese The cheeses are another fine part of the regions cuisine, and an extremely nice present to bring back from your vacation spent camping in Burgundy. The best ones are Chaource ( creamy and white ), St-Florentin, the orange skinned poisses and numerous sorts of goats cheese from Morvan. Barge speed is constrained to three miles per hour on the canals and 10 miles per hour on the streams. La Belle poque slides into a chamber to rest while a collection of gates at every end closes so the water level can be lowered or raised. This wood trade was the key stream of income for this area till the 1920s. As we glide by a rolling patchwork of green hills and pretty vineyards, lunch is served : quails in crme frache sauce, tuna pasta salad, caprisi salad, fruits, a white Savignon St-Bris and a red Chitry. "This is the one place in Burgundy To read this complete feature FREE with pictures cut'n'paste cut & paste this link : bourgogne in france Carolyn Proctor, Jetsetters Mag Columnist Read Jetsetters Mag at Famous Burgundy Reds to order travel visit Jetstreams.