Wine Round The Bend Burgundy Barge Ecstasy.

A sizeable white swan approaches cheerfully, followed by a few mallard ducks. Having no bread to supply, I speedily close the window. After a shower in the tiled loo and rub-down with a thick nautical blue towel, I head upstairs. On an antique oak sideboard in the primary salon hostesses Fanny and Barbara have laid out a breakfast of granolas, yogurt, and fresh fruit. La Belle poque is one of one or two luxury canal barges operated in France by Western european Waterways.

It is a fine fall day in France, still summer in the afternoons, with nights that supply a crisp memento of winter to come. A two hour journey by minivan through rolling French country had brought us to the medieval city of Auxerre, where La Belle poque and her crew awaited. We enjoyed a fizz welcome accompanied by freshly-baked popovers. At the junction of the Canal du Nivernais and the Brook Yonne, Auxerre was an important city on the traditional north-south road through France. Its a unpleasant image, but fortunately something that is presently an outdated thing as many of Europes quality campsites boasts all sort of hotel style features from trattorias to bakeries to quality shops on site. The Protein The key protein in the area is the Carollais meat cattle, and as such carnivores are assured sizeable rich portions. Regularly this is often combined with quality wines, like in the eponymous boeuf bourguignon, a normal recipe of the area mixing these 2 fine elements with baby onions, bacon and carrots. If you think of yourself as a connoisseur, you may want to consider the black snails ( the very best of which are raised on grape leaves ) which are regarded as among the very best in France.

The Cheese The cheeses are another fine part of the regions cuisine, and a really pleasant present to bring back from your vacation spent camping in Burgundy.

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