Winter 2008

Barge Cruising in France: Each spring the luxury hotel barge "Hirondelle" begins her annual voyages through the charming countryside of Burgundy. Life aboard combines the food, drink and accommodations of a small country inn with the mobility of a well-appointed private yacht. When venturing onto land it is possible to walk along the canal path or visit the numerous small villages, grand chateaux and, of course, award winning vineyards. From the top of the hills one is able to survey the countryside, breathe in the invigorating air and muse on the way in which the land, weather and people of each region in France are responsible for producing their own distinctive wine, food and attitude.

Every six months I will give you a look at what I’ve been working on and organize the material around a theme. By sharing my experience of barge cruising in France I hope to encourage others to explore this delightful mode of travel. This story starts with my friend Marie who had orchestrated an elaborate present for her husband Dan. Their spur of the moment trip to Paris would really be the beginning of a magical week long journey with six friends in celebration of his birthday. To catch him off guard, we waited hidden in the lobby of their hotel...Surprise! Happy Birthday!...then off to the Gare de Lyon and the train to Dijon. Before sunset we were on the deck of the Hirondelle toasting our hosts and our own good fortune for having such generous friends.

As we cruised the Canal de Borgogne we relaxed and completely absorbed the lovely countryside through all of our senses. Each morning we awoke to a beautiful petit dejeuner freshly prepared by our chef Selby. The barge would begin its journey as we ate and later, when we entered one of the many locks, we would jump off and bike, jog or stroll along the canal pathway. Next to each lock was the lock-keepers cottage, often with a lovely garden as you can see in the photograph below.

After lunch we usually visited a vineyard in the Cote d’Or region of Burgundy, where the Pinot Noir wines are produced from that famously difficult grape. We learned about the terroir, a term for the combination of soil, climate and typography, that infuses the wine with a complex taste.

We also visited many chateaux and my favorite was the Chateau de Longecourt, a wonderful 12th century castle just south of Dijon. Our guide was Roland, the Count of Longecourt, whose family has lived there since 1631. The charm of the place was, in large part, due to the ambiance of faded glory as well as the self-effacing nature of the jeans clad Roland. Everywhere I looked there was a still-life worthy of a painting and I captured many on film for later enjoyment. One such scene was of a gathering of overgrown potted plants and crumbing stone work in the corner of the courtyard that is shown below.

My gift to Dan was going to be a visual record of his birthday cruise and, to that end, I had brought a sketch pad, watercolors and pencils. Here you can see the final product that I completed in the studio. The box contains, among other things, some small paintings of the places we visited, the people on the trip and the logo for the outfitters of our cruise: Afloat in France. In the center, a demi-bouteille of wine bears a label fashioned after that of the Chateau de Pommard where we all had purchased a case of wine. Surrounding the assemblage is a frame containing leaves and flowers gathered along the canal.

The approaching winter chill in the air yielded up a spectacular autumn and each morning we awoke to survey a new palette of colors as more leaves had magically turned red and orange during the night. The grapevines were the most breathtaking of all: a deep russet with accents of alizarin crimson shimmering in contrast to the few remaining clusters of ebony grapes. Some of the trees remained green and were festooned with large balls that reminded us of Christmas ornaments. Later we learned that they were bunches of mistletoe.

When we reached the city of Dijon, the first place on everyone’s list to visit was the mustard shop where they sell moutard dispensed fresh from a mustard tap in beautiful ceramic jars. Below is a recipe for using our special Dijon mustard--mailed to each of us from Paula, one of the members of our group.

Beet and Spinach Salad

1 1/4 pounds beets, trimmed and rinsed

1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon whole-grain dijon mustard

1 ounce spinach leaves, sliced (1 cup)

3 tablespoons toasted walnuts

1 ounce blue cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place beets in a roasting pan with water to 1/2 inch. Cover and bake until beets are easily pierced with fork, about 1 hour. Set aside to cool. Peel and rinse. Slice into 1/2 inch thick rounds, then cut into 1/4 inch sticks. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper, olive oil and mustard and toss with the spinach. Garnish with walnuts and blue cheese.

Bon Appetit!