Tell me: how bad would it be to wake up in the morning, step out on the deck of a luxury hotel barge, and see this:
So began our second full day on La Belle Epoque, the European Waterways hotel barge on which we spent a week cruising the canals of Burgundy, France. We ended the first day docked in Lézinnes for the night. If you would like to catch up on the trip so far, here are the previous blog entries.
The agenda for the day included breakfast (good thing; you don’t want to see me before breakfast and coffee), a morning hike with Eric Bonal from The Wayfarers, a cruise from Lézinnes, past Pacy-Sur-Armançon, lunch along the way, docking for the night in Ancy-le-Franc and visiting the famous Chateau there.
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It was a gorgeous day for a hike and the countryside was beautiful; nothing but small villages, farms and woods. It was fall, so the hay was being harvested.
I don’t remember what the name of this little village was, but we saw many like this scattered across the Burgundian countryside.
Wheat was planted in large fields all along our route, so it was no surprise when we walked by a grain storage and processing facility.
My fellow passengers enjoyed the walk, the fresh air and the views.
There was a lot of mistletoe in some areas.
Mistletoe is a parasitic plant, drawing water and nutrients from the tree it grows on. Too much of it will kill the host. Mistletoe has played an important part in mythology and religion since the time of the ancient Greeks, through the Druids and the Vikings, right up to the modern tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. You can read nice summaries of these beliefs and customs by clicking here and here. Mythology aside, we have learned that mistletoe is not just a parasite that damages trees, but is an important part of the ecosystems it lives in. It provides food and homes for a variety of important birds and insects.
Soon we were back on the tow path running along the canal, meeting up with La Belle Epoque, which had set sail while we hiked. This is one of the great things about barge cruising. You can get off the boat and walk or bicycle along the canal and easily catch up to the barge as it goes through a lock.
You’ll find some more images taken on the hike in the gallery at the end of this article.
Back on board, we were soon cruising toward Pacy-Sur-Armançon.
We passed under many bridges in our trip along the canal. All of them were narrow and short. Barges (or boats of any kind) that wanted to sail on the canal had to be narrow and low enough to get through these bridges, which were not built to raise and lower in any way.
Can you see how the canal actually narrows under the bridge? The barge often cleared these narrow portions with literally no more than an inch or two (2—5 cm) on each side. There was not a lot of room under the bridge, either, as you can see here:
That’s the bridge over Susan’s head as she sits on the deck. There was never enough room for even a short person to stand under the bridges, and one was so low that the wheel of the ship had to be folded down to make it under.
See the wheel in Michael’s hands in the image above? It was too high to get under one of the bridges on the canal!
After the hike, most of us just rested on deck and watched the scenery go by. By now we had passed Pacy-Sur-Armançon and were moving on toward Ancy-le-Franc.
For Eric, however, the morning walk, which was more than long and vigorous enough for most of us, was just a warmup. As a Wayfarer guide, he is used to hiking all day up and down the sides of mountains. He jumped on a bicycle (there was one on board for every passenger) and rode up and down the tow path…
…until he met us a couple of locks down the canal.
Most of the locks had a lock house for the lock keeper to live in. When the canals were in heavy commercial use and before radios, telephones and cell phones made communication up and down the canal easy, lock keepers had to remain at the locks constantly. With cars and cell phones, they can live some distance away and easily manage the light boat traffic these days. Still, some of the homes are quite large and lived in for most or even all of the year.
At this particular lock, the lock keeper’s wife made and sold jams that our barge crew insisted were among the best in France.
The crew was right. The jams (confiture) made of plums (mizabelles), cherries (cerises), apricots (abricots), three red fruits (trois fruits rouge) and oranges (marmalade d’orange) were all delicious. We had them every day at breakfast on the trip. She also made and sold spice cake (pain d’epice) and olive oil (huile d’olive). Pain d’epice is a very common French spice cake or quick bread made with honey and spices for which there are a thousand variations. The type of flour, the type and amount of spices and the size and shape of the loaf vary widely, but I have never tried one that wasn’t darn tasty. Here is a recipe for Pain d’epice that uses ingredients that are readily available in the US and is as typical as any.
By now it was lunch time, which means it’s also time for a small glass of wine as an apéritif. (Hey, we’re in France and not driving. Wine with lunch is not discouraged, but assumed.)
Sipping Burgundy (I’ll tell you which one in a minute) in Burgundy, on the deck, watching the beautiful scenery roll by while we contemplate Chef Katy’s lunch menu. Yeah, life is hard.
As it happened, we sat down for lunch just as we were passing through another lock. As we moved down the canal, the elevation went up each time we passed through a lock. As we entered, each lock, it was at its lowest point, so we looked out at the walls of the lock like this:
Quite interesting to stare out at a plant-covered concrete wall just inches from the window! But enough of that; the first course was served: Leek and Bacon Parcels.
Sautéed leeks and bacon baked until crispy in a phyllo wrap and served with a little butter and herb sauce. Delicious. These parcels are easy to make, especially if you use store bought phyllo, wonton wrappers or even soft tortillas as the wrap. The filling can be almost anything your imagination can dream up. Well, anything that won’t melt away when baked. Substitute pancetta or even prosciutto for the bacon. Don’t eat pork? Substitute chicken or beef. Add some garlic or swap out the leeks for onions or scallions (green onions). Goat cheese works great if you want to go meatless, or mix some bacon into the goat cheese if you want. Add some herbs if you like. Once the filling is ready, spoon a little into your wrapper of choice, wrap it up and pop it in the oven. Once you master the basic technique, you can create your own parcels or “beggar’s purses” as they are sometimes called. Click here for a recipe for Goat Cheese Phyllo (Beggar’s) Purses that will get you started, then get creative.
But wait! Did we forget the wine? Of course not! How about a 2011 Bouchard Père & Fils, Pouilly-Fuissé, Chardonnay, Burgundy, France?
If you have read earlier entries in this series you know that, with few exceptions, white wine from Burgundy is made with Chardonnay and red wine is made from Pinot Noir. You will find Pouilly-Fuissé on the map of Burgundy at the southernmost end of the region in an area known as the Mâconnaise District, named after the town of Mâcon. (Thanks to winefolly.com for the use of the map.) The best wines from this area are all white (Chardonnay) though some Gamay and Pinot Noir are grown here and can be blended to make make generally unremarkable reds. There are no Grand Cru (i.e., the highest level of quality) vineyards in the Mácon, but there are a number of Premier Cru Vineyards (one level down in quality), many of which are around Pouilly-Fuissé. Our lunch wine was not designated as coming as from a single vineyard, so it is simply known as a “village wine”—the village of Pouilly-Fuissé.
So we know the wine was made from Chardonnay grapes grown in or around the town of Pouilly-Fuissé. What do we know of the 2011 vintage? It was a very good year for both reds and white, generally producing wines with ripe fruit flavors that will mature relatively quickly. The producer, Bouchard Père &Fils, was started almost 300 years ago (1731). Their headquarters is in Beaune (in the yellow-colored Côte de Beaune area in the map above) and they have extensive holding in Burgundy.
This was a perfect example of a good White Burgundy for everyday drinking. Less than 15% of the wine was aged in oak (the rest in stainless steel) so the fruit very much dominates with aromas and flavors of green apples, pears and floral notes. There was enough acidity to keep it lively and it was drinking beautifully. Not a wine to age, but to drink with pleasure while young,
Our main course was Filet Mignon du Pork a la Dijonaise, (Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce).
Pork tenderloin is a wonderful lean protein that is pretty much a blank palate for seasoning. A classic mustard-cream sauce helped marry the meat and the simply boiled potatoes while the beautifully ripe tomato baked with herbed bread crumbs added some acidity and textural contrast.
What was the wine? Glad you asked: 2009 Bouchard Père & Fils, Beaune du Chateau, Premier Cru, Pinot Noir, Burgundy, France.
This was the wine we sipped as an aperitif before lunch and which now was a fine accompaniment to the Filet Mignon du Pork a la Dijonaise. As many of you will know “a la Dijonaise” can be translated “in the style of Dijon.” Dijon is the historic capital of Burgundy. Besides wine, it is also known for a distinctive style of mustard (Grey Poupon, anyone?). All of this comes together in this course, with the mustard in the sauce helping to marry the food and the wine.
So what do we know about the wine? Red Burgundy = Pinot Noir. Beaune is in the Côte de Beaune (see map, above). Bouchard Pére & Fils = 300 year history of producing wine in Burgundy. It is a Premier (1er) Cru, meaning the grapes came from excellent vineyards. Wine geeks will also know that 2009 was an outstanding year for Red Burgundies. Burgundy geeks will also know that Bouchard Pére & Fils bought the Chateau de Beaune, which was built by King Louis XI in the 15th century, in 1820. It serves as the company’s headquarters and its massive cellars hold wines dating back to 1846. (Note the colorful tile pattern on the roof. This is characteristic of aristocratic homes in Burgundy.)
Note that the name on the label is “Beaune du Château,” not “Château de Beaune.” It is not made from grapes grown exclusively at the Château, but is a blend of grapes from 12 1er Cru vineyards around Beaune. Tricky, huh?
All that aside, how did it taste? Delicious. 2009 was a relatively early maturing vintage so this bottle was already drinking beautifully. Lots of ripe red and black fruit flavors with enough acid to balance the fruit and cut through the creamy sauce on the pork. Both of the wines at this meal were well chosen to represent their types.
Somehow we ended up in Italy for dessert: Tiramisu.
Tiramisu is an enormously popular dessert traditionally made with ladyfingers soaked in coffee and sweet Marsala wine (or rum), mascarpone custard, whipped cream and chocolate shavings. It seems to me its popularity exploded when it was talked about in the movie Sleepless in Seattle back in 1993, or maybe that’s just when I started noticing it everywhere. The name can be translated “pick me up,” which the coffee, sugar, chocolate and rum can certainly do. Of course, once it became popular, people started getting creative with the recipe and ingredients to invent all sorts of variations, some of which bear little resemblance to the original.
I confess I have never really cared for it. It’s not bad, and Katy’s version was excellent, but it has just never cracked my list of favorite desserts. Nevertheless, about a billion other people love it, so what do I know?
If one of those billion Tiramisu junkies happens to be coming over to your place for dinner and you want to make some, click here for a reasonably classic recipe that includes a good instructional video.
Now happily full from the meal, and fully happy after three glasses of wine, it was time to relax on the deck and just enjoy the scenery as we approached Ancy-le-Franc.
We cruised by the Château d’Ancy-le-Franc, which we would visit when we docked. It will be the subject of my next blog about this trip.
Soon we were safely docked at the Port of Ancy-le-Franc…
…with some of the famous French Charolais cattle grazing nearby.
A little time to relax and freshen up and we were off to the famous Château d’Ancy-le-Franc. I’ll share my images and impressions of that with you soon.
The gallery contains some images not shown in the blog entry.
The author has no affiliation with European Waterways or any of the locations and products described in this article.
