A gourmet lunch and cruise in Burgundy

This is the third time that Mary and friends have chartered the barge for a group of 12 friends.
We felt it was the right moment to meet in person; after so many emails over the years, we already felt like old friends.

We met the barge in the small town of Châtel Censoir on the Nivernais Canal in northern Burgundy. The Luciole was in a canal lock heading upstream; within a couple of minutes, the water level was at the perfect height for us to climb on board, and we were greeted with lots of smiles.

Most of the guests sat on the upper deck, enjoying the sunshine. Everybody introduced themselves, and we settled down to enjoy the cruise as the barge carried on heading up the canal.

After a while, a crew member rang the lunchtime bell, and we moved to the dining room for the buffet meal.
A delicious white Sancerre wine was served whilst the chef explained the various dishes he had prepared. This included a whole baked salmon, a mushroom & truffle risotto, 'Boudin Blanc' sausages, fresh green haricot bean salad, and other delightful dishes. It was a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach!  The conversation flowed well into the cheese course.

After much chatting and eating, we started the serious conversation with some questions:
Are you having fun? Yes
Are you enjoying the food? Yes
Are you enjoying the wines? Yes
How are the crew? Fantastic
Is there anything we should change?  No!

As the barge cruised on, most of us left the table and headed back to the sundeck to enjoy the stunning landscape as the canal and the River Yonne meandered through the valley.

A couple of hours later, it was time for us to disembark and say farewell whilst Mary and C° continued their journey with a visit to the fascinating Château de Bazoches.

We asked one more final question.
Will you come back and cruise again? The answer was, 'Hopefully, yes.'*
A bientot, Mary!

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