Blissful barge trip

My wife and I and four of our friends booked a cruise on the eight-person barge Horizon II of French Country Waterways (Duxbury, MA; 800/222-1236).

The seven-day cruise, May 2-8, 2010, cost $11,990 for my wife and me. This price included meals and a great selection of French wine on board, daily trips into villages, a meal in Saulieu at Le Relais Bernard Loiseau (three stars) and transportation from Paris to the boat and back.

We have done extensive traveling, but, I must say, this was our best trip ever. The crew and chef were wonderful and the food was gourmet.

Our Burgundy cruise took us from Tanley to Veneray-les-Laumes, covering about 47 miles in all. The French countryside was beautiful and the villages we visited were charming. We could ride alongside the canal on a bike or walk and keep up with the slow-moving barge.

The bottom line? I would strongly recommend barge cruising, especially with French Country Waterways. In fact, we’ve booked a cruise aboard their barge Nenuphar, on the Burgundy-Côte d’Or route, for July ’11.

GEORGE TOWERS
Fresno, CA