Boating on the Canal du Nivernais
From Rocamadour 4 of the ten people headed off in other
directions, and the remaining six caught the train to Joigny on the Yonne
river, where we stayed overnight on the left bank of the Yonne in a hotel named
(you’ve guessed it) La Rive Gauche. Joigny has a 3 Michelin star restaurant
(one of the only ones outside Paris) – La Cote de St Jacques. We had managed to
get a table there and all opted for the Gourmand menu with sommelier’s choice of
accompanying wines. The food was sensational, the service incredibly efficient
and the ambience also superb. We started off gamely with hors d’oeuvres with
our champagne aperitif, an amuse bouche and then into an entrée (oyster
terrine). By now we were feeling less hungry but this was followed three main courses – skate wings, roast
lobster and baby Pyrenees’ lamb. It
would take too long to describe each dish in detail. All were accompanied by
superb Burgundy wines. Stomachs groaning by now, they wheeled out a cheese
trolley as big as a trailer loaded with at least 30 cheeses. Full to
overflowing now, a pre-dessert followed consisting of 5 mini desserts, and then
followed by the two actual desserts (a plate of chocolate variations, then rose
ice cream in caramelised rose petals with berries). Then petit fours (lots of
chocolate) with a sticky white Muscat to top it off. By now hardly able to
walk, we staggered out to pay the bill. The proprietor -chef and maître-d were
there to thank us and have a chat about Australia while the credit cards were
hammered. At 1800 Euros for six people it was the most expensive meal any of us
had ever eaten, but it was a great experience, although not one to be indulged
in too often. This place was rated the best hotel restaurant in Europe in 2009.
Next day we picked up our boat in nearby Migennes, and
chugged back to Joigny for a look around, then a leisurely trip upstream via
the Yonne and the Canal du Nivernais as far as Clamecy, before returning to
drop off the boat at Chatel-Censoir. This took a week and was very relaxing,
with occasional bursts of drama including a storm while in Auxerre, which
knocked down lots of trees, cluttering the canal path and canal itself. Lots of
picturesque locks to pass through (always exciting for us amateur boat
drivers), with suitably picturesque lock keepers (eclusiers), ranging from fat
guys to very cute young ladies.
Only one person fell overboard during the entire trip and
sadly, it was your correspondent – this occasioned much mirth from onlookers
and bruising of my ego, but no harm done, especially after a few restorative
libations. Fortunately no-one got a photo of the event.
As always, we ate extremely well and had a wide variety of
wines – even though everything closes on Sundays and at lunch time, the French
are certainly good at food and wine. Terrific produce markets in towns to
support cooking on board.
Our final couple of days are being spent in a small
hotel-Gites near the historic town of Avallon. This stay included an excellent
cooking class at our hotel (La Cimentelle) where we learned quite a few tricks
of the trade from the chef-owners, Nathalie and Stephane.
Some pictures below to give a small sample of the voyage and
towns along the way.
