Seeing France from a luxury canal barge
By Cheryl Blackerby
The Palm Beach Daily News (Jan. 9, 2016)
MARSEILLAN, France — Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced her decision.
She would walk 2 miles on the tow path next to the Canal du Midi ahead of the Athos, a luxury hotel-barge, to the barge’s next stop. She sternly warned Capt. Julian Farrant not to take the barge ahead of her. Not much chance of that since the top speed limit for barges on the canal is 3.5 mph, and O’Connor walked fast.
“She was a good laugh,” said the British captain with obvious affection for one of his favorite passengers. The barge, which travels the slow lane in southern France, is owned by Farrant and his wife Dannielle.
Shaped like a French baguette, the Athos is 100 feet long, the longest vessel on the canal, and can accommodate 10 people, big by barge standards.
Built in 1964, the barge was designed to carry wine and grain not U.S. Supreme Court justices. It was converted into a luxury hotel barge in 1982 and got another renovation in 2007.
Athos passengers visit the medieval city of Carcassonne, the largest fortified city in Europe. Photo by Cheryl Blackerby
A great blue heron stretched its six-foot wingspan in front of the barge’s stubby bow as we moved out of the home port of Argeliers on our way to the Mediterranean. It seemed like a good omen and it was. Our six-night cruise ended with a flock of pink flamingos standing near the barge in a saltwater lagoon.
We sailed in the dense shade of plane trees on the legendary 150-mile-long Canal du Midi, which opened in 1681, cruising under 17th-century bridges past vineyards and tidy farms. Connecting the Garonne River to a lagoon next to the Mediterranean Sea, the canal runs to the Canal de Garonne, linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
Along the way, we explored the medieval cities of Carcassonne, the largest fortified city in Europe, with almost 2 miles of surrounding walls and 52 towers; and the lovely fortified village of Minerve, where morning glories climbed stone walls and lavender lined cobblestone paths.
In the historic town of Narbonne, we followed barge chef Emma Mate around the huge covered market as she shopped for dinner. We admired the pretty canal-side village of Capestang and the fleet of small pleasure boats lining the canal banks. And we took photos of the ornate doors and the 17th-century townhouses of Molière’s village, Pézenas.
We watched in awe as the Athos descended through a “staircase” of eight locks on the canal in Béziers, an event that drew a crowd to the old bridges. We tasted olives and olive oil at L’Oulibo, an olive co-op, and compared wines at the small Vanho Winery, owned by a Belgian couple, and were a little amused that the husband was an anesthesiologist.
In Marseillan, we tasted vermouths at the famed Noilly Prat cellars on a private tour. We walked past massive oak casts and smaller barrels where the wine stays outside for a year exposed to sun and sea spray as it has been since Joseph Noilly started the company in 1813.
On the Athos, we ate like French aristocrats. After walking the cobblestone streets of Carcassonne, we returned to the barge for a gourmet lunch — Toulouse sausage, tomato and capers salad with aioli, charred broccoli with almonds, lentil pomegranate and feta cheese salad, and peach and almond tarts served with a local 2013 Château la Voulte-Gasparets Corbières Rosé.
A dinner included spinach and leek soufflé, walnut crusted filet of beef with parsnip purée and Brussels sprouts, and mulled wine fruit with pain d’épice and vanilla ice cream. The cheese was Brie de Meaux and the wines were Les Murettes Viognier 2014 and Château de la Negly Languedoc La Falaise 2012.
The Canal du Midi runs through Languedoc-Roussillon, an area in southern France stretching along the coast from the Spanish border to Provence, the single biggest wine-producing region in the world and one of the oldest. The first vineyards were planted near Narbonne by Greeks in the 5th century BC.
This was my second European barge cruise, and on both barges passengers were sophisticated, adventurous travelers who wanted an intimate and authentic French experience. The Athos’ passengers included two high-tech couples from Silicon Valley, Calif., and a retired crisis management executive and his wife.
Many of the Athos’ cruises are booked by families or groups of friends who want the boat to themselves. On my trip, the crew was excited about the arrival the next week of a family of 18 including two babies. The Athos and another barge would travel in tandem on the canal for the trip booked by the matriarch of the large family.
Preparations were no problem for Farrant, who has two young children, and the crew who often custom plan trips for passengers with wide-ranging interests such as cave exploring, hiking and mountain biking for active cruisers, or winery and museum tours for those who love wine and art. Children and teens get their own tours.
Also on board our trip was Stephanie Sack, the daughter of Ellen Sack, who started The Barge Lady, the largest barge travel agency in the world, which represents more than 50 barges in Europe. Stephanie, her sister Caroline Klein and Ellen cruise on every barge they represent and inspect them frequently.
The luxury barge, Athos, cruises through the locks in Béziers, France. Photo by Cheryl Blackerby
Stephanie visited several barges on the canal while traveling on the Athos, and reported back to us on her impressions of each.
Passengers took the opportunity to ask her for inside information — which barges are the most luxurious, the roomiest, the best value.
“The English were the first to do it,” she told us over dinner one night. “In the 1960s, they took barges out of storage and turned them into hotel-barges on canals in France. An Englishman asked my Mom, who was a retail travel agent, if she could help him launch a hotel barge. Then other barge owners asked her, and they started calling her the Barge Lady. And the company was born.”
A lot of travelers are unfamiliar with barges, she said, and they ask weird questions: Do mules still pull barges? Do the barges have electricity?
“The word barge is not romantic or sexy. Some people think it’s a river cruise. It’s not,” she said, sipping a glass of Château Négly La Brise Marine 2013.
While she talked I couldn’t help but think of couples relaxing on sofas, surrounded by nautical wood and the soft glow of brass lamps in the main salon; enjoying hors d’oeuvres on the top deck as the sun set over the canal, and of cruising on a waterway others have traveled for 335 years.
The balmy sea breezes, the fragrance of fields of lavender. The imperceptible motion as we slowly moved past lovely medieval towns and colorful wood fishing boats. That’s as romantic as it gets.
Details:
Athos Barge: Cruises are offered April through October. Rates for six-night cruises on the Athos are $4,770 per person double occupancy ($1,400 single supplement). Whole-boat charter rates are $38,825 for up to six people; $43,300 up to 8, and $47,650 up to 10. All rates include transportation from Béziers to the barge, all meals, all wines with lunch and dinner, open bar, daily escorted excursions and use of onboard bicycles. www.athosdumidi.com
Barge Lady Cruises: Barge Lady Cruises offers more than 50 barge cruises in France, Ireland, Holland/Belgium, Italy, England, Scotland and Germany. Barge Lady books 14 barges on the Canal du Midi including the Athos. The barges range in size accommodating from four to 10 guests. The agency staff frequently inspects each barge and designates luxury levels. Rates generally range from $3,500 to $7,500 per person for six night cruises including meals, wines and more. www.bargeladycruises.com; 800-880-0071