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chosen, and Nick selects and explains each wine, all local – both red and
white – before every lunch and dinner.
When filling out our “wants and needs” before boarding the Aprés
Tout, I noted that our favorite wine was a Batard Montrachet Grand
Cru, but that it had become too expensive to drink daily (in the 1970s,
a bottle could be had for $15 or so; today it costs $250 or more per
bottle), and that I was partial to duck.
As our wedding anniversary was only a few weeks away (June 28),
the Aprés Tout crew not only came up with a duck dish, but they’d also
set aside a bottle of Batard Montrachet for everyone to enjoy, and with
which to toast our anniversary.
THE ITINERARY
We were always busy. The other guests were picked up in Paris
and driven the four hours to St. Jean-de-Losne by Nick. Helen and I
arrived on our own, lunching at a charming little restaurant just across
the bridge from Aprés Tout’s berth. This afternoon, upon boarding,
we are treated to a champagne reception; we are offered champagne,
The comfortable, inviting, and always immaculately clean (thank you, Hannah)
“salon” onboard Aprés Tout served as our living room, playroom, and
conversation pit. Just behind the salon is the breakfast table, always stocked
with fresh bread and pastries from local patisseries, along with freshly squeezed
juices, local fruits, and/or eggs if we wished. (below right) A carpeted hallway
leads to the three guest staterooms on the Aprés Tout
Pulling into one of the 55 locks Aprés Tout negotiates over the six-day tour is a
delicate affair, as there are only perhaps three inches of space on either side, and
in order to become a licensed barge pilot one must not scrape the concrete
TRAVEL
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