Culinary Cruises Are An Epicurean Dream Through Burgundy, Provence and
Midi

NEW YORK, NY "” November 6, 2006 "” he memorable experience of a Go
Barging vacation is as much about cruising through striking and majestic
countryside as it is about the cuisine"”and nowhere are discriminating
palates more pampered than on Go Barging excursions through the top
gourmet regions of France.

Go Barging, Europe’s largest luxury barging company, offers all-inclusive
excursions on three vessels, La Belle Epoque in Burgundy, and
L’Impressionniste and Anjodi through the South of France, that introduce
travelers to some of the acclaimed dishes and wines of the region.

Food Fresh from the Source
Go Barging guests cruise the very places from which their meals originate.
Passengers have an opportunity to accompany their ship’s chef to markets
where they can select the freshest ingredients for their evening fare. In some
areas, oysters are caught in culture beds right along the route. Dishes are
paired with wines from well-known local vineyards. Each barge has a wine
cellar stocked with premium vintages such as Domaine Laroche, Premier Cru,
Chateauneuf du Pape, Domaine Nalys, and Domaine Jafflin Vosne-Romanée.
With each course comes a story about the region’s great gastronomical
traditions, transforming dinners into theatrical events.

Every barge has its own master chef with a culinary pedigree and a passion.
Hailing from different parts of the world, they earned their toques"”chef
hats"”in some of the most demanding kitchens in Belgium, France,
Switzerland, America and the United Kingdom. One veteran chef, Toni Stock,
even prepared smoked salmon sandwiches and chocolate brownies for the
Queen of England.  Chef Jen McStay gleams information from passengers on
their first day onboard so that she can best tailor her menus to their specific
tastes.  Her dishes feature a colorful symphony of fruit and vegetables
chosen according to the season. Chef Louis Dutton counts among his
specialties such delights of the Midi as entrecote Bordelaise, snails Languedoc
style and Bouillabaisse.

These globetrotting connoisseurs, inspired by the gently changing French
scenery outside their galley windows, create regional French specialties
following traditional methods. They’ve even been known to glean well-
guarded recipes from butchers in some of the region’s most celebrated market
towns.

A Gourmet Fleet
While every vessel features its own culinary specialties, all the Go Barging
cruises guarantee that passengers will experience a true, moveable feast for
the palate.   L’Impressionniste accompanies up to 12 passengers along the
scenic Rhône River in Southern France for the ultimate Provencal experience.
The 8-passenger Anjodi is specially designed to navigate the 300-year-old
Canal du Midi, France’s oldest, and crosses through the largest wine
production area of France, the Languedoc-Roussillon. From the sundeck,
guests can gaze out over 100 miles of vineyards"”while sipping wines from
those very vineyards.

La Belle Epoque travels through the undiscovered Canal du Nivernais in
Burgundy. It’s easy to see why this 12-passenger ship with marble en-suites,
wood paneled dining room and a sundeck spa pool is the flagship of Go
Barging’s European fleet.

All vessels are fully-air-conditioned, lavishly appointed and feature private
baths.

“The world has a love affair with French cuisine,” said Derek Banks, CEO of Go
Barging, a subsidiary of European Waterways. “Cruising through the garden
spots of the country is a wonderful way to explore local wines and sample
regional specialties in comfort, luxury and style. We’ve seen to it that our
gourmet cruises exceed our guests’ highest expectations.”

About Go Barging
Go Barging is a subsidiary of European Waterways, the largest luxury barging
vacation company in Europe, offering vacations in nine countries and carrying
approximately 1,700 passengers a year.  Founded over 30 years ago, the
company designs, builds, owns and operates a private fleet of luxury barges
with exclusive cruises in France, Scotland, England, Ireland, Holland, Italy,
the Czech Republic, Belgium, and Germany.  Pioneers in barging, they were
the first company to put a barge on the upper Nivernais, and the “real” Loire
Valley. They are also the only company with a barge in Scotland and in the
Venetian lagoon, as well as the first company to offer an Avignon-to-
Amsterdam 6-week trans-Europe cruise, a thousand mile journey along
Western Europe’s inland waterways.  For more information, pricing and cruise
schedules, contact European Waterways at 1-800-394-8630 or on the web
at www.gobarging.com.

For more on France at ITKT