It is our mission to make life on-board for our guests as relaxed, komfortabel und angenehm wie möglich. We want to welcome our guests again (und wieder!) and so we strive to offer an inland waterways cruising experience second to none, tailored exactly to our guests’ Wünsche und Interessen. Natürlich, we do have an underlying route plan (Reisen von A nach B innerhalb einer Spanne von Tagen); we do have a portfolio of great places to moor up and to visit; and we do have a basic pattern for each day (siehe unten).
Allerdings – und was sehr wichtig ist – this is most decidedly not a floating ‘coach tour’ mit einem starren Tagesordnung, or a timetable set in stone. Wir sind im Rahmen einmalig bieten wir Ihnen an Variationen machen, im Voraus geplant oder auf der Eingebung des Augenblicks.
In der Tat, just like it would be if our luxury hotel barge, Die Saint Louis, war dein eigenes kleines Schiff, voyaging through the sunflower fields and vineyards of south-west France!
Weitere Informationen zum Kennenlernen, oder von, Die Saint Louis, Klicken Sie hier.
Morning
We will have moored up the afternoon or evening before, securely tied to the quayside under skipper Alasdair Wyllie’s experienced eagle eye.
Auf 30m Länge und 127 Tonnen Gewicht, the Saint Louis stays firmly and dependably level in all circumstances; not that the inland waterways of South-West France offer anything by way of waves or other watery conditions that might upset her lady-like equilibrium in the first place! She moves gracefully through the languid green waters as quietly, calmly and smoothly as a luxury automobile negotiating the driveway of a stately home.
So it’s quite possible that you will sleep late, with no sounds from the outside world beyond your bedroom window to disturb your slumbers. Holen Sie sich bis, entspannen, take breakfast exactly as the mood takes you. Alternativ, maybe your sleep will be so satisfying that you’ll actually wake up with the birds, emerging on deck to glimpse an electric blue kingfisher perched on the guard rail or a grey heron stalking the shallows.
Weitere Informationen zu Mahlzeiten an Bord zu Saint Louis, siehe “Lebensmittel und Wein”
You have the option of breakfasting in our hardwood panelled saloon or, mehr gewöhnlich, to enjoy the morning sun and your croissants, frisch gepressten Saft und Kaffee, auf dem Sonnendeck. During or after breakfast the Saint Louis will probably let slip her mooring and set off along the canal.
Working the barge is a fascinating operation, und Sie haben den Logenplatz (but you won’t be ‘pressed’ in Betrieb – alles, was von Ihnen erwartet wird, is to sit back and watch the professionals – der Kapitän und die Besatzung – bei der Arbeit!). Casting-off or tying-up is a delicate process, the skipper combining a hand on the wheel, ein Hauch auf der Drossel, and an experienced eye to bring the barge slowly and accurately alongside the mooring, oder von ihm weg. Sie werden bemerken, – oder vielleicht nicht! – that no urgent shouted instructions take place between the skipper in the wheelhouse and the crew on the deck or on-shore; es ist alles getan ruhig und professionell (Mit nur das geringste kleinen Hand-Signal oder einer Augenbraue heben) by people who know what they’re doing – und genießen Sie es zu tun.
During the morning you are free to enjoy Saint Louis’ progress through the countryside towards the lunchtime destination. Außerhalb, auf dem Sonnendeck, your cushioned solid teak sun-lounger provides the perfect elevated canal-side view of the villages and the countryside, die Schleusen und Brücken, as they gently slide past. Entspannen, Katze, ein Buch lesen – oder absolut nichts tun, außer Tag-Traum, den Klang der Vogelstimmen.
Barbara and Alasdair know the region well and will point out items of interest along the way. For example the many gorgeous little pigeonniers – Taubenschlag Gebäude – that sprinkle the landscape, Bildung von kleinen Bestandteilen in Frankreich das Erbe. Each conforms to a basic, practical theme but each is architecturally different, each builder contributing individual ideas and details to make each one unique. Es müssen Tausende in Süd-West Frankreich – how many will you spot?
Die Crew sind immer zur Hand zu fixieren Sie einen Vormittag trinken oder Rascheln, ein leckerer Snack!
Nachmittag
Nach dem Mittagessen (often taken al fresco under the parasols on the sun deck) es könnte ein Ausflug in das Auto, maybe to a mediaeval village or a wine tasting at a local vineyard – or both! Die Schiffsreisen durch eine Reihe von Weingebiete, all part of the official South West wine region – Dazu gehören Fronton, St Sardos, Ratgeber Brulhois, Buzet, Bewertungen und Marnand. Darüber hinaus, we are able to do excursions to wine areas that are a little further from the canal, wie Gaillac, Cahors und Cote de Duras. Alasdair and Barbara have researched a very wide range of visits, and the excursions each week are very much tailored to the interests and tastes of the guests on board. You will find all the places we visit to be un-crowded and unspoilt, ohne Druck des Massentourismus.
Weitere Informationen über Weine in Aquitanien, siehe “Wein”
Weitere Informationen über Dörfer, Weinberge und weitere Besuche, siehe “Unsere Orte”
Sometimes the boat cruises during the afternoon. At any time you have the chance to examine how the Saint Louis is put through the various locks along the Canal de Garonne. Vielleicht haben Sie sich entscheiden, diese aus dem Sonnendeck Uhr, with a glass in one hand and a book in the other, or maybe you decide to join the Skipper in the wheelhouse and observe from this “control centre” the finesse required in manoeuvring the boat.
Wie funktioniert Saint Louis durch die Schleusen gehen?
Many of the locks on the Canal Garonne are automatic, meaning that all the lock controls are activated by the Skipper and crew, ohne die Hilfe eines Lock-Keeper. Kurz erklärt, der Durchgang durch eine Schleuse ist wie folgt. Bei Annäherung an ein Schloss, the Skipper positions the boat so that he can twist a “perch” – a flexible pole hanging over the water some distance back from the lock. Lights beside the lock indicate to the Skipper that his request has been received and is being actioned. After the lock is prepared for the boat, the lock-gates open and the signal lights indicate that it is safe to enter the lock. Once the boat is safely tied-up inside the lock further controls are activated and the lock is emptied or filled (je nachdem, ob das Boot wird vor-oder nachgelagerten) and the boat is floated to the level of the next stretch of canal. The process is simple enough in concept – but in practice it is greatly complicated by all sorts of cross-currents experienced on the approach to the lock.
Unabhängig von der nachmittäglichen Programm, once again the crew are at your disposal, to ensure your experience aboard Saint Louis is complete and thoroughly enjoyable.
Abend
Am Ende des Tages Kreuzfahrt, Alasdair and the crew will moor Saint Louis. Sometimes we moor in a small port or historic town, manchmal in der Nähe eines kleinen Dorfes, sometimes alongside the canal bank in open countryside. You’ll then have plenty of time to do few things before supper. Perhaps you’d like to borrow one of our excellent bikes and go for a ride along the (aufgetaucht) canalside Weg – Kanäle haben Niveau Treidelpfade, keine Berge! Or a stroll into the town or village to explore, Shop, erfüllen die (freundlich) locals and try out your French. Maybe the afternoon’s ‘exertions’ (gut, visiting a vineyard and tasting the produce can be hard work . . . ) mean that all that’s necessary is a comfortable deck-chair and a sun-downer.
Dining aboard the Saint Louis is a relaxed and delicious experience, ob auf dem Sonnendeck genommen, wie die Sonne, oder ob unten in der getäfelten Salon genommen. After drinks and aperitifs, you will enjoy a delicious meal planned and prepared by our chef, und natürlich durch die Qualität Weine der Region begleitet. The pace of the meal, und der Rest des Abends, ist völlig bis zu Ihnen. You may like to linger over coffee and malt whisky or Armagnac, or you may all decide to play a game of Scrabble or cards. Perhaps you choose to curl up with a book, or maybe your group takes on the task of putting the world to rights! Oder Sie könnten nur beschließen, eine frühe Nacht bekommen, to relax in the private luxury of your own cabin.
