30th August - 5th September
We cruised from Châtel-Censoir to Auxerre with delightful and wonderfully inquisitive passengers. Before long, we had named this cheery band ‘Just One More Question’.
Three of our passengers had cruised with us previously and had even featured in our Luciole video. Imagine their surprise, therefore, when they met up again with our matelot Tom and then, quite by chance, when our previous Captain Francisco appeared on his bike. There was a happy reunion and much reminiscing about their week aboard, when director Ant Palmer, aided by William Liley, filmed the cruise and excursions. Fun memories for sure.
The weather was lovely throughout the week, perfect for walks off the boat and for enjoying the panorama from the deckchairs. Passengers were up on deck as we came under the bridge in Accolay, where the water jousters (jouteurs) were making their final practice before a big competition in Clamecy. They kindly moved upstream for us so that we could moor beside the lavoir (old washhouse).
The Wednesday spectacle has provided a great deal of entertainment for Luciole passengers throughout the summer, as we admired the tactics of water jousting and the skill involved in pushing one’s opponent off the stern of the boat to splash into the water.
We have our fingers crossed that the ‘Joutes Accoloises’ will be crowned champions in the final competitions of the summer.
When we arrived at Restaurant Angeline in Avallon, it was a toss-up between eating outside on the terrace or inside the restaurant. With the evening still feeling warm, the terrace was voted for, albeit with a little hesitation. At the end of the meal, we all agreed it was the perfect decision – the warm temperature had held. Was this to be the last time we would eat outside for the summer? Only time will tell.
The Luciole’s arrival into Auxerre was under a perfect blue sky. Captain Charlie made a perfect 180° turn on the River Yonne, because we always moor facing upstream on the Duc d’Albe mooring poles of our private mooring position.
Tom secured the boat with a perfect lasso and, before long, the gangplank was in position, ready for passengers to disembark and explore Auxerre.
The afternoon tour took us up into town. Entering the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne, we were greeted by the mighty sound of the organ, built between 1979 and 1986 by organ builder Dominique Oberthür. Two tuners were diligently working, one on high scaffolding, fine-tuning the pipes to perfect pitch before a weekend concert.
There seemed to be a magical understanding of clothing colour throughout the week, with numerous rig-outs coordinating perfectly with the duck-egg blue colour scheme in the Luciole’s saloon (glam photo shoot to prove it!). Lesley’s toe varnish matched her attire to perfection, while Pam’s beautiful new bag from leather-makers Yaz and Brice in Noyers added another splash of the same hue.
Not forgetting, of course, the gorgeous copper stitching around the edge of the bag, which had been added before a special delivery by the artisans to Chablis, where we were enjoying our wine tasting at Domaine Long-Depaquit.
As we journeyed home to the Luciole, the beautiful bag was passed around the bus for everyone to admire. The consensus was – ‘we girls all wanted one’ – and who could blame us? A birthday to remember, Pam – happy days!
Hotel barge Luciole
Cruising since 1976
Phone: 00 44 1625 576880
From USA: 011 44 1625 576880
WhatsApp: 00 33 6 09 92 20 76
Email: info@bargeluciole.com
23 Adlington Road, Bollington
SK10 5JT England
1-2 Quai de la Republique, Auxerre
89000 France
© Hotel Barge Luciole 2026
