Typical Cuisine on Board
* Braised Beef Filet in Juniper Berry
and Red Wine Jus
* Saddle of Lamb with Eggplant Caviar
Wine Cellar
*St. Emilion Grand Cru (Chateau Gaillard)
* Chassagne-Montrachet les Houilleres
* Pomerol (Chateau des Jacobins)

SAVOIR FAIRE offers five itineraries in France, Holland and Belgium
2009

• Springtime in Holland (itinerary below) 
  Departures March 29; April 5, 12, 19, 26; May 3
• Three Country Cruise (itinerary below)
  May 10, 17;
  Oct 18, 25, 13-night cruise
• Burgundy/Upper Loire
  May 24, 31; June 7, 14, 21, 28; July 5, 12, 19, 26; August 2, 9
• Upper Loire/Paris (itinerary coming soon)
  August 16; Sept 20, 27; Oct 4, 11
• Cruise from Paris to Champagne
  August 23, 30; Sept 6, 13

2009 HOLLAND TULIP CRUISE
Haarlem to Haarlem
Departures March 29;
April 5, 12, 19, 26; May 3

Savoir Faire's "Dutch Tulip Cruise" is available in early spring followed by a two-week transit cruise from Haarlem to Paris. This supremely elegant barge which is owner-operated and has a crew of seven nonetheless represents incredible value for the Dutch tulip season.

Excursions include:
* Keukenhof Gardens, where millions of tulips are blooming
* Aalsmer Flower Auction, from where a multitude of flowers are auctioned and shipped daily.
* The enchanting towns of Delft, Gouda, Haarlem and right through Amsterdam!

Sunday
After your pick-up by the Captain you will be taken to the barge moored in the center of Haarlem for a champagne welcome. We will relax for the afternoon with a cruise to Zaandam, (an important shipbuilding center of the 17th century, visited by Peter the Great) where we will moor for the night. Enjoy your first gourmet dinner on board.

Monday
After breakfast we will take a short drive to the restored Dutch village of Zaanse Schans to visit a working windmill, a clog maker and a cheese maker. In the afternoon, cruise to Amsterdam, through the heart of the city where the small canals and architecture will take you back to a previous century and then along the Amstel River to Ouderkerk.

Tuesday
Morning cruise to Gouda, past quaint Dutch villages and typical landscapes. Besides cheese, you will find beautiful buildings, excellent shopping and the most magnificent stained glass windows in Holland.

Wednesday
A morning cruise past Rotterdam through the center of this busy port and then onto Delft. Visit the Royal Delft Pottery works, where porcelain is still handmade and painted. Spend the rest of the afternoon strolling around this beautiful ancient Dutch city, crisscrossed by canals and made famous by the paintings of Vermeer.

Thursday
A morning cruise through the canals past Leiden, across the Brasemmer Lakes to the village of Oude Wetering. Spend the afternoon at the famous Keukenhof Gardens with the largest display of flowers in the world. Here you will see hundreds of varieties of tulips, hyacinths and can purchase bulbs for shipment home.

Friday
An early rise (optional, of course!) and drive to the colorful flower auction in Aalsmeer - an incredible institution where millions of flowers are purchased and shipped every day. Return for a hearty breakfast followed by a morning cruise to Haarlem, a picturesque town and the home of the famous Dutch painter Frans Hals. If you want, we’ll tour the Frans Hals Museum. Then there's the lovely 15th century Grote Kerk (former St.. Bravo’s Cathedral) with its magnificent organ on which both Mozart and Handel played. Farewell celebration on board and your last elegant gourmet dinner ends the cruise in style.

Saturday
This will be your last breakfast on board. You will then be driven to either the airport or your Amsterdam hotel.

Note: This is a sample itinerary. Itineraries are flexible and may be changed according to passenger requests and local conditions. Route is reversed on alternate weeks.

2009
13 NIGHT THREE COUNTRY CRUISE
Holland, Belgium and France
Departures May 10; Oct 18

From the canals and cobbled streets of Haarlem, through the Dutch countryside, past windmills and fields of tulips, then on to Ghent in Belgium, this is the most leisurely and pampered way to visit Holland, Belgium and France ever invented! A very special tour! There are ample opportunities for bicycling and walking throughout the cruise. Your tour guide is at hand to advise you of the best possible choices.

SUNDAY Overnight in Haarlem
Guests are met at their hotel in Amsterdam at 1:30pm and driven to the "Savoir Faire" for a champagne welcome and a tour of Haarlem and its famous sights.

MONDAY Haarlem to Ouderwetering (bicycling possible)
This morning we cruise to the lakeside village of Ouderwetering. Afternoon visit to the Keukenhof Gardens, the largest display of flowers in the world. Here you will see hundreds of varieties of tulips, hyacinths and other bulbs.

TUESDAY Ouderwetering to Delft (bicycling possible)
Please note that should you wish to visit Alsmeer Flower Auction we have to leave the barge at 7am. We then return to the barge in time for a hearty breakfast. Coffee will be served before you leave. Morning cruise along the canals to the town of Delft, a fascinating town full of small canals and humpbacked bridges and best explored by bike or on foot. Many beautiful buildings illustrate the city's historic connection with the Dutch East India Company. The birthplace of Jan Vermeer, Delft is also famous for its tableware. Your tour guide has arranged a visit after lunch to the Royal Delft factory to learn how this world-famous porcelain is made.

WEDNESDAY Delft to Wilemstad (bicycling possible from Delft to Rotterdam)
Your cruise from Delft takes you through Rotterdam onto the river Ijssel and across the wide open waters of Holland Diep, part of the Dutch estuaries, to the charming old fortress town of Wilemstad. This town is preserved in its original state, with windmill dykes, an old church and a 15th century arsenal. There will be an optional visit to the famous Delta Project which is one of the greatest feats of water engineering in the world involving damming the great estuaries.

THURSDAY Wilemstad to Antwerp (bicycling not advised today)
Today we will leave Holland and cross the border into Belgium and travel to Antwerp. Antwerp is the city of Rubens, where we can take a tour of Rubens' house, then a walk in the old quarter of this beautiful Flemish city.

FRIDAY Antwerp to Ghent (bicycling is not possible today)
Once through the exit lock at Antwerp, we catch the flood tide up the winding "Sea Schelde". This mighty river rises over 20 feet during high tide, providing an ever changing landscape which is seen best from the decks of the "Savoir Faire". Later on your tour guide will meet you and escort you to the city of Ghent, with its magnificent cathedral and collections of fine art.

SATURDAY Moored in Ghent (bicycling/walking possible today)
After a hearty breakfast our chauffeur will take you to Bruges where you will be free for the day to roam the cobbled streets of this fascinating town, known as the "Venice of the North". Here you will have the opportunity to explore the many museums, buy some of the handmade lace, take a boat trip on one of the small canals that flow through the centre of Bruges - or simply relax on a cafe terrace watching the world pass by. Our chauffeurs will take you back to the "Savoir Faire" late afternoon. Please note that on Saturday lunch is at your own expense and dinner aboard will comprise of a self-service buffet accompanied by wine (even the chef needs some time off during the week!).

SUNDAY Ghent to French/Belgian frontier - destination Tournai (bicycling/walking possible today)
A relaxed morning heralds in the start of the second leg of our journey from Ghent to Paris. We begin our cruise along the river Schelde to the French/Belgian frontier and to the fascinating town of Tournai - the jewel of numerous conquests dating back over centuries.

MONDAY French/Belgian frontier to Arleux (bicycling/walking possible today)
After passing the frontier, the "Savoir Faire" continues along the Schelde, through the town of Valenciennes to the junction of Canal du Nord at the little French village of Arleux. The chauffeurs will take guests to Valenciennes along the way.

TUESDAY Arleux to overnight mooring to be advised by your (bicycling/walking possible today)
The "Savoir Faire" begins her climb over the Vermandois Hills of Picardie through the many locks and several tunnels of the Canal du Nord. The scenery is splendid - rural France at her best, and a good tow path allows guests to walk or cycle between locks. After lunch, the chauffeurs will escort you by minibus on an excursion to Amiens to visit what must be one of the greatest of all the Gothic cathedrals with its powerful, towering columns.

WEDNESDAY Cruise to Compiegne (bicycling/walking possible today)
Your cruise continues along the Canal du Nord as it drops down into the valley of the river Somme; a short trip on the Somme before climbing over another watershed and down to the valley of the river Oise to moor in the riverside town of Compiegne. There are many places to visit, including the train where the World War I Armistice was signed, as well as the Royal Palace.

THURSDAY Compiegne to Pontoise (bicycling/walking possible today)
As the "Savoir Faire" continues down the lovely Oise River, guests are taken on an afternoon excursion to the old Roman town of Senlis with its quaint narrow streets, ancient churches and interesting museums, rejoining the "Savoir Faire" at the river town of Pontoise. 

FRIDAY Pontoise to Paris (bicycling not possible today)
Cruise to Bougival in the morning and visit Giverny, the home and gardens of the Impressionist, Claude Monet. The gardens should be at their best at this time of the year, and you can see the waterlily pond (exactly as in his famous paintings) and the Japanese bridge that inspired so many of Monet's creations. Guests rejoin the "Savoir Faire" for an evening cruise into Paris. After the Captains Dinner we shall cruise up the floodlit Seine past the Eiffel Tower and into the "Port d'Arsenal" adjacent to the Bastille. The "Savoir Faire" is the only barge to offer such an exclusive evening cruise in Paris.

SATURDAY Paris
This will be your last breakfast on board. You will then be driven to either the airport or your central Paris hotel.

In May, the cruise route is Amsterdam to Paris; in October, the cruise route is Paris to Amsterdam.

Note: This is a sample itinerary. Itineraries are flexible and may be changed according to passenger requests and local conditions.