Monday morning, about "tenish", La Belle Époque glides gently away from Auxerre waterfront. Before week is ended, we will travel through 31 locks to town of Clamecy. Barge speed is limited to 3 mph on canals and 10 mph on rivers.

Soon we reach our first écluse or lock. La Belle Époque slides into a chamber to rest while a set of gates at each end closes so that water level can be raised or lowered. Potted flowers and a picturesque stone house indicate where éclusier (lock keeper) lives. At Captain Lee's call he comes out to manage gates. Timing is important, however. If we arrive while éclusier is at lunch we will just have to wait. The French take their dejeuner very seriously.

In France there are over 2,700 miles of inland waterways including a 750-mile network of connecting canals. Many locks are hundreds of years old. Most canals were built in 19th century, but some are two centuries older. Because canal barges were originally horse drawn, poplar trees were planted along way to protect horses from sun.

The Canal du Nivernais passes through western Burgundy, crossing Yonne Valley and sometimes merging with Yonne River itself. It was originally built to transport wood from Morvan forests to meet firewood demands of Paris. This wood trade was main source of income for this area until 1920s. The canal saw last of its merchant traffic in 1970s.

As we glide by a rolling patchwork of green hills and picturesque vineyards, lunch is served: quails in crème fraîche sauce, tuna pasta salad, caprisi salad, fruits, a white Savignon St-Bris and a red Chitry. There are two kinds of cheese with exotic names—Delice de Bourgogne and St. Mair de Tourraine.

After lunch there is another lock, and while barge rests we pile into European Waterways' minivan. Nick takes us to St-Bris le Vineux, a little wine village above a network of medieval passages. At stone farmhouse (complete with satellite TV dish) of Monsieur Bersan, we descend into an ancient cave for a wine-tasting. The cool air is strongly scented with damp, wet wood and thriving mold. Everywhere there is a flat surface, wine bottles lay in horizontal slumber.

"This is only place in Burgundy

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Carolyn Proctor, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com

Each performer has his own bag of tricks. Penn is narrator, taking us through behind-the-scenes machinations of two magic tricks that we have all seen a hundred times. Demystifying one of ways magicians make a person disappear and reappear, as well as how they separate them from their limbs ? feet dangling or hands motioning from a small box ? and then "ABRACADABRA" ? body is whole again, is fascinating. Revealing secret of box escape trick is no less surprising than an informant whispering whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden to Tom Brokaw on six o'clock news. The revelation is a gift and audience is theirs.

Teller searches crowd for a volunteer. He latches onto a gray-haired lady who he helps on stage. Without speaking he presents a fish bowl and proceeds to make live gold fish appear along with coins. It's an enjoyable, Chaplinesque segment.

Penn, who is a master juggler, begins by juggling torches. Once he ignites them danger and excitement is amplified. But he's just getting started. Not only does he juggle fire, he juggles broken glass bottles. Mesmerizing best describes Penn's juggling.

"We've only done one bit where Teller talks," Penn tells audience as he introduces his little partner who is wearing a green rubber suit, yellow shoes, and a hard hat and pushing a loud wood chipper stage center. Naturally Teller's voice doesn't carry over loud gnawing machine. He performs a trick with a live rabbit that defies imagination.

Extreme tricks are softened by humor and musical interludes. One of Penn's most vivid segments is a romantic couch setting with a beautiful woman. This is a blast of fire that you will never forget. The audience is never bored.

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Linda Lane, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com