Kelly has been with The Barge Lady since 2005, after jumping at the opportunity to combine all of her passions – art, travel, photography, gourmet pursuits and marketing. 12 years and countless trips later she feels incredibly fortunate to be doing what she loves.
Kelly serves a number of important roles at The Barge Lady, but her influence is most felt as the designer and curator of our gorgeous website – which we recently debuted a complete redesign! On her philosophy for the site, she says, “My goal is to tell a visual story while providing an in depth look at each barge. I want guests visiting our site to be able to imagine sipping a glass of wine on deck as the French countryside unfolds.”
In addition to managing our blog, branding and marketing materials, she also heads our social media. She has taken our social media efforts to the next level, hosting several twitter hashtag chats about barging on the weekly #CruiseChat. It was a great opportunity to introduce the highlights of barging to cruise enthusiasts. We look forward to continuing our presence on #CruiseChat.
Kelly always had a strong interest in travel. She has taken many trips throughout the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean. At age 22, she traveled to Germany – her first European trip. She knew it would not be her last! Kelly has ably represented us on many cruises in France, Ireland, Italy, England and Germany. To date she has visited 34 barges throughout France, Ireland, Italy, England and Germany. Here she is above, literally jumping with joy at her favorite place on the Burgundy canal.
On Kelly’s trip in August of 2015, she visited Saroche, where owners Jason and Dawn shared their 2016 plans, an alfresco lunch and Dawn’s divine Quiche Lorraine recipe. She spent the rest of her time in the land of good living enjoying fabulous cruises on Burgundy barges Magnolia and Rendez-Vous! She experienced the highlights of each itinerary – including a truffle hunt and tasting, dinner in a French family home and frolicking with French goats and tasting fresh goat’s milk cheese at a local cheese farm! As always, she took hundreds of pictures, even directing a photo shoot of Rendez-Vous, with the help of some skillful skippering by Captain Fred!
As Barge Lady’s resident foodie, Kelly loves discovering new places to eat, gourmet shops and food related tours around Paris, her favorite being the chocolate walking tour she took last spring. She is always happy to pass along her recommendations to our guests.
“When I am traveling to Europe (or anywhere, really) food is always a top priority. I spend ample time mapping out my dining docket. While I don’t plan out every meal, I make it a point to schedule in one top drawer dinner (read: Michelin starred), a mid-priced meal and hit a budget friendly bistro or two each time I am in the City of Lights. One of my favorite foodie feasts was this dinner I devoured at Antoine on my Spring 2014 jaunt. Of course no trip to Paris is complete without a stop in two of my favorite haunts: cheese shop Fromagerie Laurent Dubois and chocolate shop Jean Paul Hevin (the chocolate tart alone is worth a trip across the pond – heaven indeed)! I enjoy cooking and entertaining – recreating cuisine and cocktails from the French canals, along with incorporating gourmet souvenirs inspiring new dishes to share with friends is a cherished hobby of mine.” – Kelly