Today we have a guest post from the
French Hotel Barge SAINT LOUIS who offers both private charters and cabin cruises in the Aquitaine & Gascony region of southwest France.
A MAGICAL EVENING -
By Alasdair Wyllie, Owner-Operator of Barge Saint Louis
In
southwest France, in the valley of the River Garonne, there is a small
market town called Valence d’Agen. We have reason to know Valence very
well, since the Canal Garonne passes through the outskirts of the town,
and on the first of our two itineraries our hotel barge the Saint Louis
passes this way, between stops at Pommevic and Lamagistere. Sometimes
we stop in the small port, and our guests can explore the town with its
two market squares and its three Romanesque lavoirs.
Every
year, in early August, Valence d’Agen is known for an entirely
different reason. The port is transformed into a theatrical set with a
traditional village created on either side of the canal. Tiered seating
for an audience of 2,500 spectators is constructed. Lighting and sound
is installed. Ancient carts are made ready, and ancient cars are
polished. Costumes are prepared, actors are rehearsed. Valence is ready
to enchant once again.
With
our guests, we have just visited the 19th production of Au Fil de l’Eau
– une Histoire. Each year this extraordinary spectacle is presented on
eight nights in the first two weeks of August. It could be called a
son et lumière, but this would be a cruel understatement. Au Fil de
l’Eau is a story, a history, a tragedy, a comedy. There are scenes that
are poignant. There are scenes that are gripping. And particularly
there are scenes of outstanding beauty, where the whole audience gives
off a whispered “wow”.
It is possible to simply buy
tickets for the show, and to arrive shortly before nightfall to enjoy
the spectacle. Much better, though, is to take part in the
pre-spectacle long-table traditional meal, and to become a real part of
this extraordinary evening. During the meal, you will be served by
people dressed in costume whom you will later recognise as actors during
the spectacle, and you will be entertained by accordions and
barrel-organs, and by a group of workers called “the forced workers of
the threshing machine” who are keen to share their jokes and their wine
with you. Outside, you will find a wide range of entertainments and
exhibits. A magnificent cart-horse is coupled up to a working cart,
while the action stops so that a couple of children can have their
photographs taken beside the huge animal. A team of volunteers are
working sheaves of wheat through a threshing machine. A basket-maker is
busy working his craft. A variety of vintage cars are to be found,
some of them 100 years old, being shown off by their proud (and very
knowledgeable) owners. And there is a group of Occitane dancers,
entertaining the public to traditional dances from this part of France.
All this fair-ground atmosphere serves to entertain, to help pass the
evening until nightfall, and to “warm up” the audience to the period of
the spectacle they are about to witness.
The action
takes place on three “stages”. There is the far side of the canal,
where the main part of the village is set up. There is the near side of
the canal where scenes take place that allow the actors to take their
show into the audience. And there is the canal itself, where five
separate boats are used to present different themes and actions,
including the iconic scene at the beginning and the end of the
spectacle, where the narrator and his three young charges glide in their
punt through a laser-lit tunnel into the past or the future.
The
story-line of the show is not complex. It is the simple story of the
lives of three lads who were born locally in the late 1800’s, with the
various events that highlighted their lives including the first and
second world wars. This simple theme allows all sorts of scenes to be
woven into the spectacle. For example, there is the gossip of the
village women doing their washing at the canal’s edge, and there is the
engagement and marriage of one of the three friends. One favourite
scene is the bustling market, where comedy comes to the fore with one
actor bringing a live piglet into the audience, while another who has
stolen a live chicken manages to escape into the crowd and to fool the
police into arresting an innocent member of the audience.
The
opening scene is stunning. After the initial journey of the narrator
and the three boys in their punt in the tunnel of time, everything goes
dark for some seconds, and when the dawn music is introduced and the
overall lighting is gently increased the audience see three hundred and
fifty actors arranged in groups throughout the set. The actors are
frozen, like statues. Some ten seconds later, the music changes and all
the actors come to life.
One of the great things
about Au Fil de l’Eau is that it is such a community achievement. All
the actors are volunteers. Even though we live an hour’s drive from
Valence d’Agen, we had a great sense of belonging. For example, in the
winter months Barbara dances with the group who were doing the Occitane
dancing, I knew the staff on the stand of the Donzac Conservatoire, we
met in the audience a farmer who lives just a hundred yards from our
house, and one of our French guests recognised that the man carrying the
pig was the President of the regional tourist organisation. As an art
form, as a cultural experience, and as a way of providing real insight
into the life of the past in this part of France, we will always be
delighted to bring our guests on the barge to this spectacle. In a way
it is the inside knowledge of such an event that is important. Cruises
with us on the hotel barge Saint Louis become even richer when our
guests discover this astonishing show.
Thanks, Alasdair!
French Hotel Barge Saint Louis - Barging cruises charters in southwest France
The French hotel barge
Saint Louis
cruises the beautiful calm waterways of Southwest France, including the
historic lands of Aquitaine and Gascony. She does so in "casual
luxury", providing the perfect
accommodation
for up to six guests in three stateroom suites (configured as twins or
doubles, as desired). To cruise aboard Saint Louis is to experience
peace and tranquillity as one passes through the
lush countryside, pretty villages and memorable towns. It also means enjoying delicious French
cuisine, prepared with fresh local produce, and savouring local wines and aperitifs. Your hosts,
Alasdair and Barbara, together with their friendly and expert crew, will ensure that your holiday or vacation is the ultimate in relaxed pleasure.
AVAILABILITY:
- Saint Louis is currently open for the weeks July 27-August 2 and
August 3-9, 2013 where you may experience the Au Fil de l’Eau event.
- Inquire for availability on other weeks of their barging cruise season for both cabin cruises and private charters.
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