Ancient stone villages built right on the water’s edge pass you by and large iron barriers groan under the pressure of the water that is pushing against them. You are sitting back in a deck chair, relaxing with a glass of French champagne in your hand, watching the sun set on yet another glorious day on the canal. The water laps ever so gently against the boat. A fragrant smell from the kitchen below permeates the air, and suddenly you feel hungry, even though you thought you couldn’t possibly eat again. Welcome to life aboard the Savannah, a luxury barge cruise in France; your dream holiday on the Canal du Midi.
Kerri McConnel
Fire engine red chairs bathing in the morning sun aboard the Savannah on the Canal du Midi, France. Image © Kerri McConnel
Our Experience on a Luxury Barge Cruise, France
Contents
The Savannah
Of the many barges in France, The Savannah is a stand out. The luxury barge is a fire engine red and black luxury barge, lovingly restored by owner and our captain, Adrien Bramoullé. With an extensive career in veterinary science and business, Adrien travels regularly between South Africa and France. “I retired at 45”, was one of the first things Adrien told us when he picked us up from our hotel. Whilst he may have left his corporate life at 45, Adrien’s version of retirement still involves plenty of hard work. With the 100-year-old barge, Savannah and a part ownership in a private safari lodge in South Africa, Adrien is as busy as ever. But, from the look of him, he’s loving life. His passion, along with an obsessiveness about delivering the ultimate customer experience to his clients, guides every part of the week-long cruise on the Canal du Midi.
Where Does the Canal Cruise Go?
This would have to be one of the best barge trips in France, when you see the route it takes. Whilst the Canal du Midi runs for 240 km from Toulouse in the south-west of France to Sète, a Mediterranean town, our cruise on the Savannah only takes in a small portion of it. Purpose built in the 17th century for transportation purposes, one of the most beautiful canals in France has now become a home to luxury barges like the Savannah.
The cruise on the Canal du Midi begins at the Aiguille Lock and passes through Marseillette, Villedubert, Ladouce, Villeseque and Beteille, finishing near Bram. It’s a cruise that joined six of us together for seven days and six nights.
One of the locks you pass through during a barge cruise on the 240 km long Canal du Midi, France. Image © Kerri McConnel
Savannah Barge Cruise Crew
Three crew members are all it takes to run the Savannah and they do it so well. Captain Adrien Bramoullé is of course, the overseer. Like a general in the army, he has his finger on the pulse. Always watching, listening and making changes, as discreet as they may be, to ensure the ultimate experience is provided to his guests. Nothing is too much trouble for Adrien and his daily “check-ins” with guests ensures everything is on track. He takes the time to get to know people and encourages his team to do the same. This generates a feeling of camaraderie at a very early stage, especially difficult sometimes if all guests are strangers to each other.
Adrien is a perfectionist and every aspect of his barge, and indeed the cruise is carefully planned and managed. Everything complements each other. From bedroom furnishings to the tiles on the boat he had re-created to match the originals, to impeccable taste in glassware, matched to every type of drink possible, no detail is left to chance. It also doesn’t go unnoticed.
Adrien carefully recruited his team and includes them in his business. Cross trained and multi-skilled, they participate in a variety of roles on the barge, seamlessly delivering a consistent approach to their guests. In one conversation with Adrien, he noted that he encourages his staff to go on the daily activities with guests. “How can they engage in conversation with a guest about something they’ve seen if the crew have never been”, he explained.
Similarly, it’s not just the chef who knows about the food either. All members of the team can tell you where the cheese we were eating came from, or what type of wine we were drinking.
June, a dry witted woman with a sunny disposition from Ireland kept the laughs going all week. In her words, “everything on here is good for you” and we believed her. As we indulged each morning in our wonderful breakfasts with pastries, salads, smoked salmon, yoghurt, fruit and eggs, she desperately tried to make us eat the muesli. After her pleas went unnoticed on the first day, each day thereafter she would make us all giggle with her stage performance of “may I present to you, the muesli”. It’s silly little moments like this that I’ll never forget. I also won’t forget how June helped my husband who was suffering from a chest cold. Offering up cough syrup and making him an organic, herbal tea with eucalyptus each evening to help him out. It wasn’t asked for. It was just another example of the crew offering outstanding service.
Chef Valérie Jarlet was amazing. Operating from what many chefs would consider a small kitchen, she whipped up beautiful cuisine for every meal. Whilst most of the time Valérie looked quite serious, she came alive when music played, especially when her favourite musicians came on board to entertain us during the week.
Shopping with chef Valérie in Narbonne during a break from the Savannah barge on the Canal du Midi, France. Image © Kerri McConnel
Food and Wine Aboard the Savannah Barge
The barge cruise may not be advertised with a culinary focus, but the quality of the food served makes it worthy of such branding. When Adrien mentioned that “by Wednesday, most guests usually ask us to reduce the amount of food they receive”, we all simply smiled. The six of us; two Australians and four Americans, decided collectively that we were up for the challenge. After our first delicious meal there was no way we were going to tell them to stop. By Wednesday, we understood what Adrien meant. However, we were warriors, and we harnessed our strength to keep on trying all that Valérie put in front of us.
Most of the food served is organic and locally sourced. At the beginning of each trip, the majority of the food is purchased from an organic farmer near Narbonne. On the first day of the cruise, whilst we are visiting the market with the chef, the remainder of the food requirements are purchased. All fish comes from the Mediterranean or is organically farmed. As such, all meals served on board are fresh and seasonal. It’s easy to know what vegetables you will be eating by simply looking at the huge bowl of them sitting on the kitchen. Ours was filled with courgettes, eggplant, leeks, capsicums and tomatoes, all beautifully ripe and ready to eat.
When questioned on the contents of her fridge, Valérie was quick to tell me “the only thing the freezer is used for is ice cream”, in her sternest French accent, highlighting just how fresh everything was. In addition, fresh bread and pastries are bought every day from local artisan boulangeries.
All wines, whiskeys and cognacs are also locally sourced from within the region. There is a strong preference for local wines, and on several occasions, we saw Adrien purchase wines from those wineries we visited. According to Adrien, “On 90% of the cruises, we never open anything other than local wine, excluding the champagne, of course”. Wines are also cleverly matched with all food to further enhance the dining experience.
Cabins on the Savannah Barge
The Savannah caters for up to seven guests, with three double cabins and one for single occupancy. The Laurgais cabin, located at the front of the barge and accessible by stairs from the upper deck, is approximately 15 square metres. The Minervois and Corbieres cabins, located directly behind the Laurgais, but accessible via the internal stairs are around 12 square metres.
With king size beds and high quality linen, the rooms are cosy and inviting, and most certainly comfortable. For those hot French summer nights, the rooms are air-conditioned and portholes allow for the fresh canal breezes to waft over you.
A full size shower with excellent hot water and water pressure was the highlight of my ceramic tiled bathroom. I love a good hot shower and being on a barge didn’t mean I had to sacrifice this. With a 9,000 litre water tank, we were never going to run out of fresh water.
His and hers L’Occitane en Provence toiletries were a beautiful touch and a direct link to the Savannah’s past as a former showroom for L’Occitane. The rooms are serviced daily. All cabins also have skylights, which not only bring additional light in make the cabins feel more spacious.
The cosy and plush Savannah Minervois cabin bedroom. Image © Kerri McConnel
The Minervois cabin bedroom on the Savannah barge. Image © Kerri McConnel
Our generously sized ensuite in our cabin on the Savannah Image © Kerri McConnel
Other Areas on Savannah
The Upper Deck
The upper deck on the Savannah was, without doubt, my favourite place to spend time. It was so much larger than I had expected, and walking around on it was not only good fun but very easy to navigate. With only six of us on board, there were plenty of opportunities to spread out in the lounges or deck chairs provided. When we all felt like being together, a large communal table provided the perfect setting to do so. Usually, it involved some delicious snacks that Valerie had put together for us, and a drink or two.
Kerri and husband Stirling enjoy their favourite spot on the barge, the upper deck. Image © Kerri McConnel
The Savannah Salon
This room stole my heart because of its pure beauty and ambience. Each time I walked through it, en route to my cabin, I marvelled at how such a beautiful space could exist on a barge. I couldn’t help but sit in the Christian Lacroix butterfly armchairs and smile. At other times, I was happy to sit on the leather lounges as I listened to the music gently playing throughout. The bar occupies the rich dark mahogany cupboards all around the salon. Here, top shelf labels of almost every type of