April 1st - April 10th, 2007

It’s 6:30 am and I’m wide awake as my internal clock is still in ‘France-time’ so it seems like a good time to write about my trip.

I’m not sure where to begin with this one as so much happened in 10 days, most of which was overwhelmingly amazingly.

I guess I’ll start at the beginning…

After a long, mostly sleepless night on the plane, we (Michelle, the other performer and I) arrived at the airport in France and were met by Jennifer (The Director) and Arthur (The writer).  After much hilarity trying to figure out the European car (the radio kept turning on randomly and every time we got it to turn off the windshield wipers would start) we harrowingly made our way out of Paris and headed off to Arras (the town where we would be staying and rehearsing for the next week).  I was pretty much glued to the window the entire time, processing the fact that I was finally in Europe (my first time!) and that I was here to perform in this piece that I knew was going to be a crazy experience, but which I really knew nothing about.  I took a lot of pictures of things like trees, road signs and trucks, totally amazed at how ‘different’ everything looked (please note: I did ‘un-dork’, slightly, by the end of the trip).

We arrived in Arras at our hotel, but not without a few more harrowing driving moments in the car, including Arthur turning down a one-way street into oncoming traffic while a motorcyclist slammed on his brakes to avoid crashing into the side of our car (don’t worry Arthur, I would have done the same thing)

The hotel we were staying at looked like a castle to me, with really old stone walls and a fancy lobby, the whole bit.  The rooms were all colour-themed (mine was yellow).  It was a pretty gorgeous place and we each had our own private rooms (I was quite spoiled this whole trip…)  I attempted to take a power nap, but soon had a knock on my door from Michelle who was eager to go exploring, and I couldn’t really resist, so we hit the streets.  Just walking down the street in France is enough to take your breath away over and over, looking at the buildings, realizing just how old they are and how much history they contain.  Arras in particular has been through a LOT.  It was completely bombed to ruins in the First World War, then re-built only to be bombed again in the Second World War.  It also has several levels deep of underground tunnels below the city (that held 20 000 soldiers secretly during the First World War!)  We walked all over, drank the local beers, ate the local ‘croque-monsieurs’ (vegetarian style - aka, grilled cheese), and got our first taste of the town.  Michelle retired for the night but I bumped into the rest of our team (Martin Conboy – The lighting designer hired to do a new lighting design for the monument and Scott Windsor – The Production manager) as well as Jennifer and Arthur so we all drove up to check out the monument in person for the first time.  It was a really exciting drive exploring the French countryside, and as we approached the Vimy monument the landscape started to reveal what had occurred there 90 years ago.  Every now and then we’d drive past an enormous crater in the ground, some of which had little walls and monuments built around them, and as we got really close to the ridge, the ground was a sea of little craters and grass covered trenches, with clumsy trees trying to somehow grow out of the uneven ground.  Most of the area was also cordoned off and bore warning signs letting you know that the fields were still full of unexploded grenades, landmines and shells.  The area is so volatile in fact that they send sheep out to cut the grass instead of machines, and every now and then, a sheep steps on a landmine… 

It was pretty eerie, especially knowing that 200 000 people had lost their lives in that small stretch of land ---definitely gave me a lot of context for the concept of war that I didn’t really start to understand until that moment. 

After about a 20 minute drive, we rounded the corner and there before us was the awe-inspiring Vimy monument, standing at attention, looking out over the ridge.  

I just want to take a moment to tell you about the monument, if I may, and why it’s such a unique work of art and tribute to the fallen soldiers.  Unlike most of the other monuments out there that celebrate victory and conquest in battle, the Vimy monument controversially (especially at the time) focuses on sacrifice.  As you approach the monument, you walk between a mother and a father, with troubled looks on their faces as their son/daughter is heading off to war.  As you cross around to the other side of the enormous white stone monument, you see this 15-foot tall sculpture of a woman, representing ‘Mother Canada’ looking down with pain and disbelief to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, 30 feet below.   On one side of the monument is a group of Canadians helping the weak, and on the other side are soldiers breaking the sword.  In the middle of the monument, between the 2 enormous pillars, is a figure, representing the spirit of sacrifice, reaching up towards the 6 Greek goddesses of Faith, Justice, Hope, Peace, Honour and Charity.  The walls are engraved with the names of the thousands of soldiers whose bodies were never found.

The monument exposes the sacrifice and sadness that is war, and encourages us to move away from violence towards the virtues of humanity.  It speaks of death and devastation but it also speaks of hope, love and especially peace.  Another thing that’s very unique about the monument, is that men and women are equally represented (most other monuments don’t have any women on them at all).  Walter Allward, the designer of the monument was definitely well ahead of his time and I think that’s why the monument remains so important and relevant today.

Needless to say, I was really moved by the experience of seeing the monument for the first time, and got all the more excited at the prospect of performing on/within it.

After it got dark, we headed back to the hotel for a night-cap, and then crashed in bed, the jet-lag getting the better of all of us.

The next day, we had the day off to recover from our travels, which really meant that I got up and hit the streets for the whole day.  I walked all over town, checked out the gorgeous city hall and the exhibit that they had set up there on the Battle of Arras as well as the photo-essay on the reconstruction of the Vimy monument (they’ve been restoring it for the past 3 years!).  Definitely my favorite moment of the day was when I found the cathedral in Arras (not that it’s hard to find) and walked inside.  I’ve never been in a cathedral before, and quite honestly, it physically took my breath away.  The natural light pouring in through all the stained glass windows, the organ quietly playing ---totally left me speechless.  I spent a good hour walking around inside, exploring all the details of the architecture and the artwork.  There was also a photo display that showed what the cathedral had been through.  It was bombed on several occasions, there were murders, gun battles, the whole bit.  I was somehow proud of the building for surviving all of its ordeals.

Other highlights of my day off:

-         Ordering a sandwich and being delivered what looked like an entire baguette sized sandwich (they like their sandwiches big in France!)

-         Having dinner with our whole team (now also including John Millard, the composer for the show) at this great little restaurant on a side-street with authentic French cuisine and atmosphere.

-         Drinking lots of wine and local beers

-         Going back to the restaurant 30 minutes after we left for dessert!

The next day we started work on the piece (we had done a week’s worth of rehearsals in Toronto too).  I guess I should explain the piece a bit. Basically we did a 30-minute narration/musical piece where we talked about the monument, its significance, history, detail and impact, all interspersed with Canadian music and all seamlessly bilingual).  I’ll talk about the grand finale of the piece a little later on…

So we worked all day on the songs and the text; trying to figure out exactly the right tone for the piece given the enormity of the space and the context of the event.  Not much to say about the rehearsals other than we had them every day, they went well and kept us busy!

After the second day of rehearsals, we got the night off and Martin took us all out for a REAL French meal.  We checked out a bunch of restaurants but finally ended up at the fanciest place in town (La Faisandrie) where we were treated to a ridiculously amazing 7-course meal (including 2 desert courses!!)

Highlights of the meal:

-         Weird fish-mousse with caviar, but man did it taste good

-         Truffles with poached egg…mmmm!

-         Best salmon I’ve ever had, hands down

-         Accidentally ordering the expensive bottle of champagne

-         Getting quite a healthy selection of French wine

-         Being far too loud for the quaint little restaurant.

-         Watching Jennifer and John eat their cheese plates (they opted for the cheese instead of the chocolate thingy, which was ridiculously good, by the way).  Basically the waiter wheeled around this glass covered dome of cheese that they were to choose from.  As she opened the dome, I was literally punched in the face by the smell. I don’t know if I liked it or hated it, but it was definitely forceful.  They made their selections and we watched as their contorted faces tried to make sense of it all.  The first one Jennifer tried literally had her loudly exclaiming ‘oh my g*d!’.   John compared the taste of that particular cheese to ‘a mix of dirty-sock, jock-strap and dead guy’ … and yet both of them loved it and kept going.  I tried the tiniest piece of the sock-strap-dead-guy cheese, and certainly had to agree with John’s description.  I could still taste it and smell it the next morning at breakfast.

The next day there was a market in the town square that I checked out.  I don’t mean to be politically incorrect or anything, but it seems that the French will eat anything!  Some of the meat-items/cheeses that I saw people purchasing quite frightened me.  Some items included: duck that has been cooked and sealed in its own fat, then left on the counter for a year, only to crack the fat open and eat the meat inside!  Or bloody shark head. At least there’s no waste, and that has to be a good thing…

I on the other hand, very boringly bought some fresh bread, cheese, wine and strawberries and had a little picnic with John, Martin and Scott in their room.

The next day, Friday, we headed back out to the site for soundcheck.  We started off our visit by going down into the crypt below the monument through the secret hidden staircase.  It was pretty crazy to see the underbelly of the monument, and the echo was several seconds long.  We sang a little accapella rendition of ‘Farewell to Nova Scotia’ down there which was quite fun too. 

We then headed down to the stage that had been built for our performance, got fitted with mics/etc. and did our first run-through of the piece in the space.  I really got a taste of the potential for the piece and got very excited about performing it the following night…

On Saturday, we once again headed over to the site where we met up with the 40-person children’s choir from PEI that was going to be singing with us on a few of the numbers.  They were a really great group of kids and had been working hard on the music for several months.  I got shivers all over my body as they joined us in the chorus of ‘O Dominion’ for the first time.

After soundcheck, we laid low for a few hours and made our final preparations for the big event.  At around 7:30, I looked out the window and saw a marching brass band walking up the road, followed by an endless sea of people. They ended the march at the monument and set up all along the south side where they played a concert while the sun was setting.  From that point on, my heart was beating doubly-fast until the end of the night.  We made our way down to the north side of the monument while the brass band was still performing and got set up for our performance.  After checking mics and setting up our scripts, we waited for the marching band show to finish.  The sky was on fire as it set, every part of me felt alive and ready for the task at hand.  As the sun was finally down, I saw the first wave of people coming down around the hill and over the monument and for the 100^th time this trip, totally lost my breath.  We watched in amazement as they just kept coming and coming by the busload, and 30 minutes later, there were 10 000 people filling the seats and standing on the grass.  We snuck up to the ridge of the monument where we were to begin and waited for our cue.   After a very cold half-hour of waiting for the introductory speeches, our moment finally arrived.  John stepped up onto the ledge next to the statue of mother Canada as the light hit him and sang the opening verse, accappella to ‘Farewell to Nova Scotia’ in his gorgeous baritone voice.  Michelle then appeared out of the dark and sang in harmony on the second verse.  As I looked up at them from my hidden position, with the light hitting them and mother Canada, I wondered how in the world I ended up here…  It was one of those moments where you realize you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.  Finally, I stepped up onto the ledge and completed the 3-part harmony.  As I stepped up, I saw what seemed like hundreds of cameras flashing, revealing an endless sea of people in their ephemeral light.  I was so proud of our team, so proud to be Canadian, so moved by the crowd, so amazed that I was there.  After our opening song, the choir sang ‘Les Canadiens Errants’ as we made our way off the monument and down onto the stage below.  The piece went off without a hitch and here’s where I tell you about the grand finale…

So after working our way through several songs and a very moving narration, we sing the final number ‘O Dominion’ which is a reprise from when we did it halfway through the piece.  This time though, there’s the full choir and piano, and as we’re doing the final chorus, the monument which has been dark until now, starts to be lit up.  It takes about 2 minutes for the lights to reach their full brilliance, which has been timed to coincide with the final moment of the piece as everyone cuts out and Michelle sings the final tag by herself.  As she sings her last note, the monument is in its full brilliance behind us… 

Wow… totally knocked me over….

I just kept thinking of my grandparents and what they lived through.  Human history is an amazing thing and being a part of a piece like that was a real privilege.  I feel like I keep coming up short when I’m trying to tell people about this experience…  it was probably the greatest experience of my life to date.

After the ceremony, we were invited by the Flemish masons to their party down the road.  They had been doing all the stone work on the monument for the past 3 years and their job was finally complete.  Needless to say, they were in a celebrating mood…

Most of them didn’t speak a lick of English or French but somehow we found a way to have a great time together and celebrate the long road that had just been traveled.  They fed us and ‘beveraged’ us with much fervor and the night ended with John, Michelle and I delivering a rousing rendition of ‘Farewell to Nova Scotia’ which they seemed to really enjoy.  We finally headed back to the hotel, said goodbye to Michelle, Martin and Scott (they were flying back early the next morning) and then hit the sack.

The next day, Arthur, Jennifer, John and I set off for Paris.  We dropped John off at his place, Jennifer off near a shoe store, and then Arthur dropped me off at a metro so I could make my way across town to meet up with my stepfather’s family who lived in Paris and had graciously offered to put me up for a few days. 

After a rather harrowing metro adventure with all my baggage (I got on the wrong train, etc. etc.), I finally made it to where I was supposed to be and met up with Lynne and Joanne.  They took me on an incredible walking tour of Paris and we stopped in at all the key spots (including the Eiffel Tower, The Champs D’Elysees, L’Arche de Triomphe, etc.).  We then met up with Jean-Charles (Lynne’s husband) and they took me out for dinner in the Latin Quarter at this old Greek restaurant that Jean-Charles had been going to since his college days. 

What can I say about Paris, it’s absolutely unbelievable!  From one street to the next, you bear witness to the very foundations of cultural history.  On one corner is l’Ecole Nationale de Musique, which has such alumni as Mozart and Beethoven, on the next corner is a café where Simone de Beauvoir and Sartre talked shop, and then you walk into a museum and see original paintings by David, Delacroix and Da Vinci.  Every building is a work of art, the history and culture oozes from every city block.  I’ve never experienced anything like it; I wish I had better words. 

I spent all day on Monday walking to as many places as I could.  I went to the Sacre Coeur, to the Louvre, to the Notre Dame Cathedral, The Trochadero, the Opera, everywhere!!  I must have walked 20 km that day!  At the end of the night, I headed down into this cave-like jazz club that has hosted all the greats over the years and watched a killer jazz band bring the house down.   Finally, after a whirlwind day and trip, I headed back to the house, slept briefly and got on the metro and train to fly back to Canada.

So there you have it, 10 days in France, an endless list of experiences I’ve only dreamed of.  I feel like a VERY lucky man to have been able to have this experience; things like this probably only come around once in a lifetime…

And now for a moment of severe immaturity:

n.b. This is totally weird, but seeing as the Queen was in attendance for the ceremony on Monday, I was dying to know where she went to the bathroom. (I know, I’m ridiculous, but I bet you ask yourself the same question!)  Well ladies and gentleman, I cracked the case, and I have the picture to prove it.  She has her own private Johnny-on-the-spot which travels around with her.  It looks very well-traveled and is made of old wood, complete with an intricate plumbing system.  We ducked into a tent to warm up while on the site and lo-and behold, we discovered the hidden treasure!  See picture beside as proof. 

Sorry for that, I just had to tell you about it.

PETER GOES TO VIMY - TOUR BLOG