Travel another way

Today we went to Virieu castle to paint it and we saw quite a few cars parked nearby, which is very unusual. What could be happening? And what a good surprise! They had a painting contest! About thirty painters were sitting everywhere: in the gardens, in the courtyard, in the fields,… However we decided to paint in the village instead, and to come back at the end of the day to see the paintings done and who the winner was. When we came back they had a release of pigeons in the courtyard of the castle. We got there just in time to see it.  That was amazing. We also got the chance to have a guided visit of the castle and see Louis the XIII’s bedroom, listed historical monument. The guide, originally from England, was very knowledgeable.

At the end of the visit, we were invited by the organizers for a drink with the French painters.   We tasted a brand new drink made by Bigallet, a drink factory from the Virieu village. They made this special drink for the castle: a wine with honey spices  like in the medieval time. We all liked it very much. What a perfect day it was! Painting , enjoying a medieval drink in a French castle  and meeting French painters!!

Here are a few paintings of the castle by the French painters .