Travel another way

The funniest painter, Linda Walsh, broke her foot 2 days before coming on the trip. She arrived nevertheless and has been a trooper, carrying her cumbersome foot through Provence.

Lindas' broken foot

Linda, with her broken foot, has excelled at broken colour whether at Monet’s gardens at Giverny or at Van Gogh’s hospital at Mausole de Saint-Paul in St. Remy de Provence. Our mentor, Victoria Brooks, internationally renowned plein air painter from California, covets Linda’s broken colour but not her broken foot. This morning our entire painting group painted Van Gogh’s olive grove and les Alpilles from the vantage point of his original painting.  Victoria demonstrated an extraordinary composition and then provided instruction on mixing all of the colours in the scene before her. She also illustrated the benefits of painting  first the darkest darks, the lightest lights and then medium values.

Victoria demonstrating how to paint in St Remy

Victoria encouraged all of her painters to create the scene in their own style.  In the afternoon, the painters followed the footsteps of Linda’s broken foot to the far corner of the sunflower garden and painted the sunflowers lighting up the church!

Mausole St Paul in St Remy where Van Gogh was hospitalized

Linda’s foot led us to cheap wine at the local cafe in St. Didier. Following Linda’s foot, we found excellent wine, salads and pizza at La Pizzeria “Cote Cour”.

Linda and her good wine in St Didier

Smoked salmon salad

Tomorrow we follow Linda’s foot to seek out beautiful landscapes described to us by charming residents of Isle sur sur la Sorgue!

writer: Kerry, one of the guests of the painting trip with French Escapade

Today we went to Gordes, one (if not the one) of the most beautiful villages in France. Hilltop village built around a castle on a cliff. What else can be better for painters?

Pamela, Linda and of course teacher Victoria painted the hilltop village while Tina, Lynne, Kerry and Marty went shopping on the weekly market in the village.

Victoria helping Pamela for her painting in Gordes

They bought different gifts for friends and family from apron to lavender soap but also cheese, ham and baguette for our picnic.

We had a picnic at the Clos des Jeannons, at Andre’s shop. He makes wonderful olive oil including basil and truffle olive oils. He gave us a bottle of rose wine for us to drink later. What a treat.

More painting in the afternoon before going out for dinner.

Victoria, Lynne and Marty at the restaurant, toasting for their leader...

After dinner, more shopping, but different since it happened in my room: French Escapade shopping.  Some women bought wonderful T-shirts they will wear tomorrow with their French Escapade vizors.

Linda, Kerry and Tina with their new French Escapade T-shirts.

A busy day but so wonderful under the Provence sun.

New group, new faces or almost. I already knew artist Victoria Brooks since she came and taught for me in 2008 in the French Alps. She is back with a new group of art students. This time is Provence. Yep, Van Gogh, Cezanne,…they knew where the light is best for painting so does my new American group.

Today, our first day, demo by Victoria: first, how to set up the easel, then how to use  colors.

Victoria doing a demo of plein air painting

Lynne and her wonderful apron:" A bad day in the studio is better than a great day in the office,"

The view from the guesthouse we are staying at is breathtaking. Maybe overwhelming for some who chose to paint a  vignette: a flower pot, some grapes, some hanging flowers. The idea is to get used to painting outdoor.

View from our guesthouse in Venasque-Provence

The group visited an artist gallery. The artist told them to go and paint by the cemetery in Venasque. “It is very quiet there” he told them. And quiet it was !

After a marvelous picnic with duck mousse, salmon rillette, French baguette, fruits and so on, the bravest went to the cemetery to paint ..not the graves but from there, we had a wonderful view of the hilltop village of Venasque, where we are staying.

Linda using the painting knife for her oil painting

I picked Venasque on purpose. Listed one of the most beautiful villages in France but not touristy. How come? Well, no touristy shops, no cafes, no ice cream places… just wonderful medieval houses, church, fountain and medieval towers. Just what painters want.

Tomorrow will be a complete different day in Provence with French Escapade….

Today the girls went shopping. They didn’t have to go very far…inside the house there is my portable French Escapade shop: visors, shirts, table cloths,…Of course, all painters chose visors (not that they will use them now with this cold weather!!!!(.

Anne and Judy bought the same shirt also,looking like twins:

Judy and Anne and their new French Escapade outfit

Judy decided to wear her new table cloth as a skirt. Why not?

Judy and her new skirt

Niki and Nancy bought the same visor so I wanted to take their picture together but Joan wanted to be in the middle because she didn’t belong to any picture:

Niki, Joan and Nancy and their new French Escapade visors

The shopping was done in 10 minutes because they wanted more paint more or was it to eat more? For sure, for Joan it was to eat more. She admitted that she came on the trip for the French food and she was not disappointed.  She is now doing a little painting for the chef to thank him for his wonderful food.

Our chef, Mr Poulet

Check back tomorrow to see the painting of Mr Poulet’s food by Joan.

Today has been a rainy day so indoor painting for everyone; still life. Everyone painted a bouquet of flowers on top of a wooden chair with a French hat sitting on it. Ok, it is not a real French hat, it is actually Joan’s hat but everyone agreed that the still life with her hat looked very French. Below are a few pictures of our guest painting.

Judy painting

Joan painting

Nancy painting

Anne painting

But France is not only about painting but eating and drinking. Therefore, we went to the Chartreuse cellar, the longest liquor cellar in the world. We learned about the Chartreuse monks making the Chartreuse liquor. We know it is a mix of 150 herbs but they keep the recipe secret. I guess we don’t need to know, as long as it tastes good. They make 9 different types of liquor, from the elixir of long life at 75% alcohol to the fruit liquor at 21%. You can’t find them in the States. You can only find the green Chartreuse (55% alcohol) and the yellow one, called the liquor for ladies, because it is only 41% alcohol. We also got a chance to see the life of the monks in a 3D movie wearing great glasses…. Very good day after all.

Drinking Chartreuse liquor when traveling to France

Watching a 3D movie at the Chartreuse cellar

Stay tuned for more adventure with French Escapade

I am back in France on my first 2010 tour. A painting tour in the foothills of the Alps with art teacher Niki Reynolds.

What a fun group it is! small (5 women) for a lot of fun and laughter. The tour is not only about oil painting even if it is the primary reason for them to join the tour but it is about enjoying each other’s company, French food, French culture and having a good time.

The weather hasn’t been the best it can be. That is the least I can say. It is quite chilly, about 13 degree Celsius (55F), which is usually the weather for March.

That doesn’t stop our guests from painting: if it is too cold outside for some of them, they are painting inside.

Most are beginner painters (Nancy, Anne and Judy) while Joan is an experienced outdoor painter. By the time the beginners finish to set up their easel and paint, Joan has almost finished one painting. Oh well, they found that rather amusing. Me too!!!

Niki is a great teacher. You can check her art on her site at http://nikiparas.com/

She is spending a lot of time helping the newbies. That is the beauty of being in a small group. You get plenty of personal help from the teacher.

On thhe first day, we had a professional chef preparing dinner for us. Not just any chef, but Jean Claude Poulet has been the chef for the Louis Vuiton family. What a treat.

Jean Claude prepared  superb food for us. I didn’t take pictures of everything and I should have.  Below is a picture of him preparing the asparagus as hors d’oeuvres, then a picture of him with the bananas with cinnamon for dessert, a close-up of the banana and finally a picture of our group.

If you want to join one of our painting tours in 2011, make sure to check www.frenchescapade.com

Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

Jackie

Best,

Last year, we decided to make videos to show what our tours really are about. Whether about our painting trips or our cultural trips, we hope they convey our philosophy of travel.

Thank you to all of our guests who have participated in giving testimonials. We were not able to insert all of them in the video but we really appreciate your enthusiasm and time.

Here are 2 videos (1. our general tours / 2. our painting tours in Belgium)

Video 1

Video 2

We also offer painting tours in France and in Switzerland. For more information about all our destinations, check www.frenchescapade.com

I love my job because it offers a great variety of tasks: my favorite one being leading the tours, of course, because I enjoy interacting with my guests, sharing their joy and showing them wonderful new places.

However, most of my tours happening between May and October, many people often wonder what I do then. No, I do not sit and relax for 6 months ! It is in fact when I have to do the toughest part of my job: marketing, selling and organizing.

However, having started my company 6 years ago, it becomes easier and easier: I have solid contacts and partners, and “word-of-mouth” makes wonders ! Right now, my cooking tour is really successful and Belgium is getting more interest than the past years . Belgium 2010 is  a cultural tour with an optional  writing workshop. My new tour in Tuscany  is getting filled. As for Provence and the painting workshops, they remain the greatest hits !

For more information and availabilities about all our tours in 2010, check  www.frenchescapade.com

Picture info. 1. Visit of a ranch in Camargue / Provence 2. Picture by Jan Hagan

I just wanted to share with you some details of my recent stay in Switzerland: half for pleasure and half scouting for places to soon offer a new tour in Switzerland.

As usual, my main concern was to find authentic places and people, interesting places to visit and a fun ambiance for our future groups.

Moreover, one of the goals of French Escapade is to introduce our guests to the culture of the visited country, and mostly to meet locals. So I visited farms and was glad to meet wonderful hospitable people we will be able to meet.

It didn’t take too long to decide that the Gruyere area was still a beautiful preserved countryside, with stupendous chalets, peaceful herds of cows enchanting our ears with the music from their bells, cheese and chocolate makers all around, and friendly people.

So here is a special preview of the possible visits for this new tour for you (work still in progress!):

• Gruyere cheese fabric
• walk to mountain chalet (when season permits) for artisan cheese making
• medieval village
• pastry workshop
• lunch in a private home to discover Swiss specialty food and drinks
• paper-cutting artwork demonstration
• 18th / 19th chalet villages
• Balthus chalet
• Swiss Riviera and Geneva Lake
• Montreux market
• salt mine
• terraced vineyards
• Medieval castle
• Scenic train ride
• cable car ride to peaks
• Nestle chocolate factory

In 2010, we will probably start with a painting tour in this area (just a few cultural visits and great painting opportunities) with teacher Sonja Hamilton.

If you are interested or want to check all our 2010 destinations, visit us at www.frenchescapade.com

Our painting tour in Belgium  has ended. Everyone had a wonderful time. The weather has been wonderful, sunny but not too hot. The painting sites were delightful. We had our “last supper” together at the hotel.

Below are some of our guests’ drawing and paintings (they are work in process):

Our hotel near Bruges, by Bonnie C.

A house on the herring market in Damme by Sylvia G.

Curtain at the  hotel near Bruges, by Teresa G.

Windmill in Damme by Margaret A.

Statue at the hotel near Bruges, by Catherine D.

House in Bruges by Sandy Delehanty, our teacher on the tour.

Sheep statues at our hotel near Bruges, by Linda C.

If you want to join us on our next plein air painting trips in France or Belgium, please check www.frenchescapade.com

Today we visited the capital of Belgium:  Brussels.

We took the train from Bruges to Brussels. At the train station, some of us had a hard time reading the signs without their glasses so Linda gave us a tip: Close one eye and look through your fingers with the other. It sounds odd but it works. Everyone tried it!!!!!

We started the day with a visit of the Palace of the King. This is not where our King, Albert II, and the queen, Paola, live but where he works. Since the king is on vacation, the palace is open to the public.

The Palace is of course very luxurious but maybe not always at our taste. We had a hard time with the ceiling of the mirror room decorated with 1 million 500 thousands beetles from Thailand!! Yes, real beetles (dead of course!!!). It makes it all blue and green. Even the chandelier was all covered with those bugs. It was maybe in fashion under the reign of  King Leopold II (the second King of Belgium at the end of the 19th century) but it was for sure not ours. Wish we could have taken pictures…

While we were walking in Brussels, Bonnie stayed at our accommodation near Bruges and painted all day. Here are some of her paintings:

During that time, we were still wandering around and of course eating some Belgian waffles. Actually there is not such a thing as A Belgian waffle in Belgium. There are two types of waffles: the Liege waffle or the Brussel Waffle. The Liege waffle is harder and has more sugar than the Brussel waffle. The shape is also a bit different (oval for Liege, rectangular for Brussels).

Here is the Brussel waffle (with powder sugar and whipped cream ):

And here is the Liege waffle:

You can of course have them plain or with whipped cream, chocolate, strawberries, etc…

The day ended with a great dinner at our hotel, served by Monique who is a real delight. To characterize Monique, I will just say: “Ask and you shall receive.”

Teresa was cold one day and Monique prepared her a hot bath with candles for the ambiance. Sandy can’t eat sugar, so Monique would bring her an alternative dessert. Teresa wanted to take a pic of her chocolate pralines and Monique brought her a plate and arrange them for the picture to make sure it looked nice. It wouldn’t be the same without her. That is a big reason that made me choose her accommodation.

The evening ended with some of us dancing in the dining room (Teresa and Catherine on the picture)!!!!!

Tomorrow, I will post some of the paintings made by the group. Make sure to check again.

Join us next year on this fabulous trip: check our site at www.frenchescapade.com

Today, everyone spent time painting at the house in the morning. The sun was out, everyone was so relax. Linda and Margaret chose to paint in the sun room because this is their favorite spot on the premises.

Sylvia preferred the pool while Bill, her husband, was editing his pictures.

In the afternoon, off we went to the North Sea, direction Ostend. We couldn’t have a nicer day to hang out by the beach.

Ostend is in the Flemish part of the country. It used to be a very elegant resort at the end of the 19th century. The king at that time, Leopold II, built a lot of rich houses and made Ostend the  queen resort of the North Sea. Unfortunately the 2 wars left their marks and now few buildings from that time remain. They are now surrounded by 20th buildings.

I decided to look stylish by wearing Catherines’s hat.

Check our site for the next tour to Belgium.

I am running a plein air painting tour in Belgium with one art teacher, Sandy Delehanty, and 7 students: Bonnie, Catherine, Teresa, Linda, Margaret, Bill and Sylvia.

Today, I have decided to post the travel notes from the art teacher:

“My students and I are on a Watercolor Workshop planned and guided by French Escapade, a company that specializes in small group tours for people who want to really immerse themselves in the culture of the country they are visiting. Scroll down to my previous post to see the lovely country hotel where we are staying and you will get the idea that this is not your typical “if this is Tuesday it must be Belgium tour”.

There is so much to see in Brugges Belguim that we decided to spend our first day exploring, photographing and soaking up the ambience in this beautiful city, “The Venice of the North”.

The only Michaelangelo statue outside of Italy is here in Brugge. It was commissioned by Sienna, but the people from Brugge paid a higher price, so it came to live Brugge.

Margaret with her lace fan she purchased from a young lace maker who showed us how she creates lace from 72 bobbins. The craft is passed down through the generations, but today’s lace shops sell mostly machine made lace to keep the price reasonable for purchase. The young lady had some small doilies for sale that took her 8 hours to make, but because they were small she had to price them at only 8 euros.

Bonnie and Catherine after our boat tour, it is very sunny today.

A painting everywhere I look. Scenes like this drew us to Belgium for our Watercolor Workshop. Our guide Jackie is from Belgium so we are getting the inside scoop on life in Belgium ” (from Sandy’s blog at http://havepaintswilltravel.blogspot.com/).

Today we visited Damme.

Damme is one of the most charming villages in Belgium. Located
in the Flanders, between the beaches and Bruges this village
enchanted everyone in the group: windmill, canals, barges, gothic church and
plaza.

We will also visited a windmill in activity since 1878. The miller (second to the L) showed us how they still make flour with a the 19th century machinery.

Everyone spent the afternoon painting and in the evening, we got our critique from artist / teacher Sandy Delehanty.

Bonnie was the fastest painter and managed to finish her large painting of  Damme windmill.

Everyone was quite happy with what they had accomplished.

Tomorrow, off to Brugges!!!!!!

Check our itinerary on our site at www.frenchescapade.com

The full group has arrived. It was not an easy thing. Sandy missed her plane and arrived a day later. Her suitcase stayed behind in Dallas.

Linda had to take the train to Bruges because of a mix up in the time. But finally everyone arrived.

Bonnie and Catherine arrived at the hotel last night after I picked them up at their hotel in Brussels so they already had a full day today. Bonnie didn’t waste anytime and has already finished her first painting, inside the wonderful sunroom we have at the hotel.

Everyone had time to relax and explore the lovely hotel. Sandy was amazed by the size of the flowers. They were huge!!!!

After everyone settled in, we had our first drink together. The dog of the house was sleeping very deeply on the sofa taking two spots for herself. Teresa moved her a bit to find a little spot to sit. She moved Cayenne’s head (the dog) and put it on her lap. Cayenne didn’t even wake up. Teresa felt quite happy to have a puppy for herself. It made her feel at home.

We had our first dinner together and it was a real delight. After the first dish (beef carpaccio), some people thought it was the end of the meal. What a surprise when we got fish with mashed potatoes and spinach,  and of course, dessert: ice cream with strawberries.

If you want to be part of our tours to Belgium, check our site here.