Travel another way

This was our last day in Charmey, and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Like every day, we had a picnic lunch and used the bags our teacher Sonja Hamilton made for us. She spent time before the trip researching what we were going to see on the trip and painted those scenes on picnic bags that she gave us on our first day. That was so sweet of her. Here are pictures of each bag she made:

She even made one for Valerie who was not on the trip with us this time.

She designed a new logo for Jackie’s company, French Escapade with all the countries in Europe she organizes trips to: Belgium, France, Switzerland and Italy.

We returned to Gruyeres (the castle) and painted outdoors. I actually finished a small painting in a couple hours…a record for me.

We had time to explore the village and castle, enjoy the views from a mountaintop, and shop…all at a relaxed pace.

Later we took a funicular to the top of Moleson, the highest mountain in Gruyeres, with an amazing view.

After photographing in every direction, we had a fondue dinner in the restaurant there.  Yum!  It was a grand finale for a wonderful tour.

And this was the end of a fabulous trip in Switzerland with French Escapade.

In the afternoon we went to a chocolate factory.  What a great experience in several ways.

The place is very well organized for visitors.  The tour began with a cinema, or so we thought.  It was all computerized.  English speakers were grouped together for the intro and history of the development of chocolate.  We walked into what turned out to be an elevator that took us down into the first of several rooms with a mini Disneyland-like presentation in each one.

Rooms were decorated, animated, interesting, informative, and fun  There was an ever-present smell of chocolate.  Everytime the speaking ended in a room, a door opened to another room.  That was followed by a room full of cocoa beans, hazel nuts, almonds, etc, with information about all the ingredients, the benefits of chocolate for our health, etc. The smell…..Hmmm, cocoa everywhere.

Cailler is one of the few manufacturers worldwide to use slightly condensed milk instead of milk powder. It is a special process of vaporizing the milk into the cocoa that gives Cailler chocolate its unrivalled  taste and texture.

The milk in milk chocolate is from local cows, and the sugar is also from Switzerland.  Other rooms showed the old and new machinery and process of mixing, forming, and packaging  of individual pieces of chocolate.

Then there was a tasting room where no one paid attention to how many samples you tried…with no wrappers to slow you down.

Oh boy!  I decided to risk a migraine headache, and sampled with reckless abandon.

So far so good, though I most definitely pigged out and enjoyed every bite.

We all skipped dessert after dinner tonight.

You too, taste this delicious chocolate by joining our tour to Switzerland.

In previous post, Betty, one of my guests on the Switzerland tour, mentioned that she ate meringe with double creme. Well, it is worth to tell you more about this Gruyeres specialty.

If the region of Gruyeres is most well known for its Gruyere cheese, a close second is the fresh, local cream, famous for its high butterfat content.  Gruyeres has more cheese and double cream per square metre than any other town in Switzerland.The local make a fuss about it and they are right, it is really  worth the fuss, for its unparalleled, unctuous texture and its rather unique aroma.

Thick cream skimmed off milk. Its aroma, its delicacy and its creaminess make it one of the region of Gruyeres specialities. That’s probably why it’s served on top of just about everything, at all hours of the day. It is most often served on top of meringues or various berries. Hmmmm, really delicious.

The meringues are weightless and have the same texture throughout.  Bite into one and it just crumbles away in your mouth (and all over your shirt). The double creme is always served in a traditional wooden dish and with a sculpted wooden spoon as well like in the old traditions.

If you’re in Gruyères, you won’t have any problem at all finding meringues or double cream to buy.  Step into any shop and you’ll see walls piled high of plain meringues, or bags with different flavors, including caramel, chocolate or even cheese.

Every restaurant serves it a different way. They are all soooooo gooood!!!!!!!

Bon appetit!

If you want to taste this delicious double creme with meringue, join our tour to Switzerland.

Continuing on with our trip. We do play, laugh,eat but of course it is a painting trip so we paint too!

This watercolor workshop, run by French Escapade (me!!) is taught by artist Sonja Hamilton, SWA.

Here are a few demos she did during the trip. The demos are for the students to learn a specific topic. In 45 min, Sonja is done with a beautiful painting.

Demo on how to paint windows and shutters:

Demo on how to paint flowers in a field:

Demo on how to paint clouds, mist and landscape:

Demo on how to paint water reflexion (here is Geneva lake):

If you are interested in finding more about either our cultural tour in Switzerland or our painting tour, click here.

We started the day with the usual more than ample breakfast buffet at our hotel.  Most of us ignored the blocks of cheese, and sampled everything else.  We have cheese from yesterday’s excursion for our lunches.  I had my usual (for here) bowl of uncooked oatmeal with applesauce, other fruit, and hot or cold water mixed in.  We also have
hard or soft boiled eggs, bread, pastries, and more.  The pie is different everyday and really to die for. Today was my first time to indulge in meringues with double cream (whipped). Yum!!!!

Then Jackie drove us to Vevey, by Geneva lake.

Vevey and Montreux are known as the Swiss Riviera, not to be confused with the French Riviera on the other side of Lake Geneva.  Today we explored Vevey.    As we strolled along the lakeside path, we looked across the water and saw a few communities nestled between the shoreline and the French Alps, one of them being the famous Evian town (where the Evian water bottles come from).

There were a couple surprises on our side of the lake.

First, there was an enormous fork sticking straight up out of the water, not far offshore.   It was strategically placed across from a large building specializing in nutrition.

The other surprise was a statue of Charlie Chaplin, who lived in Vevey the last 25 years of his life.

Because of the breathtaking scenery here at the Swiss riviera (lake, mountains, vineyards), many famous people chose Vevey and Montreux for their secondary or sometimes primary residence, like Phil Collins, Barbara Hendrix, Queen singer Freddie Mercury, Igor Stravinksy, Charlie Chaplin, and more.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Lavaux vineyards illustrate a thousand years of labour. To make the most of the long hours of sunshine, man reduced the slopes by forming terraces in order to produce a highly appreciated wine: Chasselas. Lavaux consists of terraces on steep slopes all the way down to Lake Geneva, covering an area of 830 hectares between Lausanne and Montreux. The site enjoys a Mediterranean climate, warm temperatures and the reflection of the light from the lake.

Today was market day….quite a large outdoor market with produce and other food, clothing, jewelry, and more.  We were happy to have pleasant weather all morning to be able to explore comfortably.

Having a wonderful time in a beautiful place with fun people!

Post from Betty, a guest on our tour to Switzerland.

Check the full itinerary of our tour to Switzerland here.

Today we learned that while Gruyere is a cheese, Gruyeres (with a “s”) is a town or village.

Gruyere cheese

Town of Gruyeres

We started the day watching one man make about 65 pounds of cheese in the old traditional way using cauldrons over an open wood fire.

Oups, that is not him but Lina. Here he is:

He makes about 10 tons of cheese per year, using milk from 50 cows.  There are only four people involved…caring for and milking the cows and one cheese maker.  The milk is heated, cut through as curds form, heated more (to about 125 degrees) while stirring; then curds are scooped up out of the whey, packed into cheesecloth lined

molds, and pressed.  There’s more.  The now solid cheese is floated in a salt water bath off and on for a week or two, shelved and turned several times, coated with something to seal it, then aged for a year.

After the fascinating demo, we sampled four cheeses.  Yum!

By the time we left the cheese factory, the morning rain had stopped, and we were able to sketch and/or paint outside.

Most of us sketched the Gruyeres castle.

But I simplified and began a painting of a church instead.  It was challenging enough to get the perspective right on that without attempting multiple towers and rooftops on the distant castle.

In the evening we drove to the base of the mountain we had seen from a distance, and walked up a steep path to the top and into the castle gate.  There is a whole village in there with cobblestone streets, hotels, restaurants, shops, a church, a museum, and a park with a playground.   The castle was built in the 12th century for the defense of a city, and had a protective wall all the way around.  We had a

delicious dinner there at a typical chalet.

Some of us ate one of the typical meals, where you heat your meat yourself. Just delicious.

Random facts…  The minimum wage in Switzerland is about $20/hour. The top tax bracket is about 15%.  Gas is about $7/gallon.

A new tour, a new group, a new country, We are now in Switzerland. The West part of the country, the French speaking part, close to Geneva lake, in the heart of Gruyeres.

From Left to Right: Lina, Jim, the watercolorist art teacher on the tour Sonja Hamilton, Linda, Helen and Betty.

Here is the post from Betty, one of our guests on our painting trip in French Switzerland. The pictures are mine but the text is hers.

Betty

From Betty:

This is an absolutely beautiful place.  I took 301 photos today.  Everything here is sensational.  Had a huge breakfast, and smuggled leftovers into our pockets for lunch.  We wanted to picnic, rather than spend time in a cafe for lunch.

Our village of Charmey

The weather here changes radically in the course of each day (or hour).  We walked a short distance from our hotel, sketched, took pictures, and watched Sonja paint window boxes full of flowers…a very common thing here.

The window we painted

Painting of the window by Sonja Hamilton

It was hot in the sun, but a lovely site.

Then we took a gondola to the top of a mountain, where we were surrounded by breathtaking views of jagged mountaintops, hills covered with wild flowers, a distant lake, Charmey stretched out in the valley, and more.

Even the dandelions were beautiful.

This is where The Sound of Music could have been filmed.  Stunning!  After major picture taking, studying unusual flowers, and just gazing at the view, we found a picnic table and sat down for lunch.

We were soon scurrying for cover as a light rain began.  Looking at the darkening clouds above, we decided to go to a chocolate factory, rather than pursue outdoor activities.  However, the sky began clearing, so we proceeded to a nearby town or village.  We stopped at a beautiful viewing place and took more photos.  Our attention soon shifted to six cows fairly close to us…nice looking cows.

About cows…this area focuses on cows and dairy so much that there are curtains, tablecloths, murals, every kind of cow ornamentation imaginable everywhere.

Cheese making is serious business here, and cheeses are slightly different when made at different altitudes.  The
best or most traditional cheeses are made at higher altitudes, so in June some farmers take their cows up into the mountains, stay there with them until the end of September, and make cheese.  The sound of distant cowbells is a common and pleasing sound here.

After visiting with the cows awhile, we started down toward town in the van.  That is when torrential rain suddenly hit.  Maybe we would see the chocolate factory today after all.  However, just as we reached a cascading waterfall, the rain stopped.

We took more pics and started sketching again.  Fortunately, we had trees to shade us from the sun.  Later we visited a church with a small cemetery.  Each grave had a unique wood carved marker that showed the trade or major
activity of the deceased.

We had a couple hours of free time before dinner.  Lina and I decorated our bathroom with a clothesline full of laundry.  Then we set out to investigate a local swimming pool (for me) and a nearby mineral bath spa (for Lina).  We are both excited about the results. The pool is closed tomorrow, but I will be able to swim Tuesday!

Off to sleep now…another big day tomorrow!

What can be more emotional for painters than being where Van Gogh painted his most famous paintings? We went to St Remy de Provence and visited the St Paul Mausole where Vincent was hospitalized the last year of his life. The garden full of red poppies made for a beautiful picture: contrast of blue sky, grey building and red flowers.

Linda couldn’t stop taking pictures and had to be VERY close to the flowers.

The cloister with old and new arches was full of flowers in bloom. Sandy, Barbara and Linda A spent a few hours painting it while Bonnie got her inspiration for writing.

The place is full of paintings of Van Gogh (well, posters of his paintings). The most expensive one that is worth 45 millions of dollars is in a private collection: the irises

Linda C is our techy. She spent most of her time either on her ipad, her iphone, texting, checking her emails, using mobile me, etc… Even her grand kids call her: techy grand ma.

The weather cooled off a bit which was perfect. Instead of 39 degrees Celsius, it was 25.

Another French escapade day ends. Check our all our painting tours at www.frenchescapade.com

Due to its privileged position, its exceptional charm and its typical architecture, Gordes has been listed as “one of the most beautiful villages of France”.

The houses of white and gray stone rise up in a spiral around the rock where the village is set. At the very top is the church and the castle which face out onto the hills of the Luberon.

Sandy and her group sat on what is called by the locals ” the monkey cliff” to paint this incredible view of the hilltop village of Gordes. Many tourists were more interested in them than in Gordes and started to take pictures of them.

While strolling around the tiny streets which climb up between the tall houses, we discover here and there beautiful old doorways, arcades and walls of flat stone perfectly restored, and on the other side, there is the panorama of the valley and mountains of Luberon.

The weather has been so perfect since day one allowing us to have picnics every day.

Lunch is always a time for camaraderie and good laughs.

There is also a lot of shopping to do. Margaret found the perfect gift.

Window shopping is a delight.

Roussillon is one of the most beautiful villages of France: the houses and the soil are red, yellow, orange and all the colors in between. The reason is the ochre. Roussillon used to be the biggest ochre mine in France.

Picture 1:

Here is some of our guests looking pretty on the ochre trail in Roussillon:

Jan, Sandy, Linda, Margaret and Barbara

Pic 2: Barbara and Linda are wearing their French Escapade T-shirt. That is the new model for 2011.

Pic 3: During the day, everyone chose what inspired them the most for their painting. While most of us, climbed to the top, Linda C decided to sit in the middle of the city hall plaza to paint the world go by. She was wearing her big pink hat, that makes it easier to spot her on the picture.

Linda with her pink hat painting on the main plaza in Roussillon

Pic 4: At the end of the day, we went to one of the two restaurants in Venasque, overlooking the valley. Picture 2: Jan is making fun of me taking a video of Bonnie looking for the sunset.

Pic 5: Here is the sunset you were looking for Bonnie!

Sunset in Venasque

Tomorrow, we go to the jewel of Provence: Gordes.

We are back in Provence. A new painting trip has started. This time, the teacher is a watercolorist from California, Sandy Delehanty. Sandy has been teaching on three of our trips already and this is a fourth one, although the first in Provence.

For the last month, the weather has been gorgeous. It is not a May weather but a July weather. If the farmers are not happy about it, we sure are, especially our painters.

Margaret, who have already been on our painting tour to Belgium 2 years ago, is painting the entrance of our charming Bed & Breakfast. The inn has the right name since it is called “les volets bleus” meaning “blue shutters”.

Margaret painting the entrance of the inn

All shutters are blue, even the ones at Bonnie’s room. Bonnie is our star. It is her fourth tour with us. She follows her teacher Sandy everywhere and especially on our tours. By the way, Bonnie is the one who had me started on painting trips….I will always be so thankful to her.

Our star Bonnie

Here is the entire group for our welcome dinner at the inn. From left to right: Jan, Barbara, me, Sandy (the teacher), Bonnie, Linda C, Linda A and Margaret.

Our first dinner

Food in France is delicious but at the inn, it is exquisite: here is a little sample:

Our hors d'oeuvre called "entree" in France

That was just our first day.

Stay tuned for more adventure.

Jackie

Following Linda’s broken foot to Isle Sur la Sorgue, the painters had an amazing array of subjects to paint ranging from the orange umbrellas of the Cafe Bellevue, the deep blue green water of the River Sorgue,  paddling ducks below, and underwater life.

Kerry's painting of Isle sur la Sorgue

Painters convened to lunch on fresh trout, salmon steak and cod in shrimp sauce at Cafe Bellevue and view their scenes from the opposite side. After their fabulous lunch, a refreshing walk along the river revealed the water wheel of an earlier moulin (mill) and continued reflections of glorious flowers and fabulous architecture.

View of Isle sur la Sorgue

As we met by the river to leave the village, Victoria noticed a free-wheeling young fellow named Michael riding his bicycle in his flip-flops, whom Linda and she had met on the train from Paris to Avignon as they were all moving heavy luggage, mindful of the “broken foot” and his flip flops.  Michael explained he was wearing flip-flops because he had blisters from the hiking expedition in the Himalayas from which he was returning to his lovely village home in Isle Sur la Sorgue.

…And so continue the footsteps of the broken foot which will lead  Linda tomorrow to London as we all disperse and depart from our charming Maison aux Volets Bleus in Venasque.

writer: Kerry, one of the guests on the French Escapade tour

Our group (from left, front to back then from right, back to front): Pam, Linda, Kerry, Tina, Victoria, Lynne and Marty

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….