PAINTING IN PROVENCE with MARIE-PIERRE "A Gourmet and Art Adventure"

Art and Gourmet Adventure in France # 2

Painting in Provence

(also available else where in France such as French Riviera, Brittany. Please ask for more destinations and detailed programs)

A 5 night-6 day stay in a B&B

Join us in Provence for a fabulous week of art and gourmet food, plus lots of fun! You will not only see the beautiful villages of the Luberon but will learn painting techniques that will last you a lifetime. Indulge in fabulous Provencal meals and immerse yourself into this beautiful part of Provence, known for its colours and landscapes, its welcoming people and of course for the wonderful foods and tastes that make this area so special. Marie-Pierre will welcome you and take you on site to the most unforgettable locales and teach you painting techniques enabling you to capture the essence of Provence.

Zone de Texte: 4.30 p.m.: Cheese degustation, fresh fruits, olives and walnut bread . 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Painting workshop. Landscape painting: select one of your sketches made in the morning and start one of the master pieces that you will be happy and proud to bring back home. 7.30 p.m.: Dinner with great wine and digestif. Day 3 (Wednesday) Painting Experience 3 & Gourmet Lunch at Avignon - Painting on the footpath of Van Gogh & Visit - Painting Site Suggestion: Market of Provence - Other Painting Site: Banks of Rhone River Gourmet breakfast on the terrace. Departure from B&B at 8.30 a.m. (follow Marie-Pierre with your own car). 9.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.: Painting on site with Marie-Pierre: enjoy sketching with watercolours, for example. Walk on the path of Van Gogh and paint right on the site he has painted himself! In and around this Roman city which symbolizes beautifully the essence of Provence, Van Gogh painted his most famous art works while he was interned at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole Hospital (don’t miss to visit Van Gogh’s workroom and bedroom), located just near the fabulous excavated site of Glanum, a city developed under Hellenistic influence, then by the Roman under Marius and Caesar (49 BC). From 11.30 a.m.: Time free for shopping. Discover Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and its famous Provençal market where small farmers and market gardeners set up simple trestle tables, and unload boxes of fruit and vegetables harvested only hours before at the peak of ripeness. Noon: Departure to Avignon (follow Marie-Pierre with your own car) Lunch at the top class restaurant “La Vieille Fontaine” which stands in the luxurious Hotel de l’Europe (****). Acclaimed by the prestigious Guide Michelin and by all respected guide-books, this restaurant offers spectacular food and a fine service according to the best tradition of French Haute Cuisine. An unforgettable experience! Afternoon free: Spend the day in Avignon, a city of art and culture which stretches in all its beauty along the banks of the Rhône river. Stroll along the streets of the ancient “City of the Popes” which is surrounded by ramparts. Then, visit the splendid Musée Calvet and Musée Lapidaire. Time for shopping. After your lunch, discover the renowned largest medieval palace in Europe “Le Palais des Papes”. Visit also the Musée du Petit Palais, the Romanesque cathedral Notre-Dame-des-Dom, the Ramparts (fortification built in the 14C by the popes) and the amazing Pont Bezenet. Before dinner, have a drink at the animated plaza Place de l’Horloge. Avignon is a tremendous place offering numerous opportunities for sketching Provencal life. Evening free. (Dinner on your own)

Day 1 (Monday) Welcome to Provence

Painting Experience 1 & Gourmet Dinner

From 2 pm: Arrival in the afternoon. You will be

greeted at the B&B by your hosts for the week.

4 pm: Welcome party. Marie-Pierre will share

with you a Provençal welcome aperitif. Each participant will receive a detailed art program of the week, including places of interest, diners menus and any useful information. Schedule of the upcoming week and painting workout organization will be detailed. Feel free to ask any questions to Marie-Pierre or to your B&B’ hosts.

5 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Painting workshop. Under Marie-Pierre’s supervision, painting workouts are definitely "hands-on”. Marie-Pierre will follow each participant in his work. Each workout will concentrate on different technical aspects (composition, drawing, colors,).

7.30 p.m.: Dinner under the stars. The Chef will comment every dishes and wines which go with the different recipes, from the delectable “vins du pays” to the famous French wines such as

Châteaneuf-du-Pape, Tavel, Gigondas, etc..

A classic digestif dégustation will conclude

your dinner under the stars of Provence.

Day 2 (Tuesday) Painting Experience 2 & Gourmet Dinner

- Painting on site at Fontaine de Vaucluse,

- Free Visit and more Painting

- Painting Site Suggestion: Isle sur la Sorgue

Gourmet breakfast on the terrace.

Departure from B&B at 8.30 a.m. (you can

follow Marie-Pierre with your own car)

9 a.m.: Painting on site with Marie-Pierre at

« La Fontaine de Vaucluse »: enjoy sketching with your favourite medium (soft pastels, for example) under the old plane trees of this lovely village or along the river.Discover the ancient Paper Factory: Learn at the “Vallis Clausa Paper factory and Museum” how our ancestors mastered waterpower to make paper. Here, everything works as it did in the 14th century! And have a nice walk along he river. “Water is Gold” wrote Marcel Pagnol in Manon of the Spring. The origin of the famous emerald green water which gush forth at the foot of a sheer cliff in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse remains a mystery! (the depths of the swallow hole is estimated at 308 underground). The poet Petrarch spent here the happiest moment of his life (1337 to 1353).

11a.m.: Free Visit: a trip to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, charming city where the arms of the Sorgue river, the ancient water wheels still in action and the avenue lined with plane trees add freshness and poetry. Also called the “Venise de Provence” this quiet little town is a Mecca for antique-lovers and home to countless antique and second hand boutiques. Don’t miss the beautiful Provencal church Notre-Dame-des-Anges.

Lunch on your own.

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