Combination Tours> France> Painting and Cooking in Provence

France: Painting and Cooking in Provence
Provence, France - 5 nights

Join us in Provence for a fabulous week of art and gourmet food. You will not only see the beautiful villages of the Luberon but will learn painting and cooking techniques that will last you a lifetime.

Indulge in fabulous Provençal 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 and Chef Philippe, your instructors will welcome you and take you on site

to the most unforgettable locales and teach you painting and cooking techniques

enabling you to capture the essence of Provence.

Day One (Monday) - Welcome to Provence - Cooking Lesson 1 & Welcome

Dinner

From 2 p.m.: Arrival in the afternoon. Your B&B hosts for the week will greet

you and present your room. Enjoy some rest by the swimming pool!

4 p.m.: Welcome party. Marie-Pierre and Chef Philippe will share with you a Provençal welcome aperitif. Each participant will receive a folder with detailed art program and menus of the week (“Day by Day recipes, useful information, etc.). Schedule of the upcoming week, and painting and cooking class’s organization will be detailed. Cheese degustation: Just before every cooking lesson, you will test one of the most famous French cheeses (more than 400 in France!). “Vins du Pays” or aperitif will be served with seasonal fruits and typical countryside fresh bread. A marvellous combination for

gourmet palate!

5 p.m.: Cooking lesson 1. Cooking lessons are definitively “hands-on”. Chef Philippe will concentrate on the techniques of the famous Provencal and Mediterranean dishes.

You will find that this kind of cooking is not only easy but that we make it lot of fun.

7.30 p.m.: Dinner under the stars. Philippe 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 Lirac, Gigondas, Châteaneuf-du-Pape, Tavel, Vacqyeyras, etc.. A classic digestif dégustation will conclude your dinner under the stars of Provence.

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Day Two (Tuesday) - Cooking Lesson 2 & Dinner - Painting on site 1 at

Fontaine de Vaucluse, Free Visit and more Painting Site Suggestion:

Isle-sur-la-Sorgue Great French Breakfast on the terrace, or in the dining-room.

Departure from B&B at 8.30a.m. (you can follow Marie-Pierre with your own car)

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

« Fontaine-de-Vaucluse »: enjoy sketching with your favourite medium (soft pastels, for example) under the old plane trees of this lovelyvillage 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! Then 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 thefoot 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).

11 a.m.: Free Visit: a trip to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, a 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.

4.30 p.m.: Cheese degustation. A different cheese with fresh fruits and crispy countryside bread

5 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Cooking lesson 2. New techniques and new recipes for the second menu.

7.30 p.m.: Dinner with wine and digestif.

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Day Three (Wednesday) - Painting on site 2 on the footpath of Van Gogh -

Visit to the Market of Provence with Philippe - Free Visit and more Painting Site Suggestion: Avignon and the Banks of Rhone River.

Great breakfast on the terrace or in the breakfast room.

Departure from B&B at 8.30 a.m. (you can follow Marie-Pierre and Philippe with your own car).

9 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Painting on site with Marie-Pierre at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. 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).

11 a.m.: With Chef Philippe you will 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. This is, indeed, the right place to buy local art craft and Provençal souvenirs. We will help you to get the best bargain!

Noon: (you can follow Philippe with your own car) Departure to Avignon and time free - Lunch at the top class restaurant “La Vieille Fontaine” Restaurant which stands 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 (on your own), have a drink at the animated Place de l’Horloge. Avignon is a tremendous place offering numerous opportunities for sketching Provencal life. Evening free and dinner by your own.
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Day Four (Thursday) – Cooking lesson 3 & Dinner -  Painting on site 3 at Châteauneuf-du-Pape - Free Visit and Painting Site Suggestion: Orange

(Roman Theater) Great breakfast on the terrace or in the breakfast room.

Departure from B&B at 8.30 am. (you can follow Marie-Pierre with your own car)  

9.30 a.m.: visit and painting on site 3 with Marie-Pierre. Enjoy sketching or drawing in the village of the summer residency of the Popes. Pope John XXII ordered the construction of the château (14th century) which lies in ruin today. Vineyards and wine-making dominate village life. Wines dégustation with comments at Vinadea (house of wines) where 80 Châteauneuf-du-Pape makers are represented. 

Noon: Departure to Orange From 12.30 p.m. Time free at Orange: Visit the exceptional Roman theater (built on the first century B.C.). Today, the stage is still in good condition as

well as the huge wall behind it. This monument has the privilege to be the best preserved in Europe (note the incredible quality of acoustic!). During summer the Roman Theater hosts thousands of music-lovers forthe world famous lyrical festival (The Choregie d’Orange).

Lunch on your own.  

4.30 p.m.: Cheese degustation.  Another cheese with fresh fruits, olive or walnut bread.

5 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Cooking lesson 3. New techniques and new recipes for this third menu.

7.30 p.m.: Dinner under the stars, wine and digestif.

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Day Five (Friday) - Painting Experience 4 & Dinner - Painting on site 4 & Visit 

at  Lourmarin Great French breakfast on the terrace or in the Breakfast room.

Departure from B&B at 8.30 a.m. (you can follow Marie-Pierre with your own car).

9.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.: Painting on site4 with Marie-Pierre, in the streets, nearby the chateau or outside of the village

11.30 am: Time free. Enjoy a bustling Market of Provence! Lourmarin, at the foot of the Montagne du Luberon, is an other lovely village ranked as one of “the most beautiful villages in France” Before your lunch (on your own), you will stroll along the animated streets where stand the colorful and fragrant “Marché de Provence”, art galleries and restaurants. Have a look at the numerous boutiques : this is the right place to buy local art crafts and Provençal souvenirs.)- Don’t miss the visit of Château de Lourmarin (15C-Renaissance style).

4.30 p.m.: Cheese degustation. Apéritif and another cheese with fresh fruits, olive

or walnut bread.

5 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Cooking lesson 4. New techniques and recipes for this last menu. Specialty of the day: preparation and secrets of a traditional festive dish such as Le Grand Aioli, Paella Valenciana, Bouillabaisse,…

7 p.m.: Diploma & Champagne Ceremony followed by…
7.30 p.m.: Gala Farewell Dinner. Served with great wine, digestif. It is time for sharing some more great moment and to ask any questions about art or about recipes you will reproduce at home. If you need more information, or any other professional “tips”, feel free to ask Marie-Pierre and Philippe

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Day Six (Saturday) - Farewell Day and Departure

Farewell breakfast on the terrace.

Before leaving, enjoy a last gourmet breakfast and saying au revoir to your newly found friends.

Before 11 a.m.: Departure from B&B.