Provence Workshop; discovering Bonnieux.

After flight delays that prevented me from making the rendezvous with my dear friend Ellen, and three of our students, I finally arrived at de Gaulle airport, in Paris, and caught the last train to Avignon.

Ellen had booked me in First Class, and what a pleasure it was, speeding through the French countryside,
at the end of the very long day, for the three hour trip.

At one point this group of giggling young women paraded down the aisle. They were from England,
and were touring France with their friend, for her extended "Bachelorette" party.
They'd spent the day at Disney World.

Here is a quick compilation sketch of bits of farm architecture glimpsed among the hills, forests, and fields.

Although my taxi had delivered me to our hotel well after midnight, I was up bright and early for
my first day in the beautiful medieval town of Bonnieux, in the Luberon Valley.

Of course, I was not the only one enjoying the early morning sunshine.

On the left is our hotel; our "home away from home," for the week, "le Clos du Buis."

And here is the very same view, many, many generations ago.

I decided it was time to have some breakfast, and joined friends Tema and Ellen,
who were also starting their day, with what looked like soup bowls of coffee. 

This was the buffet that awaited us every morning, in the dining room.

My morning fare; the beginning of a week of eating delicious foods, morning, noon, and night.

I spent the rest of the morning roaming the narrow streets, until I found a subject to paint.
And oh yes, most importantly, a place to set up my easel, in the shade.

Here is the water color I did that morning. The rest of the students would be arriving the
next evening, on Sunday, and then our week together, in Provence, would officially begin.