PROPOSED DAY BY DAY Sample ITINERARY- Margaret Ferraro, MPAC. Please note this is just a sample itinerary, to give you an idea of how we spend our time on tour. Time to paint is everywhere.

Day 1. Thurs. May 12th, 2011 – Departure
Depart Canada/USA today and connect with your international flight to Paris, France. (Meals in-flight)

Day 2. Fri. May 13th - Paris!
Arrival in Paris and rendez vous at our hotel, Hotel Levant, 18 Rue de la Harpe, Paris. Breakfast included. Bonding dinner included. This is where our tour begins.

Day 3. Sat. May 14th
Breakfast at hotel. Visit the Musee D'Orsay in the morning. Admission included. Afternoon and dinner you are free to wander on your own. Evening Seine boat cruise and tour included.

Day 4. Sun. May 15th
Breakfast at hotel. Hop on'off bus pass allows you to visit many tourist sights at your leisure. Special event planned for Sunday evening.

Day 5. Mon. May 16th
Leave Paris and travel by train to Gourdon, in the Lot Valley, Southwest France. Welcome greetings either with tea, or cocktails! depending on time of arrival.

Day 6. Tues. May 17th - Frayssinet
Getting acquainted with our retreat headquarters. Walks through the town, and nearby countryside.

Day 7. Wed. May 18th – Cahors – ½ day outing
Cahors market. See Pont Valentré and stroll through the old town and along the river. There's an opportunity to visit the Resistance Museum. Tonight Bill will present his famous wine tasting evening. Learn to distinguish a full body and a smooth finish – the fundamentals of judging wines beyond 'mmm, that's tastes good'. Dinner is usually served a little later, but your palates will be much more sensitive. (B,L.D)

Day 8. Thurs. May 19th – Rocamadour– full day outing
Drive to Rocamadour (45 min), a mass of old buildings, oratories and towers on a rock cliff, which is a historic pilgrimage site dating back to the 8th century. The medieval France equivalent to the Cliff side pueblo villages of America, with dwellings and shrines balanced on one another like giant Lego sets. It reached its zenith in the 13th century when up to 30,000 people made their pilgrimages. There is time to shop for laces and linens, and to see the Black Madonna and the sword of Roland. Continue on to Carennac, and Autoire. Return to LVC after lunch for studio or relaxing time. (B,L,D)

Day 9. Fri. May 20th – Gigouzac/Sarlat
This charming little hamlet is filled with painting opportunities. Return to LVC for lunch, and resting/painting.

Evening outing to Sarlat, for street entertainment and animation.

Day 10. Sat. May 21st – Baynac – full day outing
Take a tour of the Chateau Baynac, where Richard the Lionheart was mortally wounded during the hundred years war. Explore the castle, then lunch on the banks of the Dordogne. Possible painting by the river and swim. Boat ride down the Dordogne on a Garrigue - a boat used formerly for transporting tobacco to Bergerac.

Day 11. Sun. May 22nd – Frayssinet – AM outing
Drive to St. Germain, other spots in the valley near Fraysinnet. Return to LVC for lunch. Leisure time in the studio Cleanup. Time to enjoy the grounds of LVC.

Day 12. Mon. May 23rd
Morning coffee in LaBastide, painting and picnic on site at St. Martin de Vers

Day 13. Tues. May 24th
Serious finish up in studio or lounging by the pool.

Day 14. Wed. May 25th
Visit and tour pre-historic cave paintings site Peche Merle, final farewell banquet.

Day 15. Thurs. May 26th
Leave for the Toulouse Airport, fly home.