Your Affordable French Vacation Retreat
Imagine vacationing and making art
with other creative people
Everything hurts my eyes because it is so beautiful.
So full of extraordinary grace.
Christine Rogers guest
Carole Watanabe's Villette Live Art
Celebrating our 20th year of hosting creative retreats.
Stay in the beautiful Medieval, picturesque, post card perfect village of
Soreze in the south of France in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath 300+ year old stone home.
Gail Smith, artist and house Mom, will be there to welcome you and your friends
for amazingly affordable art, writing, eating, you-name-it,
do-it-yourself vacation/retreat.
Contact Carole Watanabe at 707-823-9663 beart@sonic.net with questions or
Gail Smith at 707-888-3895 to sign upvgailsmith@fmgirl.com
Soréze is 1 ½ hours drive from Toulouse Airport and 45 minutes to Carcassone Airport.
Do what you like, stay as long as you like, collaborate on meals or eat out - no stress
no schedule - no problem, just pure enjoyment for you creating en plein air
or in the luminous 3rd floor house atelier.
1 Person 2 Weeks $450 per week
1 Week - 1 Person $500 or Share a room with a friend $450 per person
2 Weeks - 1 Person $900 or Share a room with a friend $800 per person
3 Weeks - 1 Person $1250 or Share a room with a friend $1150 per person
1 Month - 1 Person $1600 or Share a room with a friend $1500 per person
$100 Non Refundable Deposit will Hold Your Bed at Villette Live Art
You and three friends come for $375 each per week
REWARDS/SCHOLARSHIPS: The first 5 persons to sign up with 3 friends will get his/her stay free. If they stay one week, you get one week free. If they stay 2 weeks, you get 2 weeks free, etc.
One Week |
Two Weeks |
Three Weeks |
One Month |
|---|---|---|---|
$500/$100 Deposit |
$900/$100 Deposit |
$1250/$100 Deposit |
$1600/$100 Deposit |
Session |
Fly from U.S.A. |
Arrive in France |
Depart |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Wed. May 30 |
Thurs. May 31 |
Thurs. June 7 |
2 |
Wed. June 6 |
Thurs. June 7 |
Thurs. June 14 |
3 |
Wed. June 13 |
Thurs. June 14 |
Thurs. June 21 |
4 |
Wed. June 20 |
Thurs. June 21 |
Thurs. June 28 |
6 |
Wed. July 4 |
Thurs. July 5 |
Thurs. July 12 |
7 |
Wed. July 11 |
Thurs. July 12 |
Thurs. July 19 |
8 |
Wed. July 18 |
Thurs. July 19 |
Thurs. July 26 |
9 |
Wed. July 25 |
Thurs. July 26 |
Thurs. Aug 2 |
10 |
Wed. Aug 1 |
Thurs. Aug 2 |
Thurs. Aug 9 |
11 |
Wed. Aug 8 |
Thurs. Aug 9 |
Thurs. Aug 16 |
12 |
Wed. Aug 15 |
Thurs. Aug 16 |
Thurs. Aug 23 |
One Week Minimum Stay is from Thursday to Thursday.
If you will be staying for more than a week (it makes sense as it’s a long way to travel for only a week) we have arranged the schedule so you can stay straight on without having to leave between weeks.
2012 Basic Retreat Information
You will be provided with a very thorough packet of helpful information (by email or snail mail, your choice) after we have received your $100 non-refundable deposit. You may use PayPal below or mail a check to Carole Watanabe at 740 Pine Crest Ave., Sebastopol, CA 95472.LODGING: We will provide you with a bed, camaraderie and an extraordinary home and village to create your adventure. If you want a room by yourself, add an extra $275 per week single supplement, or better, bring a friend to share your room. Each room has 2 beds.
ART SUPPLIES: Bring your own.
FOOD: Once you arrive, your weekly expense for eating can be as little as 100 euros if you use our kitchen for most meals and have a weekly 20 euro dinner out in the village.
BANKING: There is a bank ATM machine a short block away. VISA is a must and you’ll be sure to know your PIN number.
WIFI: Unlimited wifi and unlimited telephone use (including stateside calls) is $20 per week.
One Week |
Two Weeks |
Three Weeks |
One Month |
|---|---|---|---|
$500/$100 Deposit |
$900/$100 Deposit |
$1250/$100 Deposit |
$1600/$100 Deposit |
Contact Gail Smith at 707-888-3895
vgailsmith@fmgirl.com
I do not go far because it is all here.This sturdy house with the sloping red roof wearing an entire cloud on its head. A great white hat. .... Christine Rogers guest
One Week Minimum Stay, Thursday to Thursday 7 Nights
One Week |
Two Weeks |
Three Weeks |
One Month |
|---|---|---|---|
$500/$100 Deposit |
$900/$100 Deposit |
$1250/$100 Deposit |
$1600/$100 Deposit |
A Suggested 1-Week Itinerary in Soreze, France
Day 1 - Thursday
Settle into your comfy rooms, soaking up the peaceful ambience of our 300+ year old stone village home. Walk about the village using Carole's treasure map (provided in our info package.) Enjoy a welcoming dinner at nearby Tournesol Restaurant.
Day 2 Friday
Awake to a simple breakfast you prepare in our kitchen (fresh croissants or pain au raisin at nearby bakeries), followed by a day of creativity in the luminous 3rd floor art studio. Lunch on your own (kitchen is well equipped and easy to use with an airy patio for dining. Afternoon walks in to the surrounding sunflower fields, beautiful country lanes and hiking to the top of Berniquat behind the village to explore ancient ramparts, caves and a Roman road where the precursor to the village once stood. Dinner out or create a collaborative meal in the kitchen. There are 2 food stores and 2 bakeries less than a block from our house.
Day 3 Saturday
Head to the amazing open-air farmers market in nearby Revel this has been televised as one of the most authentic markets in France going back over 600 years. See real farmers in berets with their 3 rabbits in baskets and piles of produce from their gardens. Plan to collect a variety of scrumptious lunch fixings and head to Lake St. Ferreol for a real French picque nicque.¯ The lake is great for swimming, boating or taking beautiful walks around it, which includes crossing the dam that controls the water levels in the Canal du Midi (which connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean.)
Return home to rest and then dinner out or feast on the rotisserie chicken from the morning's market trip.
Day 4 Sunday
For those who enjoy old abbeys with monks singing Gregorian chants, head to En Calcat for high mass and visit the bookstore for shopping afterwards. If your group wants to paint you can drive to the riverside park in Soual and enjoy a picnic lunch below the arched bridge for a lovely place to spend the day, capturing the peaceful scenes of the bridge reflecting in the river.
Day 5 Monday
Painting or writing in St. Felix, chosen as one of the most beautiful ancient villages in France, is a great experience. Set up equipment under the 16th century market square roof and spend a magnificent day. Explore the narrow stone streets, visit the museum about the woad plant that the Cathar people were famous for and enjoy a picnic sitting on the old ramparts overlooking the whole valley.
Day 6 Tuesday
Leave early for an all day outing to Albi to visit the Toulouse Lautrec Museum and the magnificent cathedral in the morning and then head for Cordes sur Ciel for lunch. Cordes is also one of the plus beau villages¯ in France and is a Cathar hill town that will be one of the highlights of your trip.
Day 7 Wednesday
A day at home to finish up studio projects and pack for tomorrow's departure. If time allows, an afternoon tour of the Soreze Abbaye School is always an amazing eye opener. Soreze was built around the Abbaye in 1164 and is now a regional cultural arts center where people from all across the region enjoy concerts, theatre and art installations.
Testimonials from our past guests in A Week of Writing in Heaven Soreze, France¯ August 2003
That's the price you have to pay, The whole of your life nothing less. The creative life demands all of you. And it is a worthy demand an honorable demand. And the greatest witness to it is this house. The woman who made this house was already LIVING LIFE. But when she felt death's cool hand resting gently on her forehead she stepped into something more vibrant, more exuberant, something that used the whole of her. And what a beautiful tribute, what a luminous anthem. This house is a resounding YES! It sings and shouts from every nook and cranny, every crevice and corner, every wall, every door, every piece of painted furniture. YES. YES. YES.
Christine Rogers
I do not go far
I do not go far because it is all here. This sturdy house with the sloping red roof wearing an entire cloud on its head. A great white hat.
I do not go far. Because the blue shutters and the green fountain and the tree holding this facade in its leafy embrace they are calling out to me right here. The fountain singing its own gurgling song despite the heat it still sings. Despite the heat. An older with a straw hat walks by with four legs his own and two crutches gently cuffing his arms beneath his elbows. He is walking on the uneven ground toward the patisserie slowly waltzing with his four legs. Earlier a large white truck came whirling around the narrow corner the young man driving it covered in his own sweat. His sweat gleams in the sun and hurts my eyes. Everything hurts my eyes because it is so beautiful. So full of extraordinary grace. Even the bright yellow kitchen chairs seem to be in some private conversations. Waiting only for someone to stop and sit.
Christine Rogers