BIENVENU LES AUSTRALIENS

Gai and Philip, Annette, Dawn, and Helen and Alastair on their holiday in France. They're here to brush up on their French and we hope to give them a good time doing it. Here they all are in the Capitole in Toulouse.

Belvedere à Toulouse - on the rooftop of Les Galeries Lafayette.

En route à La Petite Galerie, un petit pause à Auvillar, un des plus beaux villages de France.

OUR LAST FEW DAYS IN GASCONY

Always time for a picnic - here we are at Fources on the river bank across from the  chateau

Breakfast at La Petite Galerie - the croissants are to die for.

On our last day in France. Hard at work painting irises in the lounge

Suzanne,Michelle, Dawn, Jan and Ed showing just one example of their output - and waiting for the  Guggenheim agent to  ring.
It's bon voyage and bon retour tomorrow.

GASCONY IS FAMOUS FOR ITS FOOD...AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THESE PICS

Lunch at St Emilion

Picnic at Fources

Just outside Le Moulin de Saveurs

JUST TO PROVE IT WASN'T ALL PLAY AND NO WORK...

Suzanne and Jan painting at La Romieu in the Gers

Dawn and Michelle also hard at work at La Romieu

All four ladies making a masterpiece at Fources, officially listed as  One of the Most Beautiful Villages in France

Suzanne showing us what she did

Jan doing the same thing

And Michelle and Dawn with their paintings

When they heard that we were painting, they came from far and wide to see what we were producing.

A FRENCH FLING WITH SUZANNE & JOHN

Just to prove that it's not all play and no work, here we are with a painting we did on Day One.
(We're waiting for the Guggenheim agent to call).

And here we are in Condom (a name no one should forget - and that younger people should never be without!)
It's a team photo with the Three Musketeers - and  Dartagnan.

Blaise Monluc invented a wonderful apero called Pousse Rapiere which we tasted in his  chateau, first built on the site in the 10h century.

St Emilion, near Bordeaux,  is one of the great wine producing centres in the world.
Here we are while we could still stand.
(Come back soon for more posts)

THEY'RE BACK!

This is their SEVENTH VISIT and they've brought some friends.
The usual connection problems were solved by EATING WHILE WAITING.
Those who arrived first - Suzanne, John, Jan and Michelle - went into Toulouse for lunch while Ed and Dawn were still in the air.
It rained a lot at the Fources Flower Show, but we just ignored all that and concentrated on EATING AND DRINKING (after all that's what everyone does in Gascony).

A simple salad starter at Le Florida on Capitol Square

Competing with the flowers in Fources

Dawn painted this exact scene BEFORE SHE CAME TO FRANCE

Team shot with Ray's pigeonnier

FBI or CIA?

MICHAEL JACKSON

I was never a fan of Michael Jackson, but, what an amazingly beautiful, androgynous face! And no doubt a great song writer and dancer. (Thriller is still the best selling album ever).

But he seems to have increasingly lost control of his life. A series of scandals - and then sedatives, pain killers and other drugs eventually led to a cardiac arrest.

So, a seriously interesting face - and that's why I painted him.