From Marrakesh we flew to Toulouse where we had a couple of days to explore the city. We were then picked up by a driver and taken through the French countryside to Domaine d’En Naudet, the beautiful venue for our week long painting retreat hosted by Uptrek.

Winding streets of Toulouse.

Bridge over the river Tarn, Toulouse.

View of the countryside from the tower at Domaine d’En Naudet. The foreground trees are oaks planted to grow truffles.

Domaine d’En Naudet

The tower at Domaine d’En Naudet was originally built for protection then in the early 1800’s converted to a pigeon house. It now serves as tall, thin accommodation.

Our painting group gathered under the tower

We were spoilt with a huge, well lit studio with attached kitchen and bathrooms and views from every window. Our hosts, Sophie and Nicholas, spoilt us with cakes, pastries, biscuits, cheese, fruit and coffee while we were busy painting in the studio

One of the downstairs windows at Domaine d’En Naudet.

Our host Nicholas arranged for us to visit his nearby neighbour, Madeline. She lives in a wonderfull old Medieval house with attached barn. It was a magnificent, unspoilt building and a pleasure to sit and paint the rustic details

The town of Albi was a spectacular surprise

Ancient brick and stonework reveals the history of these fantastic old buildings. Centuries of alterations, renovations and repairs create an amazing texture and expose the skill of these tradesmen over the centuries.

A modern steel gate blends beautifully with the ancient brickwork.

Saint-Salvy Cloister – Albi

Painting Albi from across the river Tarn

Sainte-Cecile Cathedral in Albi sure is an impressive building – lots of intricate, intersecting curves built entirely of brick.

Next to the Cathedral Sainte-Cecile is the Toulouse Lautrec museum. Another massive, construction all built from brick with a great collection of Lautrec’s paintings drawings and posters.

Château Lastours sits on the banks of the Tarn River surrounded by beautiful vineyards. We had a tour through their winery one afternoon, and sampled some fabulous wines – all stopped with cork, unlike the screw caps that have taken over in Australia.

Château Lastours old store room

Old church in the grounds of Château Lastours

Not far from Château Lastours, on the way back to Domaine d’En Naudet, Nicholas took us to the village of Lisle-sur-Tarn. The village dates back to the 13th century and many of the old Medieval buildings are still intact. Taxes were paid on the footprint of a building, so it was common practise to build a small footprint ground floor, then cantilever a larger second story.

Southern France’s Occitanie region is a beautiful landscape filled with well preserved medieval towns and villages that make visible its long and fascinating history.

A wonderful place for a painting retreat.

Many thanks to Nicholas and Sophie for being such wonderful hosts, to Uptrek for organising the retreat and to the fabulous group of people who made the retreat so memorable and enjoyable.