Revel, the larger town five minutes from us, has been a center of fine woodworking since the Middle Ages. The woodworkers here made much of the furniture for Versailles. And it continues to this day to be a place of fantastic ebinistes (fine furniture and cabinet makers).

In Revel is a museum called Musee du Bois. For years I walked by it assuming it was a boring museum. One day I finally went in and what a surprise. The museum, yes does have the history of the Revel furniture artisans.  They were  known for the quality of their marquetry for one thing. There are beautiful examples of this throughout the museum as well as exhibits showing how this exacting technique is done.

Also within the museum are temporary exhibits (they change about every three months) of  contemporary wood workers. And these exhibits have been superb. Whether its your cup of tea or not, they are always interesting.

Here is some of the art of of the contemporary artist showing there right now: the artist Francois Lacoste.

It’s been a busy 2 weeks here. I met my co-teachers Julie Eakes and Meisha Barbee (for our La Cascade workshop) in Barcelona a few days before our workshop started. We had a wonderful time- good  AirBnb,  walked our feet off, ate one of the best American classic cheeseburgers I have had (I know, I know,  sacrilegious in this great tapas city) and shared many laughs. Highlights were the great Gaudi sites: la Sagrada, Parc Guell, Casa Pedrada, and we also enjoyed the Gothic quarter,  the indoor market and the port area at the end of Las Ramblas.(I loved the mimes there!)

And two new finds for me: Museu del Disseny– a new museum combining the former museums of decorative art, design, fashion and textiles.  And the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya- the national art museum of Catalonia-. Both are wonderful and highly recommended.

Then we jumped in the car and headed back to France and La Cascade. Our wonderful group of adventuresome ladies and gents arrived safely at Toulouse airport and we began our week. We had 7 inspiring studio sessions, a fun Saturday market in Revel, flea market treasures on Sunday, a side trip to Albi, lovely late afternoon drinks at our village cafe and let’s not forget our choir in the church!

We want to thank all of you for all the laughter and joy and inspiring art and your spirit of adventure and embracing whatever came our way! Come back  again! Love to Julie, Meisha, Liz, Annie, Carl, Neala, Sandy, Laura, Carolyn, Patti, Tim, Michele,  and our two extra husbands Denis and David.

The sunflowers don’t arrive for another month but there is plenty a’ bloomin’ round here. Especially since we’ve had so much rain and now finally some sun! Here’s a few pics in our village and close by. Poppies and Roses galore!

Last Saturday we went to a small village close by that has a yearly Street Music Festival called L’autan en Fanfare. Fanfares are large brass bands and the ones we have seen in France are outstanding. Great musicianship but with a wack-a-doodle sense of humor. There’s weird costumes and antics and yet the music is highly professional.

This festival took place in a sweet hilltop village called Saint Felix Lauragais. We didn’t quite understand what the poster and flyer described  but decided to take a chance on it.

When we got to the village a competition of sorts was taking place between two bands. There was a master of ceremonies giving each band a challenge and then the two bands would “compete” for the BEST via audience applause.

For instance, one band was given the task to create a tune and song about cassoulet  (one of the famous regional dishes here) and the other band to make a tune/song about Roquefort cheese. Each band (there were about 15-20 members in each) conferred for about a minute and then started playing and singing. It was a hoot. Then the audience clapped to pick a winner.

Another challenge was to play lying on the ground. Another challenge- fill the trumpets and trombones with water and play! What?!? Weird, funny and everyone joyful.

After these challenges, the bands played for real and we saw about 4 of them before the heavens opened up with a huge downpour.

Great music, great fun.

Even tho our time in Lyon was short- we packed alot in and also left things to do in the future. I loved  Lyon and want to get back there.

A few more highlights:

These bright colored cheeses have been showing up at markets- here in Lyon and also in our local market in Revel. I’ve tried the bright green and the red ones.  The  green is a gouda with Basil. The red, I don’t remember- but it was delish! And I haven’t had the pleasure of the turquoise yet!

The new museum Musee des Confluences in Lyon is a wonder. I can’t recommend it highly enough. The architecture is a marvel and the exhibits thought provoking and marvelous. It’s hard to explain it so look at the link and I’ll also let you know we spent 5 hours there and enjoyed every minute!

Here is a “lighted dress” from the Museum.

On Monday night we found a jazz club at the top of an interesting stairway. The club is called La Clef de Voute  and is a delight. It’s free tho you can purchase drinks and even small appetizers if you wish. We did the cheese plate and a bottle of red wine.