We have been in France now for 10 days; so many memories already. This trip stands out in that I have been more faithful at sketching in my journal than ever before. Another twist is that I determined to make all my notes in French, keeping with the language, and learning a bit along the way.

One of the challenges of travelsketching is to find the time to sketch, while not slowing down other people. Thankfully Tricia is quite patient with me, and she is usually involved with her camera, check out her blogs here. Yet there are many situations where stopping to sketch is impractical or the weather is inclement, thus one of the major differences between travel sketching and Urban Sketching – Travelsketchers sketch from photos quite often.

Our style of travel elevates lunch to a major activity, eating is truly the center of what we do. So with lunch the main meal of the day we rarely got out for dinner. We spend most evenings in the room, or Airbnb, with some local cheese, bread, and maybe a glass of wine. While Tricia edits photos, I sketch from photos I took during the day. Tricia tends to sleep in later than I do, so I often sketch in the morning, or head out for coffee and do a sketch there.

The primary objective of this trip was to confirm where we wanted to live if it all works out to come here in July – mission accomplished. Of course we have spent plenty of time just absorbing what is around us, with a different perspective this trip than in the past, considering how we feel about being a part of the culture here – we like the feel of France, always have and we are more convinced than ever.

Here are a few sketches so far, beginning with the place we may end up living.