La Cascade

General information about our Art Retreat week in France
Bienvenue a La Cascade!

Welcome to La Cascade, Durfort for a glorious late summer art retreat!

IMG_0560About our workshop intensives

Our classes are limited to small groups for lots of individual attention.

This also means they fill up quickly. So when you know this is the trip for you, put down your deposit so you have a space!

Studio workshops are in the morning. The rest of the day is up to you. You may go off exploring on wonderful afternoon field trips. You can also choose to stay in the studio or relax. There are a variety of lovely, very French experiences nearby to make this a sensory delight for you!

Our candlelight dinners are often held on the terrace under the stars. Our chef buys fresh produce from the Revel market where local farmers have been bringing their produce since the 14 century!

In the evening there is local jazz, just relaxing on the terrace or playing in the studio, which is open 24 hours a day.

lacascadeAbout La Cascade

Gwen Gibson’s wonderfully renovated French retreat center:

Our address is 27 Rue des Martineurs, 81540-Dufort, France.
The phone number at La Cascade is (011) 33 5 63 50 81 09.
Please remind people you give the number to of the time difference; France is 9 hours ahead of west coast time and 6 hours ahead of east coast time.

La Cascade is in the quiet village of Durfort, an artisan village that’s been producing copper vessels since medieval times. Life is slow and peaceful. The noisy motorbikes that destroy the peace of many French towns are rare in Durfort. Perhaps it’s because troughs of running water that were once used to temper copper vessels run down the middle of the back streets. We are part of the life there and do our best not to disrupt a way of life that hasn’t changed much for five hundred years.

La Cascade, at number 27 Rue des Martineurs (Street of the Copper Beaters), was built in the mid 18th century. The houses in this area have been built in the same way from the medieval times up until the 20th century. They are made of local stone, mud and wattle, or straw. And Gwen’s house has been restored beautifully; honoring its history and adding modern facilities. Thank you, Gwen!

There’s a large studio on the third floor. There are four bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a dining room, and a kitchen, of course, for the fabulous French food. There are also a newly renovated living room and a large outdoor terrace. Outdoor terraces go right down to the river!

Altogether there’s room for eight people to live and work comfortably.

shapeimage_1About Durfort

Durfort is a historical town in the department of the Tarn, incidentally where the film Chocolat was filmed.

Our town is adjacent to a national park that takes in a huge area of forested mountains, and lakes. The road that follows the gorge uphill out of town passes several old mills and waterfalls. At the foot of the village, the land opens up into a rolling patchwork of fields that turn gold with sunflowers in July. The Pyrenees Mountains are not far to the south.

There is a rich religious history here: during the 11th and 12th centuries, this region practiced Catharism, an ascetic form of Christianity. This was considered heretical by the Catholic Church, which wiped out the Cathars in the Albignesian crusade. Today, the ancient Cathars are admired for their courage and values of community, tolerance and independence.

Albi, a nearbye town, was one of the major centers of Catharism. The amazing Cathedral there, along with the Toulouse Lautrec Museum, makes for a wonderful visit. And Carcasonne, the great fortress town restored by Violet le Duc in the 1800’s, is under an hour’s drive away and well worth the visit. There are many wonderful historical, creative, and spiritual places all around this area, and I will tell you more about those as we go along, so you can plan field trips with your friends!

Planning your trip

Once you’ve decided that this La Cascade art retreat is for you, you’ll want to know more about getting there, what to bring, car rentals, and insurance. Many questions are answered below. For anything else, please email me at victoria@toryhughes.com

Flights to Toulouse

Toulouse, France is your final destination. Your first touchdown in Europe will probably be London, Amsterdam, Munich or Paris, where you’ll pick up a short flight to Toulouse.

When booking your flight, allow enough time between flights to go through the airport procedures. I usually plan about an hour and a half. I will be sending more detailed information about booking your flights to answer more of your questions. Please plan to arrive between 12- 5 pm so we can travel as a group from the airport to La Cascade.

GROUND TRANSPORTATION

Arrival

To and from the airport: Durfort is about 70 km from Toulouse, approximately one and a quarter hour’s drive. Everyone should meet at the airport between 12 and 5pm on the arrival date. Rental cars will be picked up and we will piggyback to La Cascade together.

The dates listed as the workshop dates reflect the arrival day and the departure day.

Please don’t book a flight until you have the “Go Ahead and Book Your Flight” note from me!

Departure

Please don’t book a flight out before 10:00 AM on departure day unless you have your own transportation to the airport. Alternately, you may choose stay in Toulouse the evening before, if you must leave early.

Car Rental

Students get together to share the rental of cars for each workshop. This makes it possible to visit the many points of interest within driving distance of Durfort. When split between the class, a car rental is quite affordable. Often two cars for the group should be enough.

Car rental prices vary considerably. Pay with a credit card that covers collision and injury rather than buy it from the auto provider.

The European diesel auto is quieter and more powerful that the ones in the U.S. They’re also more efficient, and diesel is cheaper than gasoline.

If you book through Europe by Car, “Citer” at Toulouse airport will provide the car. Auto Europe is another choice.

Insurance

  • Insurance is a requirement for staying at La Cascade.
  • This covers trip cancellation, trip interruption, travel delay, baggage loss, baggage delay, emergency medical expenses, rental car damage, and air flight accident.
  • We usually use CSA Vacation Guarantee, telephone 800-348-9505

LOCAL SERVICES

Shopping

People come from all over France to buy the beautiful, reasonably priced copper ware for which Durfort is famous. The shops in the village sell copper ware, glass and leather products.

If you want to buy almost anything else, you need to go to Soreze, the next village one kilometer away or Revel, 5 kilometers away, where you can find almost anything you’ll need. You can buy an international phone card at a tabac in neighboring Soreze to use at the public phone right near the house. They are easy to use and a good bargain at 7.50 euro for a one hour card.

Basics

  • Utile Market in Soreze: Food, post cards, maps, film, magazines, French newspapers, Fax, copier, wine, and deli.
  • Boulangeries in Soreze: There are three boulangeries in Soreze, the main one is on the square.
  • Tabac in Soreze and Revel: Writing supplies, phone cards, stamp, envelopes, copies, and postcards. Open all hours except lunch.
  • Bank, Credit Agricole, in Soreze: ATM outside is open everyday, all hours
  • English newspapers in Revel at Presse Tabac on the main square.
  • Internet Café in Revel
  • Photo Processing in Revel: Sarda on the north west side of the square.

Final Preparations

  • Make sure to notify your credit cards of the dates that you will be spending abroad. One year Gwen forgot and both her debit and credit cards were blocked.
  • Check well in advance that your passport is current and bring a second photo ID, like your drivers license.
  • You don’t need a special license to drive in Europe.
  • Remember to bring prescriptions and specific medical information. Dayle recommends bringing an extra set of glasses, just in case.
  • Plan your packing carefully to get the most use from your space:
  • All you really need is one skirt (optional), one/two pair of slacks, one sweater, one light jacket, a light blouse, a few tee shirts, and a pair of walking shoes.
  • The bedrooms are up one flight of stairs; the studio is on the third floor
  • You’ll receive a short materials list at least 8 weeks before the workshop.
  • You will receive a list of your classmates so you can arrange for cars and just chat about our adventure.

Payment Details

  • The retreat itself costs $1900. which covers the class, lodging, and most food.
  • A $500 deposit will reserve your place. The remainder is due by August 1st.
  • If the workshop is cancelled your deposit will be returned in full.
  • If you cancel by July 1, $250 of your deposit will be returned to you.
  • After the final payment due date, August 1, your workshop fee will be returned only if you or I can find someone to take your place.

BON VOYAGE!

This will be an extraordinary class. I am so looking forward to seeing you there! Anything I can do to help, let me know.

I am full of gratitude to Dayle Doroshow and Gwen Gibson for their inspiration, encouragement, and all the love and work they have put in to making classes at La Cascade the marvelous experience that they are! Merci beaucoups, mes cheries.

See you in September-
Tory