For a taste of something new, visit www.mindonfrance.com and check out the new series I have been working on called Winter Idylls. The Oxford English Dictionary defines an idyll as a short poem or piece of writing describing a picturesque scene or incident from countrylife.

Check out the little Trife I have created - both in the English dessert sense or its other
meaning, a little something of no particular importance. Don’t you just love these ancient
French marbles?? Enjoy!

In my previous post, I described what it has felt like to suddenly have one’s private world of travel imagery explode in the New York Times and in cyberspace. This has been quite a fun ride this past week. I am getting such a kick out of the wonderful phone conversations I am having with people who describe the images as “phenomenal”, “breathtaking” and “incredible”, to name just 3!

I invite you to visit the site for yourself and read why I began taking the photos. Then sit back and imagine yourself right there, really right there. Then go back and have another look at our new programs and make yourself a gift to jumpstart the new year with a meta vacance.

Take Marianne Rohrlich’s suggestion in the New York Times and give an unusual gift this holiday season. Please note the ordering deadlines as printed on the “current” page of www.mindonfrance.com.

Have a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!!

Again, our sister site: www.mindonfrance.com

According to the Detroit Free Press on October 22, 2006, slumber parties are in!
Staying at home with friends, snacks, cable, and flicks is becoming a nice way to relate-
Whether you are a teen, a tween OR an adult woman, cozying up at home is the way to go!

How about getting your favorite college roomies. sorority sisters or your younger and
older sibs together and let’s plan a very special time of it, in a magical place. Expand
on the notion of staying at home. Stay at home in France, complete with massage,
hiking, biking, quiet yoga, great organic food, trips to markets, antiquing, you name it.

With a hand picked variety of lovely, special venues in which to hold our workshops, we guarantee you a personalized, custom made trip to the Dorodogne, set in a dreamy home based location. So call your sis or your best friend and let’s start dreaming.

Get out those jammies and get on board!

I am really excited! I continue to have amazing conversations with my teachers
as we brain storm the new workshops for Spring ‘07 and Fall ‘07. The dates are
still not firmed up yet, so you will just have to sit tight.

I am in awe of my talented and interesting workshop leaders. They know their stuff but more than that, they are fun, low key and great company to spend time with. I am so impressed with each one of them, not only for what she has accomplished, but for whom she is.

Next spring, we will welcome back Karen Arp-Sandel and this date is set:
Saturday April 21- Saturday April 28. Karen’s program is called: Planting Seeds in France-Yoga For Joyful Living, and with what is usually superb weather at this time, we will be practicing in all sorts of wonderful outdoor venues and combining our practice with wonderful activities in the region. Bring your mat, hiking boots, water colors and cameras. And be prepared to laugh.

As mentioned, we do not have dates set yet but the next two programs are progressing. Each has me really jazzed for its fantastic content.

Santi Meunier will be back with What Do French Women Know? This will be
a workshop examining the paradigm shifts between American women and French women; our different takes on body culture, taking leisure time, and making the most of the last 1/3 of our lives. This is guaranteed to create fascinating, lively discussions, so don’t miss it. Santi’s list of accomplishments is more than impressive: author, Phd, coach, PLUS, she’s a great cook and lots of fun to be with.

Our next program, is called Walking In The Footsteps Of Merwin. The Merwin in question here, is definitely a magician, but his magic wand consists of words. I hate the word resonate, but in this case, my word, his words, really truly do.

W.S. Merwin, Pulitzer Prize winning poet and author of more than 40 books of poetry, prose, and translation including books on the area titled The Lost Upland, Summer Doorways, The Vixen, and The Mays of Ventadorn, lived a period of his life in this incredible landscape. He lovingly articulates his epiphanies both in his prose and poetry. No matter how many times I reread his work about this landscape, I am dumbstruck by his subtle way of getting at its essence. Reading and discussing his evocative words in situ, we will then roam the countryside on foot in search of them.

Pending further discussion, I might like to run this program both in the fall and
spring as each season brings new magic for all the senses.

I am thrilled to have 2 authors as our guides on this adventure. Michelle Gillett, poet, author and writing teacher in her own right, also happens to be a devoted fan of Merwin, so she was thrilled when I proposed this idea to her.

Hayden Carruth, said of Michelle’s book called Blinding the Goldfinches, ” What one finds in these poems is the truth. It’s as simple as that…. I reccomend these poems for their wisdom and insight, but even more for their steadfast initiative and independence”

Elizabeth Mollison, author, poetry anthologist and also a Merwin devotee (she actually introduced him to me many years ago), just happens to have this landscape under the treads of her walking shoes. She has hiked these hills and valleys for over 40 years and now makes her permanent home here. For the last 25 years Molly has taken me on some of the most incredible hikes I have ever experienced. A lifelong big thank you to Molly and I am so pleased to be able to share this gift of walking with her, with you. Molly is the author of a book, sadly only in French and Dutch at the moment, called Le Roc (also made into a French tv documentary) and it is a portrait of her village, a stones throw from the Dordogne. If you read in one of these two tongues, try and get a copy.

So start your reading now! I am sure you will want to read and reread as
we prepare for our walks and hikes.

Dates, and particulars will be posted on the program page, once they are finalized. Any and all comments as we plan these programs would be more than welcomed.

Fall may be settling in here and there, but we are well on our way
to planning out our new programs for next spring, beginning mid
April. I am really excited about some of the new things we are going
to do, so watch this space and our program page for the particulars.
Note: not yet listed, still firming dates!

To all of the yoga teachers attending the KYTA conference this weekend at Kripalu, please feel free to contact us about bringing your own students over
and tailor making programs of your own choice. We continually seek out and
encourage teachers with new ideas and creative strengths to join with us in
broadening our base of experiential adventures. This is a wonderful healing
landscape, not unlike the Berkshires, so if you have enjoyed your weekend
in Lenox, then consider the possibilities across the pond. The weather is mild
for much of the year, so anything is possible, from hiking and biking all year
round to indoor creativity by a roaring fire. Dream or meditate on this, and let
us hear from you!

As I settle in to my rentree after 3 magical months in France, I watched on the Today show, the last two mornings, segments on special vacation ideas women can take with their friends, siblings or mothers. I can tell you, if you are especially sick of the wet soggy weather in the East, then there is no better place to enjoy a long languid spring or fall than the Perigord (Lot and Dordogne).

I would like to remind you that if you want to create your very own memorable trip, nesting in a castle or wonderful private home away from home, we can tailor make a special experience for you and yours, just to your tastes and likings. Or, sign up for one of our organized programs. There is loads of opportunity within the structure of each program to create time and space for your own interests.

TWO wonderful aspects of spring in the area, for which we can thank mother nature, include, a very early beginning to the season and long long days of daylight. When I left my little coin, my neighbors and I were taking our evening stroll together and parting company, in daylight, at 10:15 pm. Walking around the house, viewing the valley as I closed each shutter and noting the time as 10:40 was nothing short of amazing.

So if private market tours, garden tours, golf, massage and wellness, secret and special walks or hikes lead by those in the know, painting, collage, making fois gras, you name it, appeal, then challenge us and we will make it happen for you.

Watch this space for my latest blog entries, written as spring was unfolding in this perfectly temperatured setting.

The region never ceases to amaze me, and I can guarantee you the same. The look of delight and awe upon my guest’s faces as we turned corners to see new and wonderful sights always confirms what I hold dear to my heart. This is a very special place- simple, still magic!

Come and see for yourself

We are initiating for 2006, Self Catering Holiday Workshops. Please see the Registration/Fee section for details on this new hands-on way to experience the French countryside. This is such a wonderful place and truly transforming. We want to make
this a real possibility for you to attend. Hence we are constantly trying to come up with new ways to make this more accessible. See the website www.metavacances.com

Unlikely Snow Fall- A few weeks back, the Perigord experienced a record snowfall- one for the history books. Caught mostly unprepared, most people simply
had to stay put for the better part of a week. Reports from sources in the area spoke of 35-48cm or 12″-17″. Now that is no dusting, especially
if you do not own a snow shovel. My friend Serge drove his two twin daughters, Nellie and Florence to work on his tractor!

Inspiration From India - From warmer climes, yoga teacher Mary Flinn is winding down her continuing enrichment studies in India and preparing to return to the States. Watch this
space and the Program page on our website for more details about her workshops this fall. We have late
September activites in the works.

Artist Opening - Closer to home, artist and teacher Gabrielle Senza’s new gallery show opens in New York City this weekend at the OK Harris Gallery.
These new works come, as her seven year old son Mateo puts it, “from the gut” . They are intimate, lyrical and worth pondering. Check
it out. OK Harris Gallery 383 West Broadway, NYC NY February 18- March 18. Gabrielle is on tap to teach for us this spring. She paints
not only in the abstract, but fine fine landscapes as well. Check out
the website under Programs. Her collaboration with yoga teacher/artist Karen Arp-Sandel promises to yield great fun and experiences.

Literary Perigord- With luck, we hope to get permission from various publishers to post some samplings of writings on the area by various literary writers. These excerpts are from
wonderful books that will intrigue you and have inspired me for years. If you are curious for titles before the posting here, check out the Selected
Reading section on the web site.

And……We have a few more interesting surprises up our sleeves so watch this space.

I am also told by various emails, that spring is quickly approaching the the region- poppings from the earth and mild days.

Ah, the spring delights are fast approaching!