2015 Pilgrimage to Paris
A special invitation to a life-changing week in Paris with me.
My creative life has been fed by Paris and the French part of my soul. Without my connection to this place and my time spent there, there would be so much missing from the work that’s come through me. Even more than that, I’d not be who I am today.
Here’s how that is:
Paris holds a very special and important place in my life and evolution. I took French all through high school and I wanted to spend a semester in Paris in college, but I was too scared to be that far away from home that long, so it never happened. After graduating from college, I spent the summer in Europe – the second stop was Paris. When I emerged from the Gare du Nord (train station), it was as if I’d been there before. Though I did not know my way around, it did not seem like a strange, unknown place.
Eleven years later, in my early 30’s, I went again with my parents, just before separating from my first husband. I realized that it actually was pretty easy to get there. I just head to the San Francisco International Airport and 10 hours later, I’m there. I needed Paris. Two months after this trip, I was separated from my husband when I wrote in my journal that if I ended up getting divorced, I wanted to live and work in Paris for six months.
Eight months later, I was newly single when I had dinner with my friend and former boss, John. He was consulting for a Paris-based linguistic software company setting up an office in San Francisco and they were looking for someone with my skills. I’ve always loved languages and how thrilling would it be to work for a company in Paris?! They hired me and then realized that they didn’t have much for me to do in San Francisco for a while, so they asked if I would be interested in working in Paris for six months? (!!!)
I flew to Paris on May 13, 1996. My journal wish realized. The company rented me an apartment in the fifth arrondissement, across from the beautiful mosque, just down the block from the Jardin de Plantes. Paris was home for half a year. I went on a business trip to Montreal – my first time in Canada, and I returned home to Paris. I learned my way around, both above ground and below – in the Metro. By the end I was dreaming in French and people stopped me to ask directions – I could actually help them! My brothers, Matt and Mike, came at the very end of my time there. We spent a few days visiting Paris together before travelling around Europe. They said I was different – that it was almost hard to believe that this French-speaking person was their sister from Woodacre, California.
Almost 20 years later, I look back and see Cara before Paris and Cara after Paris. My time there changed me. It awoke in me an ancient, lovely, feminine part of myself I did not know existed. My journey to my feminine self was begun.
Though I had started painting in watercolor in 1992, I did not actually paint at all while I was there, in fact, I’ve never put brush to paper in Paris. BUT, when I look at the paintings I’ve done, some of the most beloved, well-received were painted from images I collected in France, many of them in Paris itself.
This spring I painted my silhouette, standing in front of the clock in the Musee d’Orsay, with the Paris Roses-roses behind it. It’s called “Eternal.”
Last year, the idea arose that the ultimate “art-retreat” that I’d want to create and lead would be in Paris. This pilgrimage is the realization. I’m calling it a “pilgrimage,” as it’s a spiritual journey for those who share my love of Paris – and who are drawn to it as I am. It’s mysterious how we are called to places and experiences. We can’t know where this comes from, but to be fully alive, we must take heed!
This pilgrimage is an invitation to see what being in Paris will inspire in your creative journey. We won’t be spending time painting, but rather visiting some of my – and your – favorite places – through the hearts and eyes of the artists in us. We will have cameras (and sketchbooks if we want) to capture what we see.
- Possible museums to visit: Musee Marmmottan, Musee d’Orsay, L’Orangerie
- A ride on the Bateau Mouche on the Seine at night,
- A concert in Sainte Chapelle – a small church inside the Palais de Justice which has the largest expanse of stained glass in Europe.
- Two possible day-trips – to Giverny and Chartres.
- Visits to the food markets and exquisite food shops.
- A visit to the Sennelier art supply store!
- Browsing neighborhoods, peering in windows
AND, much of what happens will be spontaneous and unplanned. My most treasured and memorable experiences travelling have been those that I could not have dreamed of ahead of time. So this will not be a week with every hour scheduled! Time spent exploring apart from the group, alone or in smaller groups will be encouraged. This way you can create – or further – your relationship with Paris. There will be no more than six pilgrims. My intention is that it’s an intimate group of open hearts and that sharing with each other our discoveries will enrich the experience for all of us.
Besides being your guide and resource and translator, (I speak very functional French) my intention – my role – is to create the “container” of the trip – to hold our time together as lightly as is possible, keeping it open for the magic of this place to have her way with us!
We will begin our journey before we get on the plane. UPDATE: A dinner is planned for the evening of Saturday, July 11th at the Baker Street Bistro in the Presidio in San Francisco. Over dinner, we will each answer and share with each other “why Paris?” and why this trip is calling to us. For anyone who has been, we can share what we love about it. What place does it hold in each of our hearts? What in our souls is touched by the idea of being there?
I’ll invite you then to create a collage of “your Paris.” As you search for what to include, looking through magazines, scanning the Internet, listen and watch inside youself. Here’s one I did many years ago – the elegant, lovely part of myself revealed through Paris:
We’ll have a private Facebook space to share our collages, images, thoughts, ideas, requests. Our interactions with each other will begin the expansion of our hearts and the touching of our souls.
Then we will have Paris! October 3rd – 10th. Fly from the US on Friday October 2, to arrive Paris on Saturday, October 3. Leave Paris on Saturday October 10th.
Accommodations: An apartment has been reserved in the 5th arrondissement for four of us to stay in. This gives us access to a kitchen, where we can all have breakfast and some dinners (I’m happy to cook, and happy to have help!) with the beautiful produce from the markets. The rest of the group will be in a nearby hotel (or AirBnB apartment if we can find one). Other rooms have not yet been reserved. As soon as you decide to come for certain, we’ll get right to work to get them booked!
When we gather at the start of each day, we’ll orient ourselves for the day’s activities. Then, gathering again, most evenings to share our day – spent together or not – either in the apartment or in a restaurant somewhere.
Upon our return, I encourage you to share your images and reflections on our Facebook space – deciding if any of them are calling upon you to paint them.
The pilgrimage will conclude with an optional weekend in Larkspur (my usual workshop space) in early November. We’ll gather again, to compose, draw, paint – you’ll bring a piece of “your Paris” to life in watercolor.
Two people I’ve been talking to about the trip have said it sounds like the “experience of a lifetime!” For me it is a week that will draw upon my life as it has been lived – so far! Travel is transformative, and when held with this intention, it will be even more so. I know we will all be changed – by our time together – by Paris.
Price: $1150/$950 with/without the final weekend, includes breakfasts and food and wine for three dinners in the apartment in Paris.
Payments: The deposit to reserve your space is $450. The next payment of $500 will need to be paid before we leave (by September 30th) and the remaining $200 for the optional weekend can be paid on that weekend if you are going to come. Your airfare and accomodations are paid separately.
Not included: roundtrip airfare to Paris, hotel, ground transportation, day trip transportation, museum entry fees, concert tickets, dining out, incidentals.
Note: Please don’t hold me to this, but based on my research of airfare and accomodations, the total cost of the trip could be $3,500 – $4,000. (Airfare, last checked in February, is about $1,500 roundtrip in coach.)
If you are interested, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know:
send me an email – and/or don’t hesitate to call: 415-699-2556
I cannot wait to be with you – in PARIS!!!
