Three weeks ago, my husband and I went on a wonderful trip to France and Switzerland. I took along a 5″x 5″ Hahnemuhle accordian sketchbook, pens, and watercolors, and planned to sketch. Here is the finished book:
Our first stop was Lyon, France. We stayed a couple nights with my husband’s college roommate from years ago and his family. We had a wonderful time exploring the French countryside outside of Lyon, as well as experiencing the culture, food, and architecture of this wonderful city! We had wonderful hosts and learned a lot about the area, while enjoying spring-like weather. We were quite busy and active, so I decided to wait until we traveled to the French Alps to begin my sketchbook. I added in a map (as I usually do when I travel), so people have some idea of where I was.
After Lyon, we took a bus to Chamonix, a beautiful resort town at the foot of Mont Blanc in the French Alps. We enjoyed a Smoked Salmon Tartine (open-faced sandwich) as our first lunch. I love to sketch food, so sketched this quickly with my Sailor Fude pen and added watercolor back at the hotel.
I have filled the front and back of sketchbooks in my previous international trips. This one, however, I decided to only fill the front half. We were busy with family members who had also come to Chamonix to join us for vacation, and I didn’t want to feel pressure to fill two sides. I would snatch some moments between ski time, fabulous food, hotel time, and other things we visited to sketch. Simple things like my hot chocolate, the view outside our balcony, the skis, and snowy roofs landed in my sketchbook. I also enjoy taking parts of business cards, tickets, receipts, or other pieces and attaching them by the sketches. This video clip is a little bumpy, but gives you an idea…
The weather was wet and snowy in Chamonix. I skied a short time one day, and decided to explore more of the shops– lots of bakeries, chocolate shops, clothing shops, restaurants, and more.
The second half of the sketches were done in Chamonix and Geneva, Switzerland. We took a bus there and enjoyed great food, walks along the lake, the Old Town, and visiting the Patek Philippe Museum. This museum housed timepieces and watches from across the centuries from these famous watchmakers and others. Unfortunately with security, I couldn’t bring my sketchbook into the museum and sketch, so I attached a ticket in my book instead.
I love to sketch people and find that waiting in airports offers a perfect opportunity. We had a mess with our flights getting back home– cancellations, delays, an overnight in a hotel, etc… I had some stationery from the Geneva hotel we stayed at, so I used it to sketch some passengers waiting for flights and on the plane. It was a good way to pass a little time (besides eating Swiss chocolate!)
This was an amazing vacation with family and I have so many fun sketches as memories! This book will join others on my shelf, and I can’t wait to see what the next trip will be!
What a wonderful experience! Thanks so much for sharing.