After a long day of travel and orientation on Saturday, students enjoyed a more relaxed day on Sunday. After receiving their satchels, t-shirts, and assembling for a group photograph, all participants embarked on a sunny walk to the market at Saint-Pierreville. Once arriving, many kicked-back and enjoyed the various cafés and shops in the market and throughout the town. After returning to the hamlet, the students took part in introductory lessons for their majors in either Architecture, Drawing and Painting, or Photography. Before dinner, cheese and saucisson was served along with punch in an Ardèchoise tasting session, capped off with a visit from our neighbours, the Chalencons! Amongst the tasting session and during free time, many of the students climbed our abutting cherry trees and picked cherries for all to enjoy. After dinner, John gave a fantastic talk about the the Ardèche to help situate the program both geographically and historically. On Monday the students launched into their first full sessions with vigour and an incredible amount of enthusiasm. Looking forward to seeing the results of their work in the days to come.

After 30 minutes of walking, the students reached the gorgeous Saint-Pierreville.

Fernando selecting the finest cheeses and saucissons for the tasting session.

Fernando and our neighbour Paul Chalencon enjoying hand picked cherries.