PROFESSIONAL

Edu-, Edu-, Educational Traveling

Improve your art skills, learn

to cook Italian dishes, get bet-
ter in taking pictures – all of
this is possible to do and be on
holiday at the same time. Edu-
cational traveling or learning
vacations are getting more and
more popular among young
and old as well.
 PROFESSIONAL E du- , E du- , E duc a t i ona l Tr a v e l i ng

What Is a Learning Vacation?

No, it's not summer school! A learning vaca-
tion is an opportunity to learn something new
(something fun!), broaden your horizons,
and do something really different! They are
unusual vacations, out-of-the-ordinary experi-
ences – experiences that last a lifetime.
Push yourself beyond your self-imposed limi-
tations – learn to surf! Paint a landscape! Join
an archaeological dig! Try something you've
always been just a little bit scared of...

Amaze Yourself!
An educational vacation doesn't have to be
difficult, and it's certainly not boring. There
are educational travel tours that cover a
number of interests – want to join an archae-
ological dig? Or study art in Europe? You can
do it!
Have you always wanted to learn to speak
Spanish? Why not do it in Spain? You can
immerse yourself in the culture while learning
the language, and learn faster than simply tak-
ing a course at your local community college.
And you can visit Barcelona or Madrid while
you do it!
Attend an art workshop and unleash your
inner Georgia O'Keefe. Or attend a writer's
workshop and get going on that Great Ameri-
can Novel.
A learning vacation could also be called a
special interest vacation. What are your spe-
cial interests? A hobby you'd like to practice?

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Indulge Your Passion at a Craft bluff above the waters of Green Bay, a set-
Retreat! ting often compared to New England in its
rural charm.
Spending a weekend at a craft retreat is a
great way to indulge in a favorite hobby, and If you love Paris, and love silk painting, Silk
just relax! Painting France Adventure is exactly what
you're looking for. You'll get an in-depth experi-
Do you have a favorite hobby – but no time ence in silk painting, and a great Paris vacation,
to actually enjoy it? too! You'll start with a Champagne cruise on
You can sharpen your skills enjoy the cama- the Seine, do a little sightseeing, eat at fabu-
raderie of others with similar interests at one lous cafes–and spend at least part of each day
of many craft workshops. Whether you choose learning new silk painting techniques!
a weekend retreat or a full week of instruction Carol Lane-Saber Designs – Carol Lane-Saber
A culture you'd like to visit? An activity you'd and creative activity, this is the ultimate "me offers a yearly 2-week trip to Japan to study the
like to learn? time". history, architecture, and gardens of Japan, as
There are hundreds of ways you can enrich The Clearing – The Clearing in Door Pennin- well as the textiles and clothing. This is a shop-
your vacation experience with educational sula, Wisconsin is a "Folk School", offering ping tour, focusing on textiles to bring home
travel. summer classes in quilting, carving, writing, for your next project.
knitting, music, and much more. They offer a
- You can learn to paint or to write in an art- women's writing retreat in the fall and yoga
ist's workshop. classes, too! The Clearing is located on a http://www.great-womens-vacations.com
- You can immerse yourself in another culture
while you learn the language.
- You can learn to surf in California, Costa
Rica, or Hawaii.
- You can indulge your favorite hobby in a
scrapbooking, sewing, or beading retreat – or
take a tour to buy Japanese textiles!
- You can join an Archaeological Dig and learn
more about ancient cultures!
Educational travel is not boring – and any
vacation can be an opportunity to learn some-
thing new! Check out food and wine vacations
for cooking classes and tours, or river cruises
for history and culture of Europe, China, or
Egypt.

June, 2011 — 16 —
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Cooking Tours: Home Cooked Meal

and Delicious Wine
Bravo for today’s traveler! No longer are peo-
ple willing to be anonymous voyagers, going
from one city to another, checking into hotels
where they are unknown, sometimes not even
very welcomed. Today there are choices of
much more meaningful ways to travel, and one
of the most popular has become cooking vaca-
tions.
These are not trips where you spend all day
in the kitchen, but, rather, an opportunity to
spend time with the local people sharing in the
most important activity of their day; breaking
bread, eating a home cooked meal made with
the best local ingredients, accompanied by a
wonderful regional wine. What could be bet-
ter?
In a week-long trip there would be four hands
on classes of 2-3 hours each, followed by eat-
ing the meal, of course, drinking a good wine.
In temperate weather, meals are always out-
doors, so imagine sitting at a table with your
fellow classmates, now good friends, eating,
drinking, talking, laughing, all the while sur-
rounded by vistas of vineyards or olive groves
or views of the sea. This is what dreams are
made of and you are experiencing the dream.
The experiences are almost always set in the
country, away from the crowds and the hub-
bub of the cities. Life is a different pace and
you are the beneficiary of this leisurely, appre-

June, 2011 — 17 —
 PROFESSIONAL E du- , E du- , E duc a t i ona l Tr a v e l i ng
ciative way of life. But, you might have to do a
little work as well. There are markets to shop WELCOME TO SMEDEREVO
for ingredients for the classes, food artisans to
meet and sample perhaps some homemade THE MEDIEVAL CAPITAL OF SERBIA
cheeses, vineyards and wineries to visit, for,
of course, you must taste the varieties of local
wines. And let us not forgot some cultural site
visits in the area as well.
And, in the country accommodations are
also different. They are always in ancient struc-
tures, valued for their intrinsic history as well
as a wonderful positioning, perhaps perched
high on a hill with vistas of sunflowers, or in
verdant gardens or vineyards, or nestled along
the sea with water views everywhere.
Does this make your mouth water yet? Well, This is an education and a cultural experi-
think about cooking with the best and freshest ence. The “frosting on the cake” are the cook-
local ingredients, sometimes just steps away at ing classes and the recipes that you will take
the garden of the property. And these are not home with you to reproduce and impress
classes that teach you to cook. Of course, every your friends and family. But the real treasure
chef or cook has their own personal tricks or of these trips is the authentic, personal and Hotel Car
methods and they pass those along, but, really delightful experience of spending a week with Smederevo,Đure Daničića 66
+381 (0)26 642-042,(0)26 229-760
you are learning the cuisine of the region and the local people and for a short time being a office@cartourism.net
what makes a particular region unique from part of the life.
the one next door. You also drink the local
wine, made from grapes that can be very dif- By Karen Herbst
ferent from those a few kilometers away. http://www.theinternationalkitchen.com

June, 2011 — 18 —

Educational Trips: Women Travelers
Unleash Their Creativity
Many of us harbor dreams of being the next
Georgia O'Keefe or Joyce Carol Oates. Why not
live your dream at an art workshop or writer's
retreat?
Some retreats are for amateurs just testing
their skills; others are for those more serious
about their craft, who need a nurturing envi-
ronment to work and learn. Whatever your
level of commitment, there is a workshop or
retreat for you.
Carmel, California
Artista Creative Safaris – Their motto is "We
make girls out of women" – the goal of Artista
Creative Safaris is to learn and practice your
craft in a casual, creative environment (you can
even bring your dog!)
You can take a week-long art workshop in
Abstract Painting, Encaustic (hot wax) paint-
ing, and Fashion Design. Yoga is also a part of
the program; massage and spa treatments are
available separately.
Umbria, Italy
Dreams Academy for Women offers retreats
for "creative entrepreneurs" in beautiful cen-
tral Italy. Designed for "Women entrepreneurs
June, 2011
PROFESSIONAL E du- , E du- , E duc a t i ona l Tr a v e l i ng
who wish to recharge their creativity, regain
perspective on their lives and businesses,
build alliances with other creative women
and experience an immersion in the culture
and beauty of Central Italy", the week-long
retreats are held periodically throughout the
year.
New York City and Europe
Creativity Workshop – Creative writing,
memoir, art, and storytelling – holds full-week
workshops in New York, Crete, Barcelona,
Florence, and Carmel, California. The goal
of the workshop is to explore and "exercise"
your creativity, whether it be in life, writing,
art, business, education, performing, or the
visual arts. Working with students of all expe-
rience levels, the workshops are intended to
get the creative juices flowing, and to nurture
and focus your creative energy. People from
all over the world and from all disciplines
attend.
There is plenty of time to get to know the
inspiring locations of the workshop settings
and to make new traveling friends. You will
come out of the workshop relaxed, rejuve-
nated, and with techniques to make you more
productive and confident about your creative
abilities.
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Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin
Dillman's Bay Resort and Workshops –
Located in the serene north woods of Wiscon-
sin, Dillman's Bay Resort and Workshops offers
week-long summer art workshops in a variety
of disciplines. Instructors specialize in acrylics,
watercolors, oils, pastels, and photography.
The resort boasts a marina with water activi-
ties to relax after your working session, and
there are workshops and activities for kids as
well as adults.
Asheville, NC and other
locations
Clarity Works – Clarity Works offers classes
and week-long writing retreats for scribes
June, 2011
PROFESSIONAL E du- , E du- , E duc a t i ona l Tr a v e l i ng
of all levels of experience. This is a women's
retreat, focusing on letting go of the "rules"
you learned as a child, and getting to the truth
within. Writer's workshops are held at several
locations in the Southeast U.S.
Virgin Islands,
Spain, India
The Painting Gypsies – The Paint-
ing Gypsies offer week-long oil work-
shops in the Virgin Islands, Spain or India
(one workshop a year). Artists of all levels
are welcome. You'll paint daily in stunning
outdoor locations!
http://www.great-womens-vacations.com
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Prepare Your Taste Buds for

Andalucía Culinary Tours
Chef Mike Powell and his wife Hilary are pas-
sionate about Andalucía Spain, its culture, his-
tory, art and cuisine, and they love to share it
with guests by hosting art and culinary vaca-
tions, aptly named ‘A Flavour of Spain’. Guests
are welcomed to savour and explore southern
Spain through these vacations, with very per-
sonal and up close experiences provided by
hosts Mike and Hilary.
Andalucía is known for its sun-drenched
whitewashed villages, olive groves, Moorish
architecture, flamenco music and Mediter-
ranean cuisine. Guests have the opportunity
to explore Spanish culture, while enhancing
and nurturing either their artistic or culinary
talents at a leisurely pace in small group set-
tings. All Flavour of Spain holidays take place
at El Molino, The Old Mill, which is a beauti-
fully renovated three house estate nestled in a
rural valley surrounded by a trout stream, olive
groves and white villages. It is hour equal dis-
tance from Malaga and Granada.
The days are set up to provide plenty of time
for art and cooking classes, personal time, fully
escorted excursions and relaxation. There is
always time to linger over lunch, tapas, and
dinners; to swing by the stream or rest in the
hammock under the pomegranate tree; to
swim in the pool and watch the sheep being
Painting at El Molino
herded on the hillside; to walk to the nearby

June, 2011 — 21 —

Home of Flavour of Spain Art and Culinary Vacations,
El Molino, the Old Mill
villages or hike in the hills; and to finish your
days with an evening stroll on a quiet country
road that winds through the olive groves.
Food is central to the Spanish way of life. The
Foundation is olive oil, the Heart is the legacy
of the Moorish culture, and the Magic is the
Tapas ritual. Spain’s gastronomy is a wealth of
colors, flavours and textures. There are only
a few countries that have such a diversity of
landscapes, wine types and cuisine as Spain.
Mike is passionate about Spanish food, its
freshness, the simplicity of preparation, and
the quintessential flavours of Southern Spain…
the Mediterranean diet at its best. The Tapas
ritual is a digestive aid in itself. The sherry and
tapas work their magic and take away hunger
pangs, as well as creating the time for people
June, 2011
PROFESSIONAL E du- , E du- , E duc a t i ona l Tr a v e l i ng
to air their problems and frustrations, joys and
pleasures, releasing the safety valve that has
been forgotten in modern life.
Cookery vacations include a mix of hands-on
cooking sessions and demos; wine tastings;
visits to local food and fish markets, wineries,
Rute Museo de Jamon (ham museum), and
to the Baena organic olive oil mill; and excur-
sions with sight-seeing, shopping, dining out
and even a flamenco show. During the cookery
vacations, guests discover the joys of Mediter-
ranean food using the finest local ingredients
and learning the secrets of local dishes and
wine pairings.
Also, Mike and Hilary put together custom
private cooking holidays, so if a wine club,
culinary group, group of friends or business
associates wants to create their own cooking
vacation in Spain, Mike and Hilary will custom-
ize every detail to suit the group, including
add-ons such as Spanish language lessons, spa
experiences, and additional excursions.
For the art vacations, even though Mike him- Lunch on the Patio
self is an artist, he is too busy preparing his
exceptional meals for guests, so highly suc- place, instructors and opportunities for you
cessful artists lead the workshops. to experience the cuisine and culture of Anda-
If you want to spend a couple of weeks on lucía and to inspire your culinary and artistic
an art or culinary vacation in the countryside abilities. Through Spanish country cooking and
in the south of Spain at a lovingly restored Old Spanish-inspired recipes, excellent art teach-
Mill, spend your days painting or learning to ers at a tranquil country setting, they will stim-
cook beautiful Spanish cuisine, explore Spain ulate your artistic talents and encourage them
in small escorted groups, discover the joy and to flourish.
health of delicious Spanish cooking, join hosts
Mike and Hilary in Spain on A Flavour of Spain By Tina Baird
Vacation. They have brought together the http://www.flavourofspain.net
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