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Travel and paint in Holland and Belgium with landscape artist David Dunlop, the engaging host and writer of two seasons of the Emmy Award winning, national PBS television series, Landscapes Through Time with David Dunlop.  SimmonsArt, Inc. Productions with David Dunlop.

Join David Dunlop, modern day, old master whose luminous landscapes draw from both renaissance techniques and contemporary science on an exciting small group plein air painting and barging tour through enchanting villages and country sides dotted with windmills. We’ll spend seven nights on a 16-cabin, well-appointed barge The Magnifique I. From the comfort and convenience of the barge, we will travel the canals of Holland and Belgium departing from the mooring in Amsterdam and paint in picturesque locations such as Kinderdijk, a UNESCO world heritage site, Antwerp, Ghent, and towns in between, ending in Bruges! This tour is a combination of sightseeing with scheduled time for plein air painting reinforced with demonstrations and one-on-one instruction with David.

AMSTERDAM

Tuesday, May 20    Arrival Schiphol Airport Amsterdam – Meet at the airport and transfer by coach to the Zaanse Schans for a tour of an historic and still active 18th and 19th century residential area with working windmills. We’ll enjoy a traditional lunch before we go to Amsterdam to board the barge Magnifique 1. We’ll enjoy a group welcome wine and cheese as the crew welcomes us on board the Magnifique I. There will be time to relax before our first dinner on Magnifique I. This afternoon, we will barge to the town of Vianen close to the city of Utrecht. LD

Wednesday, May 21  Morning visit and exploration of the Dutch masterpieces at the Rijksmuseum with David Dunlop. Following our tour of the Rijksmuseum, we’ll board our coach and enjoy lunch on the way to the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague for a guided tour with David. This wonderful museum has a vast collection of Old Masters, including Rembrandt, Rubens, and Vermeer  (home to the Girl with the Pearl Earring).  We’ll return to the barge at the end of the day in Dordrecht. Dinner on the barge. BLD 

Thursday, May 22  A painting day – After breakfast, we coach to Kinderdijk, a UNESCO world heritage site, where 19 windmills are located along the water, a great place to set up for a day of painting. We’ll visit the interior of a windmill and enjoy lunch on location. Built in 1738 and 1740 to keep water out of the polder, this is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands. In the afternoon, the town of Bergen op Zoom will welcome us. Bergen op Zoom is in the province of North Brabant. This historic fortified town goes back more than eight hundred years. The narrow streets, the market square and churches show the history of a rich and eventful past. There is even a Dutch song about Bergen op Zoom. This night we will have a group dinner at one of the many wonderful restaurants in Bergen op Zoom. BLD

Friday, May 23  Today, we cross the province of Zeeland before entering Belgium. In February of 1953, a huge storm flooded most of the province, taken most people by surprise, thousands died. Years later, the Dutch built the famous Delta project, installing huge locks to keep the North Sea from flooding the interior. Antwerp is our destination where we’ll visit the Rubens House Reception building and garden, and learn about Peter Paul Rubens, the artist and the man behind the brush. Following lunch on our own, we’ll visit the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp featuring an extensive collection of Flemish masterpieces by Rubens, Van Dyck and Van Eyck, as well as contemporary works by Rik Wouters, Magritte, Modigliani and many more  Dinner on the barge. BD

Saturday, May 24  A painting day – After breakfast in Antwerp, the fountain with the statue of Brabo dominates the main square in front of the Cathedral of Our Lady where several significant works by painter Peter Paul Rubens, as well as paintings by artists such as Otto van Veen, Jacob de Backer and Marten de Vos are located. We’ll set up in one of the many wonderful locations for painting in this historic city.  Enjoy lunch on location. The barge in the town of St Amands on the river Schelde will welcome us for the night. Dinner on the barge. BLD

Sunday, May 25  A painting day – After breakfast, we’ll bus to  the beautiful city of Ghent and visit the altarpiece of Ghent in Saint Bavo Church. Begun around the mid-1420s and completed by 1432, it is attributed to the early Netherlandish painters and brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck. The altarpiece is a prominent example of the transition from Middle Age to Renaissance art and is considered a masterpiece of European art and identified by some as “the first major oil painting.”  Following the visit to the altarpiece, we’ll set up for our day of painting with lunch on location. Our bus will take us back to the barge which is now docked in Ghent. Dinner on the barge. BLD

Monday, May 26  We’ll coach to Bruges to spend our last day in this storybook city with its network of canals, classical Flemish architecture, and spectacular Market Square. Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we’ll take a canal cruise around the city with free time to explore the historic center of Bruges and its famous chocolate shops on our own. Late afternoon, return to the barge to pack for our departure. We’ll celebrate our week with a farewell dinner on the barge. BD

Tuesday, May 27    DEPARTURE    Early morning coach to Brussels Airport.