Crazy for Ewe — An Extraordinary Journey
The South
of France
Eight nights in Nice, Aix-en-Provence, and Lyon with Ellen Lewis. April 19–27, 2027.
A letter from Ellen
This is not the
tourist version
I've been to Saint-Paul-de-Vence twice. I went to Lyon in March specifically because I hadn't been there before and wanted to make sure it was as special as I hoped. It was. Every single thing we're doing on this trip, I have either done myself or chosen very deliberately because I believe it will move you.
This is France the way the French live it. Not the postcard version — the real one, where the market produce is stacked like sculpture, where a cracked sidewalk gets mended with mosaic tiles, where art and culture envelope you.
I can't wait to share it with you.
~Ellen
Days 1–4 · April 19–22
Nice & Saint-Paul-de-Vence
We begin on the Mediterranean. Nice is a city that wears its beauty without effort — the old town, the Promenade, the light that painters have been chasing for a hundred years. We'll spend four nights here, long enough to settle in and actually feel it.
One morning we travel up into the hills to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, a medieval walled city built right into the mountain. Every narrow street is pedestrian, every doorway is an invitation. We'll have lunch together there, and then the Fondation Maeght.
The Fondation Maeght is one of the great small museums of the world. Original Calders — mobiles and stabiles — so close you could touch them. You probably shouldn't.
Featured Designer · Nice
Martin
Storey
Many of you spent time with Martin in Bath, and he had such a wonderful trip with us that I asked if he'd come to France. He said yes. He'll be in Nice for several days — joining us at the Fondation Maeght, on the boat along the Riviera, and leading a private workshop created specifically for our group.
One of the pleasures of a small journey like this is relaxed, unscheduled time with a designer whose work you've admired for years. I'm especially curious to see what the light and art and Mediterranean architecture does to Martin's thinking — and how it finds its way into knitwear.
Days 4–6 · April 22–24
Aix-en-Provence
After England, you told me you wanted more breathing room. I listened. Our days in Aix-en-Provence are intentionally open — no agenda, no schedule. Just one of the most beautiful towns in the south of France, yours to wander at your own pace.
We'll visit the Musée du Calisson — dedicated to the famous Provençal almond confection that has been made here for generations — and explore the morning market together. After that, the afternoon is yours. Sit at a café on the Cours Mirabeau. Browse boutiques. Find a quiet courtyard. Knit.
I've arranged dinner together in the evening so you'll never have to figure out a reservation on your own in a place where not everyone speaks English. That matters more than it sounds.
The French Way
They mended the sidewalk with mosaic.
I took this photo in Lyon because it really spoke to me. A crack in the pavement. And instead of patching it with concrete, someone filled it with mosaic tiles.
That is the entire thesis of this trip. France has never separated the beautiful from the functional. The market produce is stacked like sculpture. The baby's cardigan is cashmere. The sidewalk is a work of art.
We are knitters. We already understand this. Florence Merlin is going to remind us why.
Days 6–9 · April 24–27
Lyon — and the
hotel that stopped me.
I went to Lyon in March because I hadn't been there before and wanted to make sure it was as special as I hoped. On my last morning, as we drove to the train station, I spotted a grand building in the distance and asked my driver what it was.
It was our hotel. The InterContinental. Even from across the city, it stopped me.
We'll spend three nights here at the end of the trip — and it's the right place to end. Lyon is France's silk capital, its culinary capital, its best-kept secret. We'll walk the traboules, visit a working silk atelier, take a cooking class, and have a farewell dinner I think you'll remember for a long time.
Featured Designer · Lyon
Florence Merlin
Little French Knits
There are designers you admire from across an ocean, and then there are moments when you get to sit across a table from them. Florence Merlin is the designer behind Little French Knits — patterns so beautifully considered they've earned devoted followers in more than a dozen countries.
Florence learned to knit from her grandmother at seven years old and never really stopped. When her children were born, she began designing her own pieces — delicate layettes in the finest wools and cashmeres, made with the care that only a knitter who is also a mother understands. The waiting list for her handmade pieces grew so long it would have taken years to fill. So she published her patterns instead.
The French don't dress their babies in onesies. They knit cashmere cardigans with pearl buttons, worn for one season and then folded away for the next baby. Florence embodies this entirely. She didn't set out to build a brand. She had a baby and wanted to dress that baby beautifully. The pattern business came later. The philosophy came first.
She has over a hundred designs to her name now, and she lives just outside Lyon — practically our neighbor for the week. In our workshop together, she'll guide us through a small, beautiful project designed exclusively for our group.
Her English, she'll tell you, is not perfect. Her knitting absolutely is.
The Journey
Day by Day
Day 1
Apr 19
Apr 19
Arrival in Nice
Arrive and settle into our hotel on the Riviera. That evening we gather for a welcome drink and our first dinner together in Nice's Old Town.
Includes: Welcome dinner
Day 2
Apr 20
Apr 20
Saint-Paul-de-Vence & Fondation Maeght
Private coach to the Fondation Maeght with a guide to walk us through the Calder mobiles, Giacometti courtyard, and Miró mosaics. Lunch together in the medieval village, then a free afternoon in Nice.
Includes: Breakfast, lunch
Day 3
Apr 21
Apr 21
Workshop with Martin Storey
A private workshop created especially for our group by one of Rowan's most beloved designers. Lunch together at a nearby restaurant. Free evening to explore.
Includes: Breakfast
Day 4
Apr 22
Apr 22
The Riviera by Sea & Journey to Aix
Morning: private boat along the coastline from Cap de Nice to Villefranche. Afternoon: private coach to Aix-en-Provence with a stop for Provençal wine and gourmet tasting en route.
Includes: Breakfast, wine & gourmet tasting
Day 5
Apr 23
Apr 23
Aix-en-Provence — Yours to Discover
Morning market tour and a visit to the Musée du Calisson. The afternoon is entirely open — browse, knit, sit at a café on the Cours Mirabeau. Dinner together in the evening.
Includes: Breakfast, dinner
Day 6
Apr 24
Apr 24
TGV to Lyon — The Silk Capital
High-speed train to Lyon. Private guided tour of Old Lyon's traboules — the hidden passageways of the silk merchants. Dinner at a traditional Lyonnais bouchon.
Includes: Breakfast, dinner
Day 7
Apr 25
Apr 25
Cooking Class & Silk Atelier
Morning market tour with a local guide. Hands-on cooking class with a French chef — the meal you cook is the meal you eat. Afternoon visit to Brochier Soieries, a working silk atelier and museum.
Includes: Breakfast, cooking class lunch
Day 8
Apr 26
Apr 26
Workshop with Florence Merlin & Farewell Dinner
Private workshop with Florence Merlin of Little French Knits. Afternoon at the Textile Museum and a cruise on the Rhône. Farewell dinner together in the evening.
Includes: Breakfast, farewell dinner
Day 9
Apr 27
Apr 27
Departure
After breakfast, we say our goodbyes and depart from Lyon for our flights home — with a working silk atelier visit, two workshops, and a Calder mobile behind us.
Includes: Breakfast
Everything Arranged
What's included in your trip
Accommodation
8 nights — 4-star hotels in Nice and Aix-en-Provence, 5-star InterContinental in Lyon. City taxes included.
Meals
Breakfast daily. Welcome dinner, 2 lunches, 4 dinners, cooking class lunch, wine & gourmet tasting. You will always have somewhere lovely to be.
Knitting Workshops
Private workshop with Martin Storey (Nice) and Florence Merlin of Little French Knits (Lyon). Both created exclusively for our group.
Experiences
Fondation Maeght with private guide. Riviera by private boat. Brochier Soieries silk atelier. Textile Museum. Rhône river cruise. Cooking class.
Transport
Private coach throughout. TGV from Aix-en-Provence to Lyon (second class). All road tolls and parking. Private transfers as specified.
Guides
English-speaking local guides in Nice, Aix-en-Provence, and Lyon. All entrance fees and service charges on included items.
Not included: airfares, travel insurance, personal expenses, gratuities, meals beyond those listed above.
Reserve Your Place
Travel with us to
France
The group will stay small — at least 14 travelers, fewer than 20. Booking is through our travel partner Pathfinders.
Twin / Double Occupancy
€5,800
per person
Single Occupancy
€6,900
per person
Questions before booking? Email Ellen at hello@crazyforewe.com
I go on these trips because I believe that the most useful thing I can do for a knitter is to change how she sees the world. Not just her knitting — her whole relationship with beautiful, made things. France does that. I've seen it happen. I'd love for it to happen to you.
~Ellen
Owner, Crazy for Ewe · Leonardtown, MD