Strolling in the Footsteps of Van Gogh ... Saint-Remy-de-Provence

#VincentvanGogh#SaintRemydeProvence#LesPaysagesdeVincentvanGogh#CloitreSaintPaul

After our lunch we wandered in the direction of the Office of Tourism; here we acquired the town map and were informed that we could take "a walk into the world of Vincent Van Gogh".

The walking tour was said to be about one kilometre in length through the countryside which inspired Van Gogh. 

Is that one way or both ways? I only ask that because today it was hot, temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius and the famous Mistral wind is not blowing at all today!

Okay, Monsieur Honey let's do this walk.

We walked "in the very heart of the landscapes of Vincent Van Gogh" in Saint-Rémy de Provence, all we had to do was follow the bronze plaques embedded in the sidewalks.

The walk is highlighted by nineteen (19) reproductions of some of "Vincent's"  most famous pieces.

These reproductions are protected by plex-glass frames and each has the name of the painting along with a copy of excerpts from personal letters that Van Gogh has written with his thoughts and feelings.

(you can read these excerpts by enlarging the photos)

In May 1889 Vincent van Gogh committed himself to the Saint-Paul de Mausole hospital; he was treated here until May 1890.

During this year he completed many drawings and almost 150 paintings ... many of which are considered to be masterpieces.

                               

The entry to "Saint-Paul de Mausole. 

This lane way is landscaped beautifully with many different perennials.

                           

                  

                                         

This is a photo of "French" irises that I took earlier in May ...

                   

We toured the Cloître Saint-Paul ... 

          

Monsieur Honey contemplating the world ...   

                         

                                                      

 

The view ... from the patient's rooms.

"Vincent's" bedroom ...

A painting of van Gogh's bedroom in Arles ...

                       

                       

                            

Just a little further, a few more steps were some well preserved Roman monuments ...

The Arch of Triumph (20 A.D.) which marked the entrance to Glanum.

The Mausoleum (30 B.C.)

                          

                                                 

The Alpilles, a range of small mountains that are the back drop to many of the landscape paintings.

 

Time to walk back to town ... another interesting day!

Hope you enjoyed the stroll in Saint-Remy de Provence's countryside!

Strolling in Saint-Remy-de-Provence.

#Nostradamus#CharlesGounod#Mireille#SaintMartinChurch

#Mireille#ChapelleJeandeRenaud#MuseedeAlpilles

Thursday we ventured to Saint-Remy-de-Provence, one of the oldest towns in France.

We arrived early and still had a time finding a parking spot, it's a good thing we are not afraid of walking and are able to walk. We avoided coming on a market day and had no specific itinerary. Our travel agent (me) had not done any research before leaving so we weren't sure what to expect ... we had been told by a waiter last week that we should visit this town!

It turns out there was plenty to see and do in this charming town; so I am warning you this will be a lengthy post with many photo postcards. 

We spent the morning just walking the streets and squares of the town ...

In the background ...the Gothic style "Chapelle Jean de Renaud" with its XIV th Century Church tower is all that remains of the medieval Church which collapsed in 1818.

The new neo- classical Church ... Saint Martin which was rebuilt in 1821. 

                                  

The War Memorial in remembrance of all the lost children during the wars.

                                     

   The town was the birth place of Nostradamus in 1503.

                              

Bonjour Madame et Monsieur!

Black and White ...

                                    

 

The Musée des Alpilles and what is through this arch?

                                      

This pretty, colourful and fun square ...

                                          

 

Everywhere you look there are little niches some with religious statues and others are architectural designs commerating certain events ...

This one refers to the French composer Charles Gounod who lived in Saint Remy while he wrote the score for the opera "Mireille". One of his more familiar works is "Ava Maria"

                                       

It's lunch time again ... today's highlight for me was dessert but not by choice, the electricity had gone out in the town sometime while we were eating and when it came time for the dessert the waiter said all we could have was ice cream ... I don't usually have ice cream, it was creamy, delicious coffee and vanilla ... perfect on a hot day!

We haven't even made it to the Tourist Office yet, what information will we find there?

What will we get up to this afternoon?

Hope you enjoyed the stroll through the town with us and felt like you were there too!

As it turns out I am going to do this post in two parts ... check back later for Part Two.