Discovering More of Saint-Remy de Provence

Tuesday, September 10th, 2019 

#postcardsfromthelot #thegoodlifefrance

We opted to checkout a bit more of Saint-Remy this morning.  

The village of St. Rémy is full of charm, very pretty, picturesque and one of the oldest towns in France. 

The old historic centre is surrounded by the remnants of the circular 14th-century wall.

In 1503 Nostradamus, the famous doctor and astrologer was born here. 

Van Gogh painted approximately 150 canvases including the « Starry Night » when he spent time at the St. Paul’s Hospital.

Dr Albert Schweitzer was prisoner here. 

It had rained heavy throughout the night and was a bit drizzly looking as we ventured out. 

We were armed with an umbrella just in case.

The weather has been wonderful from the moment we landed on Saturday with temperatures in the low 30s Celsius. 

The dolphin fountain ...

The facade of the Maire 

We strolled thru the historic centre dodging the rain by popping in and out of a few boutiques. 

First stop ... we found the interesting home decor shop “ Les Comptoirs des Alpilles “ that my friend, Claire recommended.

 

Next we discovered this little shop or at least we thought it was “little” until we walked in. 

The space continued and continued and included a mini museum in the upper level. 

Here we sampled jams, olives, tapenade ... it was delicatable! 

Since the rain continued, we went to one of the larger supermarkets, Carrefour on the outskirts of Avignon (about 1/2 hour away). 

We had a good shop and also Monsieur Mark came away with a new hairstyle. 

Tonight we dined at home « Mas d’Oscar » ... it was Team Madames turn to be the top chefs. 

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Wednesday is Market Day so we will be hanging around this beautiful town tomorrow also. 

Wild, Wild Horses Couldn’t Drag Me Away from the Camargue.

Monday, September 9th, 2019 (Day 3) ...

We travelled south about an hour to the seaside town of Saintes-Marie de la Mer in the Camargue on Monday morning to meet up with our Belgian friends Madame M and Monsieur Guy (who were travelling in Spain & France). 

We arrived a few minutes early ... it was super busy! 

Finally found a parking spot on the waterfront ... we wandered along the boardwalk with views of the diamonds dancing on the water.

We easily met up with our friends at the appointed place ... Hotel de Ville.  

After hugs and introductions between both sets of friends, Madame Susan and Monsieur Mark went off to the busy market, while we found a nearby café for a drink and “catch up”! 

Old friends sharing laughs and memories! 


Once all six of us were together we wandered thru the town checking out the usual souvenir  shops ...

Will this be as close I get to seeing the pink flamingos? 

                                  
We settled on a fantastic restaurant for lunch (déjeuner) A Le Fleur De Sel - Chez Alexandra 

Delicious food, wonderful presentation & service! 

 My choice was the most delicious surprise ... a new twist to moules frites 

“Poêlon de moules, farci à l’Aioli, potatos maison” description on the menu ... we translated it to be a skillet of mussels cooked in aioli with house made potatoes! 

The mussels were presented as escargot would be! Yummy! 

   
After our “dejeuner” we strolled the streets and then headed for a walk along the beach promenade.
A beautiful entrance step decorated with colourful tiles ...

Poet’s Bar 




Street art ...

Oh what do you think is in that courtyard? 

It was a fun day of visiting with friends at the seaside.

The roads thru the Camargue are lush with vegetation ... pampas grass, gigantic bamboo and various trees. 



Trying to get caught up in posting about our travels ... maybe on the weekend I will find some time! 

Out and About in Saint Rémy de Provence

Sunday, 8th of September ...

Our first full day in Saint Rémy de Provence. 

We all awoke fresh after a good night’s sleep in our super comfortable beds/ bedrooms.

Today we ventured out to explore/ familiarize ourselves with the town. 

Our location is primo with easy access to everything Saint Rémy de Provence has to offer. It’s just a few steps down our lane to the Main Street ... ring road circles the Centre with many pedestrian streets in the interior.

                                  

                                                     

The beautiful lanes are lined with fantastic boutiques, speciality shoppes selling everything from sweet smelling aromatics to sweet tasting treats! 

                                                   



Here we were tempted by free tastings ... nougat anyone? 

Madame Susan’s sweet tooth was intrigued and she purchased a sliver that became a slab for €17.

This was reminiscent of our first experience purchasing cheese at a market ... where the seller offered us “Un petite goût”! A small taste was a very expensive experience and we still talk about the “ Golden cheese”! 

Now we can regale our friends with the “Golden Nugget”story. 

                   

Every so often we lost “Les Monsieurs” as they lusted over various automobiles! 

Nostradamus is everywhere ... here he is sitting in the window.


              

Ah Monsieurs do you want a pedicure? ... 

Les poisson dit “mais non! The fish said “but no”! 
 

What’s the libation / aperitif of the day? 



A ricard for the men, « kir pour moi et une Biere pour Madame Susan »!
  


Time for lunch at the Brassiere du Commerce overlooking the Place de la Republique facing the carousel. 

Team Monsieur chose the lamb as their main course, their entree was a delicious pâté plus dessert! 

Les Madames selected the fish dinner.

Back to the comfort of our « Home Away from Home » at Mas d’Oscar for an afternoon of rest, relaxation and sunshine! 

Tîme for me to get my book / iPad and join everyone ... the view from my bedroom down below to the courtyard!

Tonight’s  light dinner ...  was delicious and even  better because our «  Monsieurs « the loves of our lives had prepared this tasty meal of nibbles!

                                        

Finally time to say “bon nuit” from Saint Rémy de Provence!