From Provence to Catalonia - Lunch with VanGogh in Arles

We said “au revoir” or actually I like to think we said “a bientôt” to Saint-Remy de Provence. 

We’re moving on to the Deep South of France near the Spanish border today ... Monday, September 16th. 

Enroute we are going to take in one more place in Provence. 

Our planned stop was in Arles (pronounced arl) which was built along the Rhône River.

We parked in a lot near the train station and first walked along the river to view one of the many Van Gogh easels. 

La Nuit Étoilée ... Starry Night over the Rhône ... not to be confused with his other « Starry Night » painting he did while staying at the hospital in Saint-Remy de Provence.

There was a local artist set up with his easel painting as we were looking for this panel; he pointed us in the right direction and told us to look at the bridge to visualize what Van Gogh saw.

Nos amis. 

Reflection of the bridge in the Rhône ... 

From here we wandered into old Arles through the Cavalerie Gate down Rue Volitaire.

Van Gogh walked into town down this street in 1888. 

The fountain pictured below was only a year old then. 

The mosaic is said to « celebrate the high culture of Provence ».

In the 19th century this neighbourhood was Arles’ red light district ... not so today. 

We continued our wander towards the Roman Arena (Amphitheater) ... you can see it in the background as you walk down these streets.

Can you see the arena just up ahead, you can take the left or right street ...

Here was another one of Van Gogh’s easels ... Les Arènes d’Arles ... the Arena.

The 2000 plus year old arena is still in use today ... 

The birds found the perfect spot to cool off ...





Soon we found another easel of one of Van Gogh’s famous paintings in Place du Forum ...

Le Café Le Soir / Café Terrace at Night.

Monsieur Honey and I are not your typical tourists when we travel ... today was an exception. 

Our group was lured into La Café de la Nuit by the very attentive, friendly hostess. 

Vincent Van Gogh’s painting depicts the café in a bright yellow from the glow of the surrounding gas lamps. 

This yellow was not unlike the sunflower yellow I once painted our guest room in the schoolhouse many years ago. 

But in actual fact the facade was white limestone similar to the other cafés in the square. 
Whoever painted the facade to match Van Gogh’s version ... had a brilliant idea to draw in the tourists!

We enjoyed a delicious lunch and some wine of course ...

The setting was perfect ...

And for a moment I thought “Vincent” himself was sitting beside us at the next table ...

 

After lunch we wandered a bit more ...

A bucket of painter’s brushes; how apropos in the town of Arles.

Such unique store signs ...

A pretty lane ...

I’m going to leave you with this ... I clicked the “shutter” on my camera many times today taking lots of photos of beautiful “shutters”. 

The traditional shutters in the “Old Town” are strictly protected; there are many styles but they cannot be changed.  

Note: I think I will do a separate post about Arles’ shutters. 

We had a busy day playing tourists in Arles then we drove  approximately 2 1/2 hours  to Maureillas-las-Illas. 

We arrived late afternoon (5pm) ... a quick shop and we were ready to enjoy our first night in Maureillas-las-Illas. 

    

More to come ...

Last Weekend in Provence.

Our last weekend at Mas d’Oscar in Saint-Remy de Provence was spent in town.

Our “voiture”  aka our automobile was only moved for a few minutes by the Monsieurs to go get the tank filled for our departure on Monday.

You see the driveway to our “home away from home” is down a narrow, narrow (did I tell you it was narrow) lane with a tight right hand turn around a curved wall and immediately a tight left hand turn ... not good with a larger vehicle! 

Our Monsieurs became experts at negotiating the tricky turns! 

We used our shanks’ ponies to get around this weekend.

Madame Susan and I headed out on our own for a walk about town.

Join us on our walk ... here’s some what we saw and experienced.

The teddy bears are hanging around ...

We found a very different art gallery ...

A fromagerie ... there has to cheese here for everyone’s taste ...

Cute café/bistro ...

Beautiful home decor shoppe ... 

We picked up our few must haves on our shopping list before heading back for some rest and relaxation in the courtyard ... oh maybe we found a few wants too! 

Some yummy treats for tonight’s dessert ... each one was delectable, we shared of course.

Did I say rest and relaxation ... mmm, we’ve taught Monsieur Honey a couple of card games. 

It was fun, even more so with French cards. 

.......

Sunday was another day of doing just a little of this and a little of that. 

Monsieur Honey and I headed out early in the “heat” hot temperatures to check out the vide grenier (literal translation- empty the attic) that was happening at the large supermarket’s parking lot.

We weren’t really looking for anything for us ... Monsieur Mark was in search of some “ pastis “ glasses. 

We saw lots of various glasses and messaged our travelling  partners to let them know and they found their way here later. 

Monsieur Mark was successful in his search.

On our return walk we discovered an interesting wine/ liquor shop.

There was a “street market” with various vendors and products.

We stopped at the Domaine de Lagoy and did a tasting of rosés. Delicious!





Time for some Sunday lunch ...Italian today. 

Aperol spritzer to quench the thirst, tempura shrimp with salad and shared pizza ... delicious! 

We strolled back home and did a bit of packing. 
Tomorrow morning we are on the road to our next destination.

I’ve enjoyed our stay at Mas d’Oscar in Saint-Remy de Provence.

The house was perfect for USA! 

The courtyard was a wonderful place to relax day or night.

We Didn’t Dance on the Bridge ... A Day in Avignon

Today, 13th of September (a Friday no less) we enjoyed the charms of Avignon (ah-even-yohn) which is well known for the nursery rhyme, the medieval bridge and home to the Palace of the Popes.

There is a mix of new and old. 

We parked at the Centre-Ville train station parking lot just outside the walls and walked into the city through the « Porte de La République «. 

We wandered along the Main Street in the direction to Place de L’Horloge (referred to as the heart of the city, here you’ll find the Town Hall and Opera House built in the 19th century). 

Some street entertainment ...

The Hôtel de Ville / Town Hall

We continued on to the Palace Square ... where we hoped to be tourists on the “Petit Train”.

We climbed on the waiting train, there seemed to be some kind of delay ... finally, after much discussion between the driver and ticket seller it was determined the train’s brakes were “caput”!

Everyone off the train ...

Palace of the Popes 

It was extremely hot and humid. We wandered back to Place de L’Horloge finding a café/restaurant with front row seats to view the activity in the square for some refreshments and lunch. 

Now we were ready to try the train again ... away we went for an interesting narrated 45-minute train ride.

And yes it was a good thing they check the train’s brakes as some of the tour climbed high above to the Rocher des Doms Gardens. 

This hill overlooks the Rhône and was where the first inhabitants of Avignon settled over 5000 years ago. 

Wonderful views and beautiful gardens ...

Can you see the Pont d’Avignon (Saint Benezet Bridge) ... UNESCO World Heritage site, built between 1171 and 1185? 

Famous for the nursery rhyme song “ Sur le Pont ...”  

Sur le Pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le Pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond.

On the bridge of Avignon
We're all dancing, we're all dancing
On the bridge of Avignon
We're all dancing round and round.

In the winter of 1668, most of the bridge was destroyed by an icy flood. 

There are only 4 arches remaining. 

The original bridge was significant in size spanning a half mile with 22 arches.

The water fountain in the gardens.

The train took us through narrow streets in various neighbourhoods and squares.

One of the many shaded squares.

I was in awe of the beautiful buildings and architecture.

We had full day with some sight seeing, a little retail therapy and a leisurely lunch.