Big day today. We’re off to the playground of Vincent Van Gogh: Arles. With the first bridge over the Rhone River, Arles was a key stop on the Roman road from Italy to Spain. Van Gogh settled here in 1888 when he was 35 years old and was bowled over by everything Provençal - jagged peaks, gnarled olive trees, brilliant sunflowers, and the furious wind. Van Gogh painted in a flurry in Arles, producing more paintings than at any other period in this too-brief career - over 200 in just a few months. The hospital where Vincent was sent to treat his self-inflicted ear wound is today a cultural centre that surrounds a garden that the artist loved. He was sent from here to the mental hospital in nearby St. Rémy which we also visited this afternoon. We loved walking on the river walk along the Rhone where Vincent set his easel for the famous “Starry Night” painting, where stars boil above the skyline of Arles. It’s still the same today. The night sky is blazing with stars! We also visited the Roman Arena (Amphitheatre), the Roman Theatre, and the Roman Baths. Onward to Les Baux-de-Provence, crowning the rugged Alpilles Mountains, this rock-capping castle town is a striking, memorable place to visit. Les Baux is actually 2 visits in one: castle ruins on an almost lunar landscape and, below, a medieval town packed with shops, cafés, and narrow cobblestone streets. We enjoyed lunch at the top of Les Baux followed by a hike around the town before moving on to St. Rémy for a cold beer before heading home to our villa.
Such an interesting history of Van Gogh; I'm going to read up on him :) Love it that you two are having such a wonderful trip!!