Day 12-Arles

 After a relaxing breakfast filled with Kevin's wonderful creations and very enlightening conversations with both an Italian couple and a British couple staying at our  B&B, we headed for Arles, Van Gogh's home for only 444 days, which were also perhaps his most productive.

Located on the Rhone River, Arles may be my favorite city in Provence.  Combining the Roman ruins with the flavor of Van Gogh, it stimulates me more than any other.

Built in 90 AD, the arena held over 20,000 spectators for chariot races and hand to hand gladiator battles.  Today it is still used for bullfighting, plays, and concerts.

It was 11:30 by the time we parked the car and started walking through the gates of the Roman wall and around the Roman arena and past an abundance of souvenir shops.  With the temperature already approaching the 90°'s we stopped at a familiar café for some cold drinks before continuing our walk through Arles.

The café at Hôtel Calendal

In addition to the wall that surrounds the city, and the area, to other most prominent remains of the Romans is the theatre which is still used today for a variety of performances.

Some of the many mannequins we passed on our walk through Arles.

Our main reason for visiting Arles on this trip was to return to the Foundation Vincent Van Gogh.  Last year we attempted this visit but were foiled by a power outage.  We had visited this museum  10 or so years ago, but we can never get enough of Van Gogh.  This museum does not have a lot of Van Gogh's works in their permanent collection, so you never know what you'll see.  I believe their purpose is to display the work of artist who have been inspired by Vincent.

On the way to the museum we passed by the  Café de Nuit, immortalized by Van Gogh...this photo is for you Mick Carlon

I liked this poster, however, the artwork to which this woman is pointing was on display in the museum, but I did not think it was worth photographing, let alone  blog worthy.

As we began our tour, we were wonderfully shocked to discover five Van Gogh's were on display.  None is well known, but all display the genius of his technique.

We ended our tour of the museum on the roof top terrace where we were treated to beautiful views in every direction

When we returned to our B&B our good friends Bill & Rosemary were already there, relaxing outside their room.  They arrived in France just 24 hours ago, spent a night in Nice and then drove up to Saint-Saturnin-les-Apt after a stop at the hospital in Saint Remy where Van Gogh stayed.

The Luberon is a section of Provence that is defined by two mountain ranges that run east to west.  The Vaucluse Plateau serves as the northern border and the Luberon Mountains serve as the southern border.  The valley between these two ranges is lush with vineyards, fruit trees, and fields of lavender and sunflowers.  Sprinkle in an abundance of beautiful hilltop villages and you have paradise.

 

The Vaucluse plateau is a desolate wasteland which during the Cold War become the home for many missile silos.  The original owner of our dinner restaurant purchased one of the abandoned missile sites and converted it into a culinary oasis, the Bistrôt de Lagarde

Amuse Bouche #1

Amuse Bouche #2, a stuffed sardine or anchovy.

Pan-fried melon, Muscat, speck cake, verbena sorbet.

Tomato my way: marinated in Bals' art vinegar, Taggiasche olives, anchovy cream, lemongrass jus.

d'Albion pork two ways, pressed with seasonal vegetables, corn, reduced

White tuna, stuffed courgette, wilted red onions, tomato jus whipped with olive oil and lemon thyme.

Apricot and rosemary signature dessert.

Nectarine and lavender gazpacho, lime biscuit, marinated nectarine, whipped cream.