Stops in Arles and St Rémy

By the middle of the week of our family trip to Provence, everyone was starting to establish routines, particularly with food. We adopted the Fromenterie on the corner of a street in L'Isle sur la Sorgue as our breakfast go-to. My dad had his croissant and orange juice every morning, while my mom and I varied our choices, but ultimately stuck with les triangles amandes (croissant-like and triangle shaped with powdered sugar and almonds spread on top).

After a day spent touring little villages, we decided to explore Arles, well-known for its Spanish influence, Arènes, ancient theatre, and various scenes painted by Van Gogh. The train station attendant in Chasse had recommended that I go to Arles before leaving France, because it's an ideal place for taking photographs, due to the light. Just as Van Gogh had first arrived to Arles covered in clouds and snow, we arrived in the midst of on and off rain showers. No infamous arlesian light in sight.

However, the yellows and oranges in this ex-hospital courtyard that Van Gogh painted during his stay there definitely brightened up the atmosphere. This was one of my dad's favorite places in Arles. Copies of the artist's paintings are set up next to the corresponding scenes, creating one of those games where the goal is to find the tiny differences in two very similar pictures: the painting and the current landscape.

After some sufficient wandering, we found Van Gogh's Night Cafe. I nearly got plowed down by a bicycle while getting this shot. Unfortunately, the actual scene, which is busy and touristy, is a bit of a let down compared to the painting, where the cafe appears so much more quaint and personal.

Above is the disco bull we found in an exhibit off of la Place de la République. There were several creative bull heads here, including a purple fuzzy one and a zebra bull among others. Because of Arles' close proximity to Spain, there exist some customs like bullfighting that take place in the Arénes (below). Bull lovers will be happy to know that the animal is only killed during the Easter season. Otherwise, the sole objective of the "matador" is to grab jewelry from between the bull's horns with a long fork.

From Arles, we drove to St Rémy, not really knowing what to find there. The first challenge: finding a place to park. After several circles around the city center, we found a cramped space. The couple seated on a bench right in front of our spot informed us in a combination of French/Spanish all of the parking rules in the city. We were safe. With reassurance that our car would not be towed, we set out to explore the place. Sometimes it's nice not to have a sightseeing plan, but just happen upon things instead. This is my preferred method of seeing somewhere new, especially after trying to find so many sights in Arles.

Wouldn't it be great to walk to school on this street?

I just liked the red color of this patisserie/glacerie and its name, "A Summer in St. Remy of Provence."

We stumbled upon the birthplace of Nostradamus...

...and some bears people-watching from a window.

Although we didn't stay long in St Rémy, it was a nice stop to simply wander, look in shops, avoid stepping in piles of dog crap, and notice the little things. I got the idea that that's what Provence is about.