What You Do When You Can't Gogh Anywhere Else

Monday, April 17, 2017
Arles, Provence, France
We had great plans today. Truly. We had planned to go to St Remy-de-Provence, the site of the mental hospital where van Gogh stayed, and painted "A Starry Night."

However, today being Easter Monday in France, no buses, trains, rental cars, or BlaBlaCars were to be had.

No problem; Matt had also wanted to see nearby Nimes, the site of the largest and most impressive Roman aqueduct on earth.

Again, Easter Monday thwarted us.

So we decided to fuck it, and hang in Arles for the day. It is the last day of the Feria celebration, so there was music in the streets and lots of open bars and restaurants. How could that not be fun?

Unlike yesterday, when the infamous Provencal mistral wind blew through and plummeted temperatures to 60F, today the sun was back and it was another glorious Provencal day. The morning was perfect for a stroll, so we decided to take a walk alongside the Rhone River to see the site of another of van Gogh's paintings, "The Langlois Bridge at Arles." We hadn't had any food or coffee before setting out, and didn't realize the walk was well over two miles each way. I am fairly certain that words were said along the lines of "I can't believe we're walking all this way for a painting that not even a BFA student had heard of before today" were spoken. But I could be wrong; as I said, I hadn't had my coffee yet.

When we returned to the town, it was nearly 11am. We had (thank jeebus) coffee at a nearby cafe, and planned our lazy day. As the last day of the Feria celebrations, many small brass bands were playing in the streets throughout Arles. Our plan for the day was to see the remaining van Gogh spots, and enjoy these random bands in the sunshine. Seriously, one of these bands did a kick-ass rendition of LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It," so obviously this was going to be a day well spent. We went to the grocery store for picnic fixings, and had a picnic lunch in park of rose wine, pate, baguettes, brie, and jelly beans (it is Easter Monday, and I am simply unable to ignore 50% off candy sales). We sat in Jardin L'Ete and enjoyed the brass bands, while ignoring the bulls running in the street in front of us. It was perfect.

We attempted to visit the site of van Gogh's "Le Vieux Moulin," but like another couple we encountered trying to find the same spot, it didn't seem to exist despite the tourist office's concise directions. After fifteen minutes of wandering, we realized neither of us could have cared less anyway; so we wisely chose to repair immediately to a bench on the Rhone River to drink wine and savor the view. 
 
We had been warned that no restaurants would be open on Easter Monday. Truly, my Plan B was to head to a glacier (ice cream parlor) on our hotel's street, and order one of those monstrous European ice cream sundaes for dinner. But my adult nutritional needs were saved when we happened upon an amazing little bistro called Le Chistera late in the day. We chatted with the (adorable) chef-owner, who explained in halting English that he's rarely open on holidays, but decided what the hell this year...and was fully booked, except for a 7:30pm spot that we were welcome to have. Sweet! So for our final night in Arles, we had a fabulous dinner of duck (me) and beef stew (Matt), and a fantastic dessert comprising molten chocolate and pastry, and topped with a chili spice so hot that I nearly burned my nasal passages after accidentally inhaling it. I loved it.

We capped the night off with a late-night visit to the scene of van Gogh's "Cafe at Night." Matt decided he wanted this nighttime photo after I'd already gotten ready for bed. So here's a fun fact: I am literally in my pajamas in this photo. Enjoy.

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