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Tuesday, June 19, 2001
We got up about 6:15 and headed for breakfast upstairs again. Still tasty. Then packed up and checked out. We took a taxi back to the airport, where we were to meet the rest of the group. The taxi was more expensive going to the airport than it was coming in. And included a 20 franc per bag surcharge! And he delivered us to the wrong terminal. He left us at international arrivals instead of domestic. Fortunately, it was just a short walk between the two. No tip for him!
Bill Manning, Adam Jones, and Rod Patterson arrived shortly after we did with one of the vans. Sol and Judy Levy and Deb Broxterman soon arrived from Paris. All luggage arrived safely, so we loaded up and Bill went to get the second van. Deb and I rode with Adam back to the hotel in St. Remy, which would be home for the next eight nights.
It was a very nice hotel, called L’Hotel L’Etalier de l’Image, or the Hotel of the Image Studio. It used to be a movie theater back in the silent era and was converted into a very nice hotel. Each room was unique. And they cater to photographers, including a black and white darkroom, if anyone was so inclined.
The only real problem with the hotel was the lack of parking space. There was a long driveway leading to the front door (right), but people were discouraged from parking there on a regular basis. If one person needed out, they had to shuffle cars around to accommodate. The driveway could hold about five cars. However, across the street was a large parking lot that usually had spaces available. We wound up parking the vans there most of the time. The few times we entered the driveway by van, we had to fold the side mirrors in to make it through the gate!
The rooms were air conditioned, which was a pleasant surprise. Our room was up a flight of stairs, a spiral staircase. Most of the others were staying in rooms that were another flight up. And they have an elevator, which was an other unexpected surprise. Of course, the elevator didn’t service our floor, but we didn’t really need it. The people working there were quite quick to help with the heavier pieces of luggage.
So, we all got settled in, then met in the lobby for a get acquainted talk. The lobby was very nice. It was large enough for people to sit and chat while sitting in comfortable chairs. It also had a bar with some very nice wines. And that’s where breakfast was, on those morning when we made it back in time for the tail end of breakfast.
Our room was very nice. Twin beds. Nice bathroom with a shower that actually had a handle for the shower head. No dresser, but a closet with shelves on one side. The door to the closet made a “whinnying” noise when it was opened. There was no way to open it quietly. It provided a nice source of amusement for the trip....
Our first stop on our morning walk was to the post office so that some of our group could exchange dollars for francs. Then we stopped at the Tourist Office to pick up some local literature, including directions to Maisson de Sainte St. Paul, the former monastery that housed the asylum where Van Gogh stayed for a while. It was just half a mile down the road from the hotel.
We had lunch at a creperie near the hotel. It was very interesting. We all had hot crepes of various sorts. The ones with eggs came with the equivalent of an over easy egg in the middle of them. The crepes weren’t rolled, but flat. Filling, but not what we expected. We didn’t go back there again.
The Mistral winds were with us again today.
After lunch, we walked down the road to Maisson de Sainte St. Paul.
The three photos above were taken along the walk to the monastery. The photo on the left is a chapel - Notre Dame de Pitie. The center photo is our first lavender field (we would see much nicer ones in the next week). The photo on the right is a house with an interesting roof design.
On to the monastery, which has lovely grounds. The photo on the left above shows the approach to the monastery with some tourists. The center photo shows the bell tower. And the photo on the right shows one of the driveways for the monastery.
The monastery cloister was interesting, too. The three photos above shows this nice cloister. The photo on the right includes a lovely hydrangea that was just outside the arch where we stopped to buy our admission tickets.
Above the gift shop, they had a room that was a reconstruction of the one Van Gogh stayed in. If that’s the right location, then he had a nice view out the windows. The room across the hall had some of the metal tubs they used to treat mental patients then.
There was supposed to be a walk in the vicinity with signs showing some of the sites Van Gogh painted, but we never found the starting point for that.
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Instead, we crossed the road to visit Les Antiques, some Roman ruins located at the side of the road. One was an arch (left) that is still in pretty good condition and dates from about 20 AD. The other artifact was a large mausoleum (right), dating from 30 BC. Very impressive.
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We walked back to town. Some of our group split off to take a nap. The rest of us wandered the town center for a while. I picked up some lavender sachets for souvenirs.
The three photos above were taken on this ramble through town. The photo on the left shows a bicycle parked in front of an Italian restaurant. The center photo shows some flowers in front of a house. And the photo on the right shows an interesting balcony.
Three more photos from this charming town. The photo on the left shows the flowers that deck a balcony on City Hall. The center photo shows one of the very narrow streets that are common to this town. The photo on the right has some unusual flower pots mounted on shutters. These were available for sale.
St. Remy, like many towns in Provence, is very old and was established with a town wall encircling it which restricts the growth of the central part of town. The walls may be gone, but the main road for the town follows the path this town wall used to take. As a result, the narrow road shown above is very typical.
Then we went back to the hotel to put our feet up for a while. In fact, I pulled my shoes and socks off and plopped my feet into the pool. The pool wasn’t really big enough for swimming, but it made a good place to cool feet. The swimming pool is pictured at the left (a photo taken later in our stay).
The others wandered in and our host, Antoine, brought out some wine to welcome us. He actually ran the hotel more like an inn or a B&B than a hotel. With only 16 rooms, I guess that makes sense. Antoine was adding on to the hotel, expanding the number of rooms and adding a parking garage. I hope he can maintain the intimate atmosphere.
We also met our guide, Catherine. She’ll be with us for the first three days of our stay.
Then on to dinner. I can’t remember the name of the place we ate this night, but we referred to it as the place with the atrium. It had a nice inner courtyard. And the owner came out to talk through the menu with us, describing each dish in tempting detail. It was hard making up our minds. I had the carrot/onion pate for appetizer, caramelized pork (much better than what I’d had in Marseilles) with a carrot, spinach, and squash casserole for the main course, and a warm chocolate cake, similar to pudding cake, but absolutely to die for, for dessert.
The only complaint I had with the meal was that the wine wasn’t very good. It must have been the last glass from the bottle, as it was very full of sediment. Oh, and they wouldn’t allow us to charge the meal. There was a 200 franc minimum for charge cards at most places.
This very delicious meal, complete with wine, was about $20. And that one glass of wine was the worst one I had the whole trip. It was drinkable and nice, but very thick and the sediment left a lot to be desired.
Then back to the hotel to prepare for tomorrow, our first day of shooting. The alarm is set for 4:45 am.