Breaking with my traditional touring practices, I rented a car to get out into the country side more. Provence is dotted with medieval villages and castles, and a car is the only effective manner of visiting many of them. So, Monday morning I departed Arles via automobile, rather than train.My first stop was just outside of Arles, where there are the ruins of an ancient Roman aqueduct. Not too much there, but interesting none the less.
Next up was the medieval village & castle of Les Baux. Quite touristy, but lots to see. The castle (or, what’s left of it) is perched on top of a rocky hill. And it was terribly windy up there the day I visited. Telling a story that became rather common as I toured Provence, the castle was almost utterly destroyed by Louis XIII as he beat down the Protestant dukes/counts/barons of the south.
Afterwards, I moved onto St. Rémy-de-Provence. St. Rémy is home to a large (but not terribly impressive) Roman archeological site and the mental hospital which treated Van Gogh after he decided to give himself an ear-ectomy. He painted another large number of famous works here, but none remain. There’s a self-guided walk from the mental institute into town which “re-traces” his steps. While a pleasant enough stroll, the connection with Van Gogh and his paintings is stretched pretty thin in all but a handful of the 21 markers.
My final stop of the day was the tiny village of Roussillon. Perched on top of ochre cliffs, it really couldn’t be any more charming. There’s not much to see here, but it was peaceful for walking about and I had a wonderful dinner in a little restaurant with a view over the surrounding valley.