Open Writing

We have always loved traveling around France, and making plans for the trip, deciding on an itinery, booking the flights and finally arriving at our destination, has always made this an adventure.

Once again, arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport and being welcomed by family, sets the scene for 9 wonderful weeks of sight- seeing, family reunions and lashings of good food and wine at the family home in the Tarn.

During our stay there, we visited many delightful villages and one of the loveliest was St. Remy de Provence, approximately three hundred kilometers from Gaillac on the Auto Route du Sud.

We arrived in this lovely leafy Gallo-Roman town, nestled at the northern edge of the Alpilles, 20 kms south of Avignon, late in the afternoon and booked into our hotel Le Cheval Blanc right in the middle of town.

An old hotel, the first thing we saw was this old wide circular staircase leading up to the first floor lined with potted plants and dried flower arrangements. Up we climbed to be greeted by la patronne—an elderly lady who was absolutely delightful and whom we later learned had owned the hotel since 1960. She then promptly set about telling us her life story including the fact that her son had friends in Australia.

Half an hour later an elderly man arrived to show us to our room, and to show us how the heating worked, how you had to be careful when flushing the toilet, as the handle often fell off, and how the bathroom handle should be held when closing the door, as the lock could seize up at any time!

We found this quite funny and as the hotel had lots of character, we decided we would take our chances and stay there.

By this time it was quite late in the afternoon. As we wanted to see the sights, off we took for a walk around the centre of St. Remy.

It's a very picturesque provencale market town made famous by Van Gogh who lived and painted there for a few years. It's also noted for some of the rich and famous who reside there, including Princess Caroline who I understand has a home just out of town.

A very large and well-known market sets up each Wednesday and here you can buy just about anything. The choices are amazing, anything from hundreds of ways to bottle and marinate olives, to buying furniture, clothes and home wares and listening to street musicians.

It completely surrounds the town and is the highlight of the week for both residents and tourists.

The old village of St.Remy is pretty and picturesque. Surrounding it is a circular 14th century wall lined by a protective circle of interesting old buildings. To go along this road is a scenic drive out of the past. It goes right around the village, and on each side are the lovely old plane trees so synonymous with France.

A visit to the antiquities site of Glanum, just south of town at the edge of the Alpilles, is a must. It was a Greek city, eventually covered by a Roman city and when you walk around the ruins you can see the beautiful Roman artifacts that were excavated and are now on show for both locals and tourists.

St. Remy is a busy and active place, with a great selection of restaurants, hotels and of course specialist boutiques. There are beautiful churches, a very old monastery and ancient monuments, all worth taking time to visit.

It's a town of artists and painters, and more than 100 of them have worked and lived here over the years. There are museums dedicated to many of them and walks that follow in their footsteps are to be found throughout the immediate countryside.

Staying in St. Remy meant we could visit many of the nearby towns. In particular we loved Roussillon and Les Beaux de Provence. These magnificent villages, clinging to the mountainside, were a sight to behold. Another one that rates a mention, although not in Provence, is Gordes—incredible!!

St. Remy is also the birthplace of Michel de Notredama (Nostradamus) born in St. Remy in 1503 in the Rue Hoche, and known in ancient France as an outstanding physician and prophet.

© Poppy Fogarty