May 20, 2019 - The Van Gogh Show Encore & views from the tippy top of the castle in Les Baux-de-Provence

The weather will be partly cloudy and in the 70s today, but chilly to start, so we've purchased tickets for the 11 am Van Gogh showing at Carrières et Lumières in Les Baux-de-Provence.

Les Baux was built on a rocky promontory in the Alpilles and was impregnable. The lords of Baux claimed the wiseman, Balthazar, as their ancestor and adopted the 12 pointed star of Balthazar as their emblem. Eventually, the town became French and the castle was ordered destroyed by King Louis XI to prevent any future resistance to the French crown.  It is in ruins now, but offers spectacular 360 degree views.

Bauxite, the ore that aluminum is created from, was discovered here - and appropriately named for the town, Les Baux.

There were hardly any tickets available for the morning shows at Carrières et Lumière which surprised us as it's a Monday. There were only 6 available for the 11 am experience, so we bought 4 online last night. We worried about parking with all the tickets sold.

an exterior part of the stone quarry - where the café and bathrooms are

lights on between showings show you the actual stone quarry. You never notice how uneven the walls are during the show.

But when we arrived, we learned why. There are busloads of school kids and tourists for the morning presentations. So, parking wasn't too bad - just a 150 meters from the entrance in an actual parking lot. And the kids were amazing. One group of middle schoolers had us worried, but they were so engaged in the show, we never noticed them. Another group of young children - maybe 2nd grade entered in groups of 6, two by two, behind their teachers. We saw them at times in the show, mesmerized like all of us by the images.

As usual, we watched once all the way through and then wandered/watched/filmed the second time, absorbing more of what we saw and looking from different viewpoints. Of course we can't help taking photos.

It's as amazing today as it was the first time - perhaps moreso. I found myself tearing up when watching the segment on his paintings in Arles with the background music of "Please, don't let me be misunderstood."

our view at lunch

When we came out, the sky was sunny with white puffy clouds. And warm! Even the breezes! We've been looking for this weather. With help from Dave providing extra push power, we walked up to the old village and stopped for lunch on the stone benches outside the Santon museum. (Santons are the figures created in Provençal workshops that are, historically, brought to the crêche scene at Christmas. They are typically clay modeled figures with painted features, representing typical Provençal people - shepherds, children, women, dressed in traditional costumes typical of the region - I've overused the term typical - I'm sorry about that. )

Another lunch with a view. They're inescapable in this region.

While Dale, Kim, and Dave headed up to conquer the castle, I stayed in the sun of this little square and stitched.

shops line the streets up to  the castle

another shop selling local pottery

another square near the church

It was not an easy conquest, almost 3 hours before the invaders returned. But their conquest was worth it in the 360 degree views they had from the top.

We walked back down, stopping for ice cream along the way, and for a bathroom stop (this one is tucked into the rock on the flat open terrace at the bottom of the town.

There are colorfully painted metal sculptures on this terrace (and throughout the village) that weren't here last time we visited. It is an installation of Stephan Szczesny, of international reknown. (However, I've never heard of him - my lack of culture of modern art is showing.) Exhibitions of his painting, ceramics and other sculptures are in other spaces in the village. The exhibit continues until October. (Judy S. do you know this artist?)

We headed back toward St. Remy via the twisty, turny, rocky route, stopping for looks back at Les Baux on the way.

Kim, Dale, and Dave made a quick tour of the Glanum roadside monuments and the outside of the Hôpital St. Paul-de-Mausole where Van Gogh was hospitalized after his mental breakdown in Arles. We noted that this town is worth a visit on its own - the old town has some of its walls and portals and there is more to explore of the Greek-Roman town of Glanum, now in ruins.

For the first time in many days, it is warm enough for aperos on the terrace, accompanied by a Tavel rosé and a Montfaucon white.

yea for sun and warmth on the patio

Dale grilled steaks for dinner which we washed down with our bottle of Hermitage.