Dear members,
These past two years I have organised overnight trips to both St Maximin de Baune and to Marseille. Both trips were successful. This September, I thought you may be interested in visiting St Remy de Provence, less than three hours from Menton.
St Remy de Provence is one of the oldest towns in France, built near the Roman city of Glanum. Some ancient monuments can be seen at the archeological site. In 1503, Nostradamus was born in St Remy, where he spent his childhood, before becoming an astrologer, physician and seer. His book, “Les Prophéties,” first published in 1555, has rarely been out of print. (I wonder if he prophesized Covid?) In later years, artists came to St Remy, including van Gogh, who spent time at the cloister St Paul de Mausole, where he painted 150 canvasses.
The cloister was also a hospital and still is a rest home. There is a free walking tour in the countryside which inspired van Gogh, marked by 15 panels of his works. But we begin our tour at Les Baux-de-Provence. We aim to arrive around noon.
A light lunch will be served at a nearby restaurant.
At 1:30pm we drive the short distance to “Les Carrieres de Luminieres” This is a gigantic former quarry, now an enigmatic part of that regions culture, depicting huge moving portrayals of famous artists creations, with music. The current exhibition features Dali and Gaudi.
We should arrive at our hotel by 4pm
Hotel Canto Gigale has now been booked.
Ten minutes walk from the town center, which has free parking, a swimming pool, garden and mini bar. I was able to reserve the double en-suite rooms for 100€.
Breakfast for those who wish costs 10€ and can be taken in the garden.
There is no reduction for single occupancy. Maybe some singles might be prepared to share?
Dinner will be in town at one of St Remy’s top restaurants, the atmospheric “L’aile ou Cuisse.” I’m awaiting their proposal menu.
In the evening, an arts and craft fair takes place in the town center.
The next morning, 8am until 1pm, the busy Provençal market is held in town, selling local cheeses, sausages, olive oil and other local delicacies
If you think this trip may interest you, please let me know as soon as possible. I have to pre-book the hotel for a group and rooms are quickly snapped up .
I can only give final prices, when I know how many of you are participating, but here’s the idea: Light lunch at Le Baux ca 25€
Entrance to Carriere ca 12€
Hotel price for 2 people ca 110€ (no cheaper price for singles, unless sharing a twin room)
Dinner ca 40€ all inclusive
Let me know if you are driving and able to give other members a lift If we hire a people carrier, as we did last year, the hire cost and fuel cost will be split between passengers.
BN