Visiting Vincent

 Going to St Remy was on my bucket list and I finally got there in December 2023. I was based in Avignon and took a bus from Avignon Station to St Remy- it took about an hour at minimum cost. The main purpose of my visit was to see the Asylum where Vincent stayed after the 'ear incident' in Arles. The bus stopped in the centre of St Remy, but the visitor's centre was closed. I found my way to the asylum via google maps which was fairly accurate. To get to St Paul De Mausole, you have to walk up a slight incline for about 10 minutes. Along the way are signposts with Vincent paintings. They are not really related to the locations where the paintings were created, but if you are familiar with Vincent's paintings, you can see them and him everywhere. An example of the signposts on the Vincent trail The sign at the entrance. The people in charge of the asylum, ( It is still used as a health facility) know the reason for their many visitors. This lovely sculpture- The sunflow

 Arles is one of the most famous Vincent locations. I had the opportunity to visit there in December 2023. I caught a train from Avignon, where I was staying for four days. The people at the Avignon Visitors Centre were very helpful and gave me timetables, maps and information about the journey.  The train was late, but usually they run almost every hour. Once on the train it was an easy trip to and from Avignon and took less than half an hour.  If you are interested in visiting the Vincent sites in Provence, and like me, prefer to use public transport, Avignon is a good base. It is a lovely city with interesting historic sites and easy access to both St Remy and Arles.  First stop was the Vincent Van Gogh Foundation, where I picked up a map of Vincent sites in the city. There were nine sites on the map and I found eight. Here is my adventure 1. The easiest site to find was the former hospital. Now called Espace Van Gogh, it features a recreation of the garden to reflect Vincent's