Port of Call MARSIELLE, FRANCE (TOULON)

VIKING STAR Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojourn
Barcelona to Athens April 3-24, 2023

Description from the Viking website of In the Footsteps of Van Gogh:

Contemplate van Gogh’s artistry in the fields, monasteries, chapels and villages depicted in his paintings. After wandering through the town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, you will be driven to the St. Paul de Mausole Monastery, a masterpiece of Provençal Romanesque art. From the top of the beautiful two-story square steeple, topped by a pyramidal roof, you can see the wheat field that Vincent van Gogh painted during his year of confinement.

You will enjoy a delicious lunch in the amazing eagle’s-nest village of Les Baux-de-Provence. Built on a rocky spur in the Alpilles mountain range and offering great views of the countryside and vineyards, the village is full of Gothic and Renaissance houses. Your guide will take you on a stroll past the 12th-century Church of St. Vincent and the 17th-century Chapel of the White Penitents and along the narrow and winding streets lined with local craftsmen.

Unable to dock in Marseilles due to the ongoing French dockworkers’ strike, we docked in Toulon. Excursion buses picked up passengers a short walk from the ships. One bus with about 50 passengers went on the optional excursion In the footsteps of Vincent Van Gogh. ($159 per person, eight-hour tour with included lunch.)

About a two-hour bus ride from the port to Saint-Remy-de-Provence with a not-very-brief restroom stop midway. It was an early spring day in Provence, trees just beginning to leaf, and flowers were in bloom (iris). Four or five-block walk to the convent where Van Gogh spent months towards the end of his life.

Painting reproductions were set up at sites showing where the artist would have set up his easel. Olive groves and mountains, for example. Then toured the interior of the monastery. A flight of steps led to his bedroom.

After the monastery tour, there was free time in Remy for strolling and shopping — ceramics, textiles, perfumes, housewares, clothing.

Twenty-minute drive to a mountain-high restaurant, Le Mas d’Aigret. Salad, sauteed chicken, veggies, dessert. Your choice of red, rose, or white wine. The restaurant was built into a cave. Food was 3.5/5. Lovely setting, and an intimate dining space.

Then to Les Baux-de-Provence, and toured the village. Hour of free time for shopping — artisanal foods, crafts, souvenirs, textiles. The bus drive back was about 90 minutes.

This excursion was well worth the time and cost. Not easily replicable as a do-it-yourself and I didn’t see anything comparable offered by independent guides. This is one time when booking with Viking was fortuitous because we unexpectedly docked in a different port.

Day 12: Amsterdam and Van Gogh

Painterly © 2018 Bo Mackison

The light in Amsterdam is a painterly light, indeed.

Amsterdam Centraal Station was designed by Pierre Cuypers who is also designed the Rijksmuseum. It’s an impressive work of architectural art. We were racing the clock as we walked by Centraal Station, on our way to our timed admission tickets at the Van Gogh Museum.

Van Gogh Museum ©2018 Bo Mackison

And here we are — two buses in busy Friday afternoon traffic — but we all arrived in time to claim our tickets. This museum is BUSY.

Van Gogh’s Sunflowers ©2018 Bo Mackison

No photographs allowed — though their were plenty of visitors taking photos while pretending not to be taking photos. This copy of Sunflowers was one of the few permissbale photo stops.

Van Gogh ©2018 Bo Mackison

Of course, there was no limitations on photos of prints in the gift shop, so I made do with a photo of a copy. But mostly I enjoyed studying the many paintings. There is an extensive display of his self-portraits — so many self-portraits because Van Gogh would not have had the money to pay a model, thus he painted himself. For free.

Bob the Artist ©2018 Bo Mackison

Bob found a “Bob the Artist” book and was more than content to share.

van Gogh Museum ©2018 Bo Mackison

The van Gogh Museum’s new entrance hall opened in 2015. The curved glass structure, positioned between the museum’s two buildings, connects the spaces while providing shelter for waiting visitors.

Mirroring Cube ©2018 Bo Mackison

A mirroring cube between the entrances of Stedelijk Museum and van Gogh Museum, it reminds me of The Bean in Chicago’s Millennium Park with people talking photos in the reflective surfaces.

We walked past the Rijksmuseum  and through its center tunnel. It was designed by Pierre Cuypers and opened in 1885. It consists of two squares with an atrium in each square. In the center is a tunnel with the entrances at ground level and the Gallery of Honour on the first floor.

The Rijksmuseum ©2018 Bo Mackison

The Rijksmuseum is on the Museum Square near the van Gogh Museum.

Amsterdam is famous for its canals and its lovely light. Well deserved.

Painting the Town Red ©2018 Bo Mackison

Painting the town red.

 

Amsterdam ©2018 Bo Mackison

 

Light on the Canal ©2018 Bo Mackison

 

Van Go ©2018 Bo Mackison

A decorated bicycle near the Amsterdam Harbor.

Last Toast ©2018 Bo Mackison

The last toast; tomorrow we fly home.