Monday, 8 August, 2022 – I am posting late tonight, and as I write, E is probably waking up … in Arles! Or more precisely, in Le Sambuc. He traveled today from Paris, taking the fast train at 11:30am and arriving in Arles about 4pm. The bus to the farm came about 5:30pm; he texted a little after 6pm, his time, that he had arrived. It is going to be “awesome,” in his words. I expect we’ll get to see and hear more about why it’s awesome in the week to come. He is there for 10 days. His brief text also warned that his cell service is terrible and that he will try to send pictures when he can.
There is a lot written about the restaurant attached to the farm where he is working so I will post about it, and try to imagine how much he is enjoying being there. I am feeling hopeful that this will be a great 10 days for E, getting to know the people and the area, settling into a routine and getting to sleep in the same place. In any case, if his first impression is that it is “awesome,” it augurs well.
Arles is the big city compared to where E is staying. Google says it is about 52,000 people (bigger than Beckley, WV!). It appears there are other things to attract tourists but one of the most famous attractions is the Van Gogh Museum, which I hope E will have time to visit.
Le Sambuc, 3 km south of Arles, the place where the restaurant and farm are located, is small enough to be called a village; Wikipedia says 530 people lived there in 2006. I hope E will take some pictures because the last time Google took pictures of Le Sambuc was 2008.
