Katie Kime Travels | Provence, France

This summer’s Provence trip was my favorite of the summer. It was slow and quiet and beautiful and restorative. We stayed at La Bastide de Gordes and began our trip at Saint Remy, also known as Saint Paul Asylum, the psychiatric hospital where Van Gogh painted the majority of his most famous paintings. It is still a functioning psychiatric hospital today treating women only, many who are treated through art therapy. Their paintings are for sale and we bought them for our summer wedding gifts and some for our home. As an art (and Van Gogh) lover it was pretty special experience for me. Wine tasting at Chateau La Nerthe, a day trip to Avignon and perusing L’Isle Sur La Sorgueto the second largest outdoor market in Provence (complete with a Lynn Yeager citing), were among some other highlights. It was the pace of Provence that was most refreshing. Slow breakfasts with (real) newspapers! Wine at lunch, strolls through lavender fields, seven course dinners that lasted hours and hours.