Wednesday, 5 July 2017
Market day. It’s always festive to walk through the market on our walk up to Les Alpilles. And, because St. Rémy’s market is so popular, it’s always a good idea to go early. That didn’t happen today. Our excuse was that we got home late from a 4th of July potluck picnic. Let’s Celebrate Our Immigrant Heritage was the theme. Each guest spoke for a few minutes about their ancestry. We found out that one Czech-American guest had gone to Ellis Island in 1939 as a young boy, and another left Ireland as a wee tot and ended up in Michigan. Another friend told of a relative named Peebles, which is my mother’s maiden name. We’d both been to the town of Peebles, near Edinburgh, and both had signed the red Peebles People book. We might be cousins! Temps were rising to 90, so I took an umbrella for protection but closed it as we waddled through the jam-packed market at Place de la République just before 11 AM. In front of Van Gogh’s sanctuary, St Paul Mausole, a big bus let off dozens of tourists. We wound our way through and pressed on until we came to “our” rock with the sweeping view over St. Rémy. It was a bit hazy, but I could make out a faint outline of Mount Ventoux. Further along we checked on a patch of grapevines near another lookout. They were looking pretty plump for just the beginning of July. Oh, la, la, I sure hoped they wouldn’t peak before their time. Their precious juice, was, well, precious. Back in town, across from the church on the little street median, a gal belted out La Vie en Rose.
Gayle Smith Padgett 