Our itinerary today was a hard choice between Malmaison, the Chateau where Napolean and Josephine lived and Auvers-sur-Oise where Vincent van Gogh lived during the last months of his life. Jerry and I chose the latter. I've been interested in van Gogh and his work since I was in Amsterdam on a previous river cruise. A statute of van Gogh stands by the City Hall in Auvers.
An impoverished artist, van Gogh only sold one painting during his life and depended on financial assistance from his brother Theodore to continue to paint. The last 3 months of his life were spent in the little town of Auvers, where a statute of him stands by the City Hall. He rented a VERY tiny room at the Auberge Ravoux, which is now a restaurant, but the room has remained unchanged his death in 1890.
Several of his most famous works were painted during his stay in Auvers. One of my favorites was the Notre Dame d'Auvers at Auvers-sur-Oise. The small inserts are the actual painting.
Van Gogh's works reflect how his mind saw the scene, not necessarily how it actually looked.Another was of the winding path up to the church.
Van Gogh was one of several well-known artists - Pissaro, Corot and Cezanne.
Three years after van Gogh's death, his brother Theo whom he loved dearly, passed away. Twenty-five years later, Theo's widow had his body exhumed from his burial site
Tonight was the Captain's Farewell Dinner so we felt it would be a good time to have this group photo taken on the stairs in the AmaLegro's reception area.
At 9 pm we arrived in Paris and had a spectacular view of the dazzling Eiffel Tower from the ship's Sun Deck.
Tomorrow morning we leave the AmaLegro, our home for the past 7 days and transfer to our hotel in Paris.
Linda
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