In the footsteps of Van Gogh

On June 21st we continued our celebration of creativity through art and music.
When we awoke we were gliding along the river.  Note to friends-- if you get seasick, river cruising is the way to go.  We didn't know we were moving until we looked out our window.  I played Proud Mary (Rollin on the River) as we danced around the cabin.  Gail's accessory of the day was a necklace.

Once in Conflans, we took an excursion to Auvers-sur-Oise, the town where Van Gogh spent his last days.  Though only there for 70 days, he created about a third of the paintings he did during his lifetime including a portrait of his friend Dr. Gachet and the cathedral at Auvers.  Besides Van Gogh, artists such as Gauguin and Cezanne and Pissaro loved this area because of the light created by the reflections the water.  We visited the room where Van Gogh lived, the cathedral and other sites where he painted, and finally a visit to his grave.  His brother Theo died  months later and is buried beside him.  As we approached the grave, the sky started to darken, and the rain began to fall.  It was as if God was still mourning the loss of this tortured creative genius, as were we.  Our second song of the day was Starry, Starry Night.

Back on board we shared our day with Mom (feeling and looking better) and gave Gail a book on Morphology- famous art works that then morph into other pictures.  Mom's gift was a box of Immodium (much appreciated).

 Before dinner we were treated to a fabulous concert by a trio known as La Strada.
At dinner, the wait staff serenaded Gail with the contemporary version of Happy Birthday and presented a delicious chocolate (what else?) cake.  A waiter asked Gail "how many Springs have you had?" - much nicer than how old are you.