Three pilgrimages:

Without going all Eat, Pray, Love on this, I consider the first leg of my journey to be a pilgrimage to find my future. I believe researching, writing and lecturing about Vincent should be my vocation, not my hobby. I'm able to look in the mirror and see I haven't yet put in the heavy lifting to make this happen. That's what this trip is all about! I'm hopeful the blogging will free up my writing. Much of this is going to be raw, unfiltered vomit from my fingers to the screen. I hope I can adequately bludgeon my interior editor into submission. For me the hardest part of writing is this, letting it flow, what I call pooping the clay. After the clay is pooped I can spend hours molding it; crafting sentences this way and that. You, my friends, are going to get the raw poop.

At night, I've been trying to visualize my bike ride through Vincent's Holland. There are of course pictures on the internet to inspire these dreams. I feel the wind in my face, the sun on my neck, the tulips in my nose. I have lined up some lovely hosts along the way. The first night I'm likely staying at a hostel. Amsterdam is expensive! If my friend Connie (the wonderful woman who scored me a buddy pass from PDX to AMS and back for only $538!) joins me, we may stay with and old flame of hers, Rob. He's a naval officer, I believe. Met him once, some thirteen years ago...

After visiting (and protesting at?) the Van Gogh Museum, I'm taking a 30 minute walk into the heart of Amsterdam, Dam Square, to meet Frank, the second-hand bike refurbisher. I've been following his Craigslist posts for a couple of weeks now. He always has a couple of Dutch city bikes for sale. He even writes, " I do provide a 1 month guarantee on the bike in case anything breaks on it ill fix for free." A man who stands behind his workmanship. Gotta love it. Maybe this one will still be available? Only 40 euros and it even has gears! Most of these don't. Well, Holland is very flat, so I guess you rarely need to change gears... still, I think this one is perfect. It has a carrier on the back for my pack (this will be a one-pack adventure). All it's missing is a chain and lock. Sure Frank can hook me up.

I'm not planning on staying in Amsterdam for long. The next day I have a 91 km bike ride to make. I did start training, yesterday, in fact. I put in an hour on the stationary cycle. Broke a good sweat and allayed some fears I'm way too out of shape for this. I plan about five hours to make it from Amsterdam to Arnhem. It was the closest spot I could find to Otterlo and the Kroller-Mueller Museum. I'll take my time on Saturday making it to Saskia's house in Arnhem. It's all I really have planned for this Saturday, but who knows what I may find along my way? 

On Sunday, I'm riding to the museum to finally see Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night. I think these are my best arguments why it should be considered a Symbolist Last Supper. From there, I'll ride back to Arnhem, though this time, further south, as I found a cheaper room that gets my farther along my route, and stay with Susanne. Other hosts through Holland include Novita in Eindhoven, Nathalie in Tilburg, Ger in Breda and leaving Holland, I'll stay with Jackie J in Antwerp and visit my first of three churches named after St. James.

This pilgrimage does not end for a month later when I deliver my presentation in Brighton. It will take me through Brussels, Mons, Paris, Auvers, Avignon, St. Remy, Arles, Saintes Maries, Marseilles, Nice, Genoa, Milan, Bologna, Ravenna, Firenze, Riomaggiore, Rome and London. 

I will briefly describe the second and third pilgrimages tomorrow and Monday.

Bookings so far:

Airfare to AMS and back, four other hopper-flights (Edinburgh to Copenhagen, Copenhagen to Cologne, Lisbon to Porto and Santiago to AMS) have all been booked and paid for. I have three flights yet to book: Rome to London, Budapest to Athens and Athens to Barcelona. These are more expensive and I'm watching the fares, trying to snatch up a good deal if it comes along. I think these are the bones of my trip. The ligaments and muscles will be made up with trains, busses, ferries, rental cars, and old Dutch bike and my feet.

I have booked all (except the first night in Amsterdam) of my room accommodations for the month of June: a week in Holland, weekend in Belgium, week in Paris, week in Provence and a few days in Genoa and Milan. Then I'm lucky to have Saul put me up in Bologna. I also made one booking in July. The first weekend we will be in Firenze. A good friend I met at my first conference in Brighton back in 2013 just happens to be studying at the University of Bologna the same time I'll be there. She's planning on visiting the Uffizi and other spots with Saul and myself. The deal on the room was too good to pass up. It's a two bedroom flat that sleeps six for $100 a night. So we have room for friends! It's a tram ride from the center of Firenze which is good. Less hustle and bustle in the evenings. 

I cannot wait to cook in Italy. But I'm getting ahead of myself and need to go schlep some windows to pay for all of this.

Adieu for now,

Jared