I had a friend once who loved Vincent van Gogh. She used to share with me marvellous things about Van Gogh, his paintings, his inspirations. She was even kind enough to give me some Sunflowers of my own (a very Sina flower, as she recognized). I absolutely love art, you see, but when it comes to art, I need someone to hold my hand and walk me through it — sorta like the way some people are with math. Well anyway, as a result of her hand-holding, I fell in love with Van Gogh as well. The thing I love about Van Gogh is that you can feel his feelings, almost, somehow — which is exactly my kind of thing.

I decided to make a quick stop in Arles, the place Van Gogh made famous. I just couldn’t miss an opportunity to see exactly the things he saw. And what can I say? It was magical.

I saw the draw bridge.

The hospital garden.

The yellow cafe.

The view of Arles over the Rhone.

I would never have been able to picture these scenes by myself the way Vincent did, and I could never convey what I myself saw and felt with such ease as he did. He really was amazing. If only he knew it.

Poetry surrounds us everywhere, but putting it on paper is, alas, not so easy as looking at it.

-Vincent van Gogh