Is it the color or is it the light?

Van Gogh moved to Provence because of 'the light'. Definitely the light is exceptional with no smog, the light is bright. Unlike here in Los Angeles, the light is diffused and I wonder, this is contaminated light. It is not pure light, light in its pristine form. I remember seeing the light striking on the surface of the Italian Ligurian sea and the sea responded by sparkling and glimmering as of a thousand diamonds. I look out at the Pacific ocean and see only a grey mass. Merisi blogs of blue skies over Vienna and Tongue in cheek of the same over Provence. I look out my window and wonder, maybe I do see a glimmer of blue above or I could be imagining.
I say, it is the color, the color of Europe that is so quintessential. It is the pastel colors of macarons, the color of the dirt in Roussillon, the pastel colors of he buildings. This is what keeps me coming back.