Flying North to travel South.

[OZDUCK]

I just read in another thread that you damaged your right toe.

It certainly didn't stop you from all that walking and climbing of many stairs, towers and lookouts. Very impressed!

Thanks. I walked long distances and climbed lots of stairs, very slowly, but avoided as many towers as possible My knees are my main problem.

 

[OZDUCK]

This year, from 11 July to 22 August (6pm Wednesdays and Fridays), they have Camargue Bull Races. Described as: "... a sport in which participants attempt to catch prize-winning attributes attached to the forehead and horns. There's no kill involved in this sporting game.
Agility, speed and thrills: guaranteed spectacle!"

On a couple of (other) days of the week they have the gladiator "school" that you saw, and staged demonstrations.
The town goes all out 18-23 August this year for the annual Arelate Festival - Roman Days.

Thanks for the link. I think that there were a few signs around advertising something that must have been that festival. Although it is hard to remember for sure as lots of the cities s we visited had Roman festivals of one sort or the other.

 

[OZDUCK]

And now for another Roman Site in Arles and one that I had never heard of before.

"In important Roman towns, the forum was the centre of the town, a meeting place for all the inhabitants. The forum was often surrounded by sheltered and open galleries, called porticoes. These substantial buildings required substantial foundations - hence the name, cryptoporticus.

In Arles, the cryptoporticus were constructed around 25-10 BC, during the reign of the Emperor Augustus, around a forum that covered around 3400 square meters. Around the edges of the forum many of the important buildings of the town were situated, including the senate (government) building and religious edifices. Numerous shops and a large market place were also found here.

The entrance to the cryptoporticus is just inside the entrance of Arles town hall.

The gallery of the cryptoporticus is eight meters wide, divided into two along its length by stone arches, and forms a "U" shape, with the sides 90 meters long and the shorter side 60 meters long.
"

Roman Cryptoportiques in Arles: a visitor guide

The Cryptoportiques in Arles are a subterranean monument dating from the Roman period.

www.francethisway.com

Despite being pretty bare and barren inside this structure was pretty interesting for a short visit. And very cool on a hot day! You have to descend a steel staircase to get here - definitely no disabled access.










The arches are pretty massive which must have helped with the survival of this place.

 

[OZDUCK]

More of the underground

Some on-line sites state that this was built by the Greeks ( slaves or craftsmen I assume) because of the mason marks but I can find no detailed information about this.



The only remnants down there are pieces of columns and friezes









The construction looks a bit rough in parts but as it has lasted over 2,000 years it was obviously well built





The remains of a small chapel - obviously an addition after the original construction

 

[OZDUCK]

To give you a break from Roman Arles --

We did a day trip to Avignon. It was around 30 minutes from Arles and was the next stop up the line.. The local trains in this region of France do not accept the discount cards from SNCF. For the distance travelled it was pretty expensive at around €22 each for a return ticket.

The station building in Arles





While expensive the local trains were at least colourful



The view from Avignon station



My wife liked the flower display





The coat of arms of the city were set into the pavement



The compulsory carousel



The Cathédrale Notre-Dame-des-Doms and the Palace of the Popes



Our first activity was to visit the Pont Saint-Bénezet (Le Pont d'Avignon). Construction started in 1177. Parts of it were destroyed by flods aover several decades in the early 17th century.

The bridge of Avignon | Avignon et Provence

www.avignon-et-provence.com

(I cound't resist this version. An Australian posting about a famous French bridge with the song being sung In German by a French singer)

sur le pont d'avignon chanson - Google Search

We first walked to the waters edge

You go onto the bridge from inside the city walls by crossing over this bridge



From a little further downstream

 

[OZDUCK]

Then onto the bridge





When we were here in 1976 I parked my 1972 Cortina Mk3 Station Wagon for free on the grass near where these buses are.







There is a lookout and gardens on the hill in the left of this photo. They were closed for restoration work when we were there



There is a small chapel on one of the piers



]

 

[OZDUCK]

Then we went off to the Palace of the Popes. Built 1335 -1355. "In the 14th century, the Popes' Palace was occupied by 7 popes and 2 popes of the Papal Schism before the return of the papacy to Rome. Occupied by the Legates and Vice-Legates starting in the 15th century then transformed into a garrison until 1906, it has undergone various restoration work since."

The Popes' Palace of Avignon | Avignon et Provence

www.avignon-et-provence.com

The main entrance



My main memory of our visit in 1976 was how stark and bare the inside of the palace was. This was probably exacerbated by the fact the we had been in the Vatican only a couple of weeks previously. It still seemed a pretty bare but the city has put in a lot of effort to improve/change the visitors experience.

The first courtyard you pass is set up for concerts and the like





You receive a 'tablet' that you carry. There are 'information points' like QT codes in the rooms that you capture on the tablet. You then point it at various various parts of the rooms and 'artists impressions' appear along with some notes. Some are good but some of the illustrations are not very convincing. A few rooms were being renovated and this threw threw the tablet out of sequence a couple of times. To be honest I would have preferred a few illustration mounted around the rooms and a good paper guide.

 

[OZDUCK]

The 'self guided tour' is like running a maze. You seem to go up and down and round about. At I one stage I turned a corner to see yet more stairs and muttered - to myself but but a little louder than I had intended - "Not more bloody stairs" to hear a chuckle of agreement from someone behind me.











Believed to be a papal tomb



Some of the few bits of colour



The entrance to the old kitchens is through the doorway on the right of this picture



Now that's what I call a chimney

 

[OZDUCK]

The tour takes you through what were the papal gardens







Fair sized artichokes



You then have to climb a very tight spiral staircase to continue.







As is normal these days you have to exit via the gift shop. Although I have to admit the gift shop is located in a more interesting spot than most. And of course you have to go down steep stairs to get out.



My trouble was that I had lefty a bag in the free lockers so I had to walk about 200 metres around the palace and back through the entrance security checks to reclaim it.

 

[OZDUCK]

Last few of Avignon.







One of my memories of our last visit here was wandering through the local Les Halles so we headed there. Unfortunately it was about 14:30 and it - and most of the local restaurants had closed.



In the end, to my horror we hade to eat some healthy food. To be honest it was very nice and a light lunch was perfect. And I got to have some Mole Cola!

The food was mostly in small Mason(?) jars and heated up if necessary. My wife had a cold jar of salad and I had Spinach Gnocchi









There were more of the little free electric buses



All shut



Part of the town walls



Back to the station

 

[OZDUCK]

Now back to Arles.

Firstly a few photos around places related to Van Gogh. The town certainly heavily adopts, sensibly enough, the association.

"Starry night over the Rhone"

"Starry Night Over the Rhone was painted at a spot on the banks of river which was only a minute or two's walk from the The Yellow House on the Place Lamartine which Van Gogh was renting at the time. The night sky and the effects of light at night provided the subject for some of his more famous paintings, including The Starry Night, the most famous Van Gogh night stars painting."



Some of our photos from around the same location. This was only about 300 metres from our pied-à-terre.

Day and night - Downriver





Upriver





"Courtyard of the Hospital in Arles"

"For months, Van Gogh looked out over this courtyard of the hospital in Arles. That was in the spring of 1889. He drew the lush garden while staying there for treatment of his mental condition."









"Café Terrace at Night"



The café building is still there but it is not operating. It is maintained by the town as a tourist site.



However, it is rundown and looks better from a distance



A nearby statue of Van Gogh



"The Langlois Bridge"



This was a failure on my part and caused my wife to, justifiably, cast a few harsh words at me. I had planned to walk to the site of the bridge. The old bridge has been replaced several time - including after dynamiting by the Germans in WW2. I was planning the trip as a surprise for her but unfortunately I looked at a signpost on the way there and then proceeded to walk in completely the wrong direction. She was then treated to a several km walk through an industrial suburb of car wreckers and light industry. When I finally accepted that I had lead us astray the original destination was too far away to visit.

But we did get to pass by a fairly scenic creek



And see a ute looking much out of place



And after all surely Van Gogh would have been inspired by scenery like this!

I was not a popular boy that afternoon

 

[OZDUCK]

It has been too long since some Roman content.

The Roman Theatre of Arles. "Built at the end of the 1st century BCE during the reign of Augustus, this ancient monument is one of the oldest entertainment structures in Roman Gaul. - with a capacity to host 8,000 spectators on 33 tiers of steps"

Roman Theater Arles | Arles-guide.com





An ideal place if you are into 3d puzzles with various bits and pieces stacked around the site













Once again the local schoolkids were learning about their history

 

[OZDUCK]

A couple more Van Gogh links but this time with a Roman context

"Les Alycamps"

The remains of a Roman Necropolis



Paul Gaugin also painted here

Alyscamps - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"Roman cities traditionally forbade burials within the city limits. It was therefore common for the roads immediately outside a city to be lined with tombs and mausoleums; the Appian Way outside Rome provides a good example. The Alyscamps was Arles' main burial ground for nearly 1,500 years."











No prizes for guessing the occupation of the person who was interred here

 

[OZDUCK]

In the old burial grounds is the ruined Church of Saint-Honorat. Built in the 11=2 Century and remodelled in the 16th.

Église Saint-Honorat des Alyscamps — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

And just outside the front gate is this plaque



Van Gogh also painted a bullfight in the Roman arena.

 

[OZDUCK]

And now for some photos of Arles in general. Despite it being fairly hilly Arles is pretty easy to wander around. There are lots of little romantic backstreets and alleys. You can easily escape most of the crowds. But it is even better at night when you often have the streets to yourself. I think you can se why my wife fell in love with it.

The streets are very narrow









The arena is in the background









I like the 'mood' of this photo. Perhaps a secret tryst?



About 60 metres from our rental