Exploring Provence from Our Home in Arles

In December of 2016, we stopped in ARLES on our way from the Languedoc to Colmar.  We lucked into a lovely Airbnb with an awesome host and vowed to return and make this our home base for exploring Provence.  So here we are, settled in one place for a MONTH!! The house and the host are as great as we remember and we are so glad to completely unpack our suitcases and settle in.
This place is a smaller version of our old house on Patterson Park – wine cellar in the basement (stocked…pay as you consume), wonderful kitchen on the ground floor, master bedroom and bath on the second floor, and bonus room with a nice outdoor porch (and a half bath) on the top floor. But unlike PP, we have a garage!!
         

ARLES is an ancient city that was a Roman capital over 2000 years ago.  Among the Roman ruins are an Arena with a capacity of 20,000 (a stone’s throw from our house),

where, a few days after our arrival, we watched a ‘Bull Game,’ where some 20 young men dash by the bull trying to grab a ribbon from between the bull’s horns.  The bull is clearly in charge in this ‘fight’ and, though he might get tired, he doesn’t get hurt.

The Musée Départemental Arles Antique (Arles’ Ancient History Museum), built on the site of the Roman chariot racecourse, provides a wonderful historical overview of ancient Arles. A recent addition to the museum is a painstakingly restored Gallo-Roman boat that was discovered in 2006 buried in the silt of the Rhone River.

Arles is a comfortable sized town; easily walkable and, though not as polished as its bigger neighbors like Avignon & Marseille, is a great base for exploring the region.

The area closest to Arles is the ALPILLES REGION.  A short drive outside of town is the Abbey of Montmajour (AD 950) where A Lion in Winter was filmed,

and the ruins of a Roman aqueduct that once provided Arles and the surrounding farms with fresh water.

A bit farther on is the hilltop town of LES-BAUX-DE-PROVENCE. Arriving in the lower town, the walk up to the castle ruins seems intimidating. But the gradual uphill climb through a pleasant town made it easier. There are many ancient armaments (like catapults) on display

and the views are spectacular!

SAINT RÉMY-DE-PROVENCE is pretty, tidy town where the primary draw seems to be shopping (?!). It is apparently quite popular with tourists and we did find some delicious (and expensive) chocolates there. Just outside Saint Rémy, the ruins of the Roman town of Glanum, dating from the first century BC.  It was a cold and windy day, but a very interesting site to see.

Adjacent to Glanum is the St. Paul Monastery & Hospital, a mental hospital where VanGogh spent a year (1889-1890) near the end of his life. During that time, he produced 143 paintings and 100 drawings, most of which depict the hospital and its surrounding fields and flowers.  Copies of many of these are on display here near the scene memorialized in the painting. It is a very peaceful place that is still in operation.

Art therapy is used here and the gift shop sells some impressive items created by patients.

We made a day trip to AVIGNON by train (20 minutes!).  There we toured the Palais des Papes, where the Popes lived for a little more than 100 years beginning in 1305. The structure itself is like a cross between a fortress and a monastery.

Its empty rooms were made more interesting by an exhibit of sculptures by African artists.

The Pont Saint-Bénezet was once one of the longest bridges in France, spanning two arms of the Rhone and is the subject of a familiar children’s song…Sur le pont d’Avignon… Only 4 of its original 22 arches remain, but it is still a sight to see.

Our visit to CAMARGUE began in Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a typical beach town filled with cafes, shops, mini-golf, and a lovely beachside promenade.
We also stopped at the Musée de Camargue, where we got a better idea of the importance of this region at the delta of the Rhone as it enters the Mediterranean. Most of the rice consumed in France is grown here; the Fleur de Sea de Camarge is a highly prized salt; and the marshes provide a spring and summer breeding ground for herons and flamingos. Sadly, most of the birds had flown to their winter homes in the south…

We made two trips to MARSEILLE, one on our own and one with our host, Bernard. We took a boat ride out to islands, Port Frioul & Chateau d’If (of Count of Monte Cristo fame).

When Bernard and his wife, Jo, took us to Marseille, it was great to have a knowledgeable guide.

Bernard drove us into the city along the coast, along the Corniche Président Kennedy (very ritzy waterfront homes) to Callelongue – a fishing village at, literally, the end of the road

before doubling back up to the top of the town to see Notre Dame de la Garde, a basilica that is the city’s landmark site. The church itself is impressive,

but the 360º views from its terrace is why most people venture up here.

We had lunch at Etienne, a pizza restaurant crowded with locals (not a tourist in sight…) where we had the specials – anchovy & cheese pizza and grilled seiche (cuttlefish) washed down with the house red wine.
On the walls were photos of celebrities who frequent the place including a very young Michael Caine and Anthony Quinn.  This place has been around for some time!!

We explored the Le Panier District, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Marseille that has a chic patina

and contains one of the largest and coolest hardware stores I’ve ever been in.

One last look at the Vieux Port in the late afternoon light before heading back to our home in Arles.

Of all of the aqueducts we’ve seen, the Pont de Gard is certainly the highlight.  It is huge, perfectly preserved and has a museum that makes the construction and use of aqueducts very clear (and even more impressive!). Most of the water was carried underground in lead pipes…those Romans were awesome plumbers!

Only when they got to a valley (remember this was all gravity flow) did they need to build a structure to carry the pipe. Wow!

Now from the sublime to the ridiculous…between the Pont du Gard and Uzes (another forgettable, cute shopping town), we came across the Musée de Bonbon, which was really just a huge Haribo gummy bear store. Since these are my favorite candies, we just had to stop…

NIMES was the destination for all of the water from the Pont de Gard aqueduct. A wealthy Roman city that gained prestige because of the plentiful water. Since the Middle Ages, Nimes has exported denim (de Nimes = from Nimes). The major sites here are a well-preserved arena,
the Maison Carrée, a stunning Roman temple reminiscent of the Pantheon,

and a first-century Temple of Diana, most likely in reality a Roman library.

We couldn’t be in this area without visiting the CÔTES DU RHONE. It is really quite a scenic drive between towns with familiar names…Vaqueras, Beaumes-de-Venise, Gigondas.

And the wines we tasted were delicious!

Rick had a birthday this month which we celebrated at L’atelier de Jean Luc Rabanel, a Michelin 2-star restaurant in Arles.

The Train de la Côte Bleue is a slow train along a beautiful southwestern Mediterranean coastline from Marseille to Mirimas.  I’m a fan of trains, and was eager to do this trip. The first half of the trip (out of Marseille) was incredibly scenic; the rest not so much. And it would have been better to have done this in the morning, when the sun would have been on the non-scenic side of the train.

Our last four days in Arles were graced by a visit from my son, Andy, who traveled here from his home in Bend, OR. We all took a day trip to Aix-en-Provence, but the best times were Mom & Andy wanderings around the old city of Arles…hugs, conversation (!) and just quality together time.

We are off to wandering again…this time Spain and Portugal…for the next 6 weeks or so before coming back to the States for the holidays.