Our coach delivered us from the train station at Avignon to a circular lawn with big shade trees, Place Lamartine, outside the the old city walls of Arles, the gateway is guarded by 2 circular pillars that have the great spaces where the draw bridge was attached. The street ahead of us was narrow and lined with cafes, bars and nice souvenir shops, many with fabric articles - tableware etc. The Roman amphitheatre is in the centre of the town and, as in Nimes, is now used for bull fighting!
Our self guided walk to places where Van Gogh painted, took us past many interesting places, so we really saw much of Arles. At each stop there was a good sized pedestal set where Van Gogh must have stood his easel and a copy of the particular painting was on each one. Fantastic. Lunch was yummy provencal pork at an outdoor restaurant under shady plane trees in the Place de Forum, where Van Gogh painted Cafe Terrace at Night. We loved Arles as a place to visit - it had a good atmosphere.
Our self guided walk to places where Van Gogh painted, took us past many interesting places, so we really saw much of Arles. At each stop there was a good sized pedestal set where Van Gogh must have stood his easel and a copy of the particular painting was on each one. Fantastic. Lunch was yummy provencal pork at an outdoor restaurant under shady plane trees in the Place de Forum, where Van Gogh painted Cafe Terrace at Night. We loved Arles as a place to visit - it had a good atmosphere.
We saw other Roman ruins, Renaissance and classical architecture, lots of lovely curving, narrow streets with high houses protected by coloured shutters.
That evening, back in Avignon, Irene suggested we should take advantage of the terrace outside our 5th floor room, so, the French doors not yielding to our key, I handed 2 chairs out through the window and we sat out in style - our access being through a door down the hall!
At about 9pm, as it was becoming dark, we went out to see the beautifully lit Pont d'Avignon.
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