Advertisement
Published: April 29th 2011
Photo 2
View of Marseille from train stationToday would also take me out of Marseille to the nearby town of Arles. I do have to say that train travel in France is so easy, convenient and efficient. All of the trains I have taken have left exactly on time, are clean and the automated machines for the purchase/retrieval of tickets are so easy to use. The security at the train station is also quite present with both police and military presence in the stations.
I have also felt very safe the whole time that I have been here. Not once so far have I felt like I was not. The French have been lovely, warm and quite welcoming. The fact that I speak French does help and my Canadian accent definitely piques their interest. Vous avez un accent charmant Mademoiselle … you never get tired of hearing that (especially that I think that my French is just atrocious at times!!). It hit me this morning that I will be saying “aurevoir” to France in about a week. I have loved my time here and will definitely wish to come back one day!
The first order of business in Arles was the Musée Réattu. This museum attracted
my attention because it apparently has an extensive collection of photographs. The museum itself is housed in the former home and studio of Jacques Réattu. Réattu was an Arles-born artist. The interesting facet of this museum is that it houses paintings, sculptures, photographs, sound and video installations. A mish mash of art if you will.
You therefore wander through the different rooms of this former home. The flooring is striking as they were designed by Christian Lacroix. What is interesting is that each room has a theme which is exemplified by some paintings done by Réattu which are then complimented with modern art pieces, photographs and sculptures. There are sound art installations. One such installation has you remove your shoes so that you actually become part of the installation and are able to not only hear the sounds but feel it as well. The museum also has a collection of Picassos. Not the works that you would think of but rather some of his later works which are almost simple drawings with “encre de chine”. There is also a gallery of photographs of Picasso himself taken by different photographs. Some are casual shots of him in his traditional “marinier”
Photo 4
Entrance into Arles shirt which is so common in these parts of the world. Others are more formal with Picasso dressed in beautiful suits and looking quite handsome. The museum ends with what is called the “musée en parallèle”. It was a session held with a number of kids who had gone through the museum and who themselves drew what they had seen and observed. They were also asked to interpret some other artwork. The best one is a few drawings done by the kids of how Picasso would have drawn the Mona Lisa.
Arles is also home to a number of Roman ruins. My Arles advantage pass would allow me access to a number of these ruins.
The first would be the Roman Amphitheatre. It is a theatre in the round and is still being used today for bullfighting events. The ring was actually being raked by a number of workers as I made my way through the ruins.
Before heading out to the next site, I would make a quick stop at a café and would have a “croque madame”. It is another typical dish that I had yet to try. There is something quite special about enjoying a
delicious lunch in the shadow of an imposing roman ruin such as the amphitheatre. You can feel the history. As the old saying goes “if these walls could talk”.
Fully energized after a good meal, I walked over to the Roman Theatre. Slightly different from the amphitheatre, this is more of a moon shaped theatre. There is a rendition of what the theatre would have looked like. There are remaining columns but mostly broken fragments that only faintly alludes to what this theatre would have looked like. You look at the rendition and then you look at the fragments and it is difficult to imagine the splendor of these buildings.
I continued walking around and made my way to Place de la République which would allow me access to the cryptoporticos. I really didn’t know what I was about to see seeing that I only had a small description from the map that I had obtained at the tourist information desk. In the end, you go a number of feet underground and are able to see a series of arches that were part of an ancient building. What is spectacular is the fact that these actually used to
be above ground. The accumulation of dirt, debris and such over a period of thousands of years has actually risen the ground level and now these porticos are well below ground. They were incredibly well preserved.
I would make a quick stop at the Espace Van Gogh. This is part of the Hotel Dieu, a hospital where Van Gogh himself was a patient. He produced a painting during his time there and the space has been preserved almost down to the smallest details. There are also small boutiques that have souvenirs that showcase a number of artists and which include of course a number of things based on Van Gogh’s work.
My last stop before hopping back on the train would be the Thermes de Constantin. Again, these are ruins, more specifically of thermal baths. The baths are segregated into three rooms and included a hot room, a tepid room and a cold room. If you have gone to the Nordik or Scandinave Spa … that formula existed back in Roman times!!
I made my way back to the hotel. Packing my suitcase is what was waiting for me. I am leaving Marseille behind and heading towards
Photo 7
Walking trail along the Rhone River Nice tomorrow. The Marseillais have been so welcoming and lovely that I leave with a heavy heart. Such a lovely, lovely time I’ve had here!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.06s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 11; qc: 33; dbt: 0.03s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Francine
non-member comment
Surprised to read there are bullfights in France!:( And what a cute little French Oscar:) Nice to see Zaza Fournier...haven't heard from her in ages!!!:) She has been a bit of a snob since her career took off:) Have fun...