Blogs from Arles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, Europe - page 5

It was windy all night long, the tent was going back and forth, so I don't think I got much sleep. I walked to Arles because there are hardy any buses on Sundays. I was carrying two big long canvases which acted like sails in the wind. I got to the internet cafe and talked to my love then Henry called me and announced that he would be there shortly to take me site seeing. He met my mother and love through skype. We drove out into the Provence and he stopped the car every now and again to show me an Roman Aqueduct hidden in the olive trees, or to smell some wild herbs, lavender rosemary, or thyme. The views here are beautiful and although Henry kept saying the weather was terrible for the time ... read more

Before I tell you about our afternoon I need to mention that we had the best pancakes ever for breakfast this morning! The consistency was different than what we are used to, they were more cake-like but very light. We think they were made in individual frying pans because they had this buttery crust that was so crisp and delicious. They were such a treat! After our morning guided tour of Arles we returned to the ship for our lunch. After lunch we registered to use the bicycles from the ship. We rode our bikes from the dock, up on the pedestrian walkway along the Rhone until we ran out of road. We had to carry our bicycles down a dozen stairs to the street. We then had to navigate through the busy streets of Arles, ... read more

A game of Petanque When we were planning the trip along the coast from Barcelona to Antibes, Keith thought about hiring a car and we would have a leisurely drive, town to town. But the cost to return a car in a different country from where it was rented was too expensive. So we sat in a comfy train seat and enjoyed the view! When ever we passed the sections of highway, I had to laugh to myself, thinking of how the drive might had been, with me "nagivating"! As we got near to Arles, the country side outside the window turned into familiar undeveloped salt marsh. But then the flamingos wading in the lagoon reminded us that we weren't riding by the intracoastal waterway! Our destination of Arles, is at the extreme northern boundary of ... read more

The train ride to Arles was very short and we soon found ourselves walking for about 40 minutes with very heavy backpacks to our somewhat secluded hostel that was much more of a real hotel. When I say secluded I just mean slightly removed from the town center because Arles is a very small town. The hotel was absolutely beautiful with a swimming pool and palm trees and a large room with refigerator and bath tub. We had a flat-screen TV with CNN on it that we watched whenever we could. After checking in we had a list of sights to see in the town before we took off for our day-trip the following day to the Camargue town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. First, we ate lunch a small crepe restaurant right next to the Roman arena and ... read more

Imaging Life as an Ancient Roman November 30, 2007 Wednesday we had gorgeous weather. It was such a treat after weeks of mistrals and cold temperatures. It got over 6o degrees F and we took off for an afternoon in the ancient Roman city of Arles. Arles once part of Gaul began to have Roman influence around 200 BC. The amphitheater in town was built around this time. Is amazing to see something so old and well preserved. For the last 6 months we have been traipsing across the territory of ancient Rome and have seen many preserved Roman ruins as well as artifacts. Of all the history and art we have seen in Europe these are the most amazing to me. They are so old. We have come across Roman structures and artifacts more than ... read more