A day in Arles

It was very windy when we woke up so while having coffee we decided to go into Arles for the day instead of going to see any wildlife - which are probably hiding from the wind. We had to quickly get ready and catch the bus in 30 minutes. It was a bit of a rush but we got everything together and got there on time.

It was about an hour on the bus into Arles seeing white horses, bulls and the odd flamingo on the way across the very flat marshy ground.

When we arrived in Arles we were right at the place where Vincent Van Gogh had painted the house he rented - The Yellow House. Unfortunately it’s not there now but the surrounding houses and railway bridges still are.

Van Gogh lived in Arles for only 2 years but painted around 300 paintings while he was here. He invited his artist friends to join him. Only Paul Gauguin accepted and lived in one of the rooms in the house.

We went for a quick coffee in the cafe on the left hand side as we didn’t have time to finish our coffee when we suddenly left the van.

We then walked about 25 meters to the next Van Gogh location for Starry Night over the Rhône. There was a cruise ship in the way though.

Further up the river there were the 2 ends of a Roman bridge no longer standing with decorative lions at each end.

Also we saw the Viking cruise ship Hermod that Jimmy and Denise had sailed on, on the Rhine, and also hosted us on for a lovely lunch in Lyon. Not sure how it got onto the Rhône.

Continuing our walk up the Rhône we saw many ancient houses and remains of city walls.

Just next to the River is a 4th century bath house built by emperor Constantine of Rome when he lived here.

Another cruise ship was coming up the Rhine when we left the river and wandered up the narrow streets.

We then arrived at the square where Van Gogh had painted the very famous Cafe Terrace at Night. Unfortunately it was closed. The cafe is on the Forum Square where the last remaining bit of the forum remains.

We checked out the Saint Trophime Cathedral built from the 12th century. The carving on the outside is amazing. Lots of bits of saints were kept in the relicary section.

We were now getting hungry with all this sight seeing. We found the Cafe Factory Republique on the Rue de Republique - the old main street. We enjoyed salads and a glass of red wine - all excellent. I liked the old insurance company shop front on the shop opposite - now an optician. It provided insurance against fire and explosions - amongst other things.

We then went to the old hospital where Van Gogh had gone after he cut off his ear in December 1888. The doctor recognized that he had a mental condition and would have liked to transfer him to a mental hospital in Aix or Marseille. However Vincent improved after a month and got back home.

Unfortunately, Vincent suffered another bout of mental instability within a month, firmly believing he had been poisoned. He was readmitted to the hospital on 7 February and placed in isolation once again. Vincent remained in the hospital until early May, experiencing periods of lucidity that allowed him to paint outdoors. These artistic endeavors resulted in numerous landscapes and notable works such as "Ward in the Hospital" and "The Courtyard of the Hospital." On occasion, Vincent was granted permission to venture into town, particularly when his friend Paul Signac came to visit.

We liked all the postcards that were for sale.

We then passed by an old church - and then the Roman theatre - still being used for performances today.

The Roman arena was the next stop where Van Gogh had also done another painting of the crowd leaving.

We popped into a 4th century church - probably built on a temple next to the arena.

We then had a bit of a walk via city walls and Glenn finding a big cactus. There was also a ‘boulorama’ - the central place to play boules. It was very busy - and looked very serious.

Our last stop was Alyscamp, derived from the Latin Elisii Campi, translates to "Elysian Fields" or, in French, Champs-Élysées. This Roman necropolis held great fame during the Middle Ages and found mention in literary works such as Ariosto's Orlando Furioso and Dante's Inferno.

Van Gogh and Gaugin both painted here - though Gaugins were more light hearted as he left out all the sarcophagus. There were some symbols on the sarcophagus indicating what the buried person did as a profession.

There was an old church at the end where the priests had been buried.

We went back to the entrance noticing how the leaves in the trees are changing colour as we are now well into autumn.

We then caught our bus back to Saintes-Marie’s- de La- Mere and went to check out the sea as it was very windy. The sea was very rough - and we got covered in sand with it being blasted off the beach.

We quickly left and walked back to the campsite. We had an easy salmon dinner and watched a movie and then to bed - nothing exciting.