2004 Europe

Arles Street



May 4 – It was a pretty bumpy night, but not uncomfortably so. Mostly pitching with a little roll and not much in the way of yaw. This morning we docked in Marseilles about an hour late. We were heading directly into the swell so they had to hold the speed down to lessen the impact.



Our tour left only ½ hour late and headed off to Arles (above). Arles is well known for its Roman monuments. In the center of town stands the Roman arena Les Arènes, which is well preserved. Arles supported Julius Caesar in 49 BC and so it gained in prominence after the sacking of Marseille. Marseille had supported Pompey. Arles became an important port and throughout its early history took advantage of any downturns in Marseille’s fortune. For a brief time under Constantine’s rule in the 5th century, Arles was the capital of Gaul and a major trading post for the Roman Empire. Not much has happened in this area since the Romans because of the isolated location between the Carmargue (an area of wetlands and swamps) and Rhone River.



Arles is in the Provence region of France. They grow grapes, olives and, believe it or not, rice. It’s the olive oil that is their greatest source of pride. They have olive oil tasting rooms, just like wineries have wine tasting. They make soap, lotions and all sorts of things out of the stuff. I’ll have you know that I myself, yes I said, ‘I myself’, bought 150 ml, that’s milliliters or one thousandth of a liter or about 5 ounces, of Extrait d’Olive, Baume Apres Resage. I’ll bet you’re saying to yourself, ‘What the heck has gotten into Rod!’ Well, I’ll tell you. Driving to Arles our guide, a French lady, started talking about Provence and its development. When she discussed the region of Paris she said, ‘We find them so irritating and rude (the Parisians that is).’ I could have kissed her right then and there. But I digress. Back to my purchase. It’s after-shave lotion with olive oil. I’ll try it some night just before dinner and if I don’t like it I can use it as salad dressing. (Ed note: I have been using the olive oil aftershave lotion when I shave with my blade razor and it’s really great. Very soothing!)



The Roman amphitheater is currently used for French style bullfighting and opera concerts. Quite a combination if you ask me. It can hold about 20,000 people. The amphitheater has wonderful acoustics, just like the one we were in Beit Shean, Israel, part of the Jordan Valley system. That one was about one-third the size of the one in Arles. The old roman theater is still there as well and is currently being restored. The streets are narrow and there’s evidence of every era since 100BC in the architecture.



Van Gogh was in the hospital here for some physical ailment and did quiet a few famous paintings here including one of the courtyard of the hospital he was staying in. You can find reproductions of his art works displayed around the city in such at way that you can look past it to the perspective Van Gogh had when he painted it. Very weird knowing that he must have stood right where you are standing to make his sketches or do the painting. His painting ‘The Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles’ is in the foreground in the picture below. The trees are gown larger but you can still see the arches and the roof on the far wall are the same ones in his painting.



We tromped around town like an invading Vandal army, at times completely blocking the small streets to traffic. The drivers waited patiently for the odd tourists to get out of the way and then waved at us as they drove by. No horns beeping and very polite. It was refreshing. My opinion of Frenchmen may be changing, emphasis on the ‘may’. We’ll be back to France on our bus tour and I’ll reserve any attitude adjustment until that’s over.



Next stop was Les Baux de Provence. It’s a medieval city on top of a hill that is still home to about 350 people. The old chateau is up on the very top. The bus couldn’t get anywhere near the city so we had to hike up the hill. Nothing in the city is on the level. You’re either going up or down. The streets are not drivable even if you could get a car up there. They are extremely narrow with tight turns and twists. It was difficult to get far enough away from anything to take a picture. The one exception was the Plaza of St. Vincent where the church of the same name is found (picture below) as well as the Chapel of the Penitent (on the left).



We had lunch in a restaurant there. First course was quiche with a small spring salad. The quiche was tomato, zucchini, olive and squash. It was the most colorful quiche I have ever seen. The squash and the tomato gave it an overall orange color with red highlights. The olives and zucchini provided small dots of green and white sprinkled throughout. I know that sounds odd, and in fact it did look a little odd, but it was very good. We were sitting at a table with about 8 other people and no one was entirely sure what it was although several of us guessed that there was pumpkin involved. Since pumpkin is a variety of squash, I’m taking credit for being correct on that score. Diana was of the opinion that it was a quiche and when we inquired of the waiter, she was proven to be right. The second course was a sort of chicken and tomato stew with rice followed by crème Brule for desert. I am not much of a fan of non-chocolate deserts but it was pretty good. After roaming around the town for about 1.5 hours it was back to the bus and then on to the ship.



Decorators Note: If you feel the need to include cicadas in your wardrobe or décor this is the place to come. Apparently the people of Provance have a fetish for them. The stores are full of them in all sizes and types. From gold pins barely one-third of an inch long to ceramic wall hangings that are at least two feet long. The five in the picture below can be seen hanging along the top of the door on the left in the next picture. They made them of wood, clay, ceramic, plastic, paper, silver, gold, pewter and stone. They appear on dinnerware, lamps, clothing, hats, cards, paintings, paperweights, wall hangings, jewelry and any other item you could name. They are a veritable plague on the shelves of the shops. Some of the ceramic wall hanging types have motion detectors built into them and they emit a very realistic cicada sound as you pass by. I asked several locals what the significance was and all they could tell me was that they liked them.



Tomorrow we’re in Monaco. It’s a tender port so we’ll be anchored off shore and taken in by the ship’s tenders, always a tedious but fun process.

(c) 2004 Rod Longenberger