Arles fulfills my dream of France life, completely overwhelming my heart. The remnants of history, the slow pace, the vines that cover walls and broken bits of 1st century walls, what a beautiful way to spend the day. I find myself taking pictures in parking lots, of window shutters, of alleyways. The common things that the locals probably roll their eyes about, but I just can’t take my eyes off of this place.
The Amphithéâtre
The Amphithéâtre, built in 90 AD, rivals the Rome structure but without the crowd and chaos. When in Arles, it’s absolutely a must see from the inside, not just the outside. Walking through the alleyways and into the vast arena is moving and exciting! How many gladiators, spectators, animals, passed through these same hallways. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Amphithéâtre was actually used as residential space! Houses were built inside the walls creating a “town within a town”. A colored and complicated history that just oozes around every corner. Get your tickets here!
van Gogh
Exploring the streets you find pieces of Van Gogh history, a bit lost on me without having any art history but still meaningful to have pointed out by our guide. The Yellow House of “The Yellow House” shown above, not to mention “The Starry Night” known to have been painting from his home in Arles. Life changing moments happened right here, whether I’ve seen the specific sight in paint or not the gravity is not lost on me.
Monuments
Approaching the Church of St. Trophime you pass the Arles Obelisk with a fountain that gives off the most nostalgic Beauty and the Beast vibes! Provincial life indeed! If only I had a book to read on the edge, a modern day Belle lost in a story and running from life.
The Church is quite breathtaking and I admit I returned to look at it several times during the day, each time noticing something different in the carving. Van Gogh himself saying it’s like a Chinese nightmare “so grand a style seems to me to belong in another world”. I get it, Van Gogh, I get it!
After our guided tour I spent the day wandering through the streets and managed to find my way to the Museon Arlaten. Inside there are exhibits of statues, paintings, archeological artifacts, of course like any museum. But seeing the historical drawings of the colosseum and church, the things that we JUST walked past on our guided tour! How cool to stand in front of something so old and so outlasting.
For lunch, Restaurant le Balkania has a fantastic salad with an unbeatable view of the Amphithéâtre!
Finish the day off with a run down the Rhone (literally), the sun shinning, the views magnificent. If only my old tired knees could have held up longer, I never wanted to stop. Sitting along the Rhone like a natural Parisian is so surreal, breathing in deeply and accepting a dream turned reality.
