22nd of July 2023 - Arles

Our final excursion was a walking tour of Arles.  Arles is another ancient city with a collection of Roman ruins and medieval houses.

 

The Roman amphitheatre is still used for sporting events including bullfighting but the less said about that the better.

 

There is also a Roman theatre where productions are still held and Roman baths.

 

Van Gogh painted some 200 paintings in his time here.  The Café de Nuit was painted in 1888 and is one of Van Gogh’s most well know paintings. The cheery yellow café is still there and still functioning as a café.  And it’s still yellow.

 

‘Le Jardin de la Maison de Sante’ was our next stop. The arcades featured in the painting are still in place and the garden bears some similarity to its original version.

We visited the large farmers’ market with wonderful displays of seasonal fruit and vegetables.  I would have loved to have been able to buy some of the local cheese and cured sausage to bring home.

There were also vendors selling hot food such as paella.

All good things come to an end so I spent some of the afternoon packing but did take a break to have a drink with a fellow passenger in the lounge.  I haven't had a pastis in years.

Tonight we had our final dinner together and said some goodbyes,  Some of us will see each other again tomorrow while waiting for our transfers to our next destination.  In my case this is London Heathrow.