Arles

Check out pictures from my day in Arles!

Arles is a city in the south of France (about 20 minutes from Avignon by train, see map!).  When we arrived there, we went to visit the "arènes," the Roman amphitheater.  This was, I think, the first Roman ruin I've seen in real life, so it was really exciting!  The cool thing that I've noticed about ancient structures in Europe is that, in many cases, they are still functional in spite of the fact that they are hundreds of years old.  For example, this amphitheater is still home to bull fighting, concerts, and theater productions, and the Palais des Papes plays host to huge theater audiences during the Festival d'Avignon.  We also saw another "vestige romain" (Roman ruin) during the course of our day.  We happened upon some Roman baths.  My photos don't really do them justice, unfortunately, but it was a big brick structure with multiple chambers, so the baths could be heated to different temperatures by wood-burning fires.  Those Romans!  Sounds like it would've been a pretty sweet hang, they just needed a swim-up bar and some tiki torches... or not :-P

We also visited St Trophime, a Roman church.  Because it was really hot and sunny, we spent a lot of time in the cool, shady cloister, which has some interesting carved columns and a big courtyard.  Apparently, these columns in the cloister and the carved tympanum (the decorated arch over the entry to the church) are some of the finest examples of Roman sculpture(see photo album!).  We also took a quick look around the sanctuary, which is cavernous with huge Roman pillars.  They also had a chamber filled with relics from the Crusades.  

Arles is also home to a pretty sizable open air "marché."  We walked around the crowded market, and they were selling everything from meat and cheese to clothing to produce.  There were vendors selling Provençal soaps and fabrics as well as herbes de Provence and other wares.  Unfortunately, I was really hot and rather hungry, so I didn't spend a lot of time in the market.  Instead, some friends and I went to a nearby café to get lunch.  By the time we had finished, the entire market had been disassembled and the streets had been cleaned.  It was like the whole thing just disappeared within an hour.  Talk about Swiss movement!  

Definitely check out the photo album, and thanks for reading!  xoxo, Emma