Arles

 Friday 1 August
After lunch we went on a walking tour of Arles. The major themes of the walk were Roman buildings, Medieval buildings and Vincent Van Gogh who lived and painted in Arles for part of 1888 and 1889.

Arles is entered via the Medieval wall that surrounds the city.

There are many types of architecture in Arles.

The ancient obelisk, dating from Roman times, set upon a seventeenth century fountain is in the centre of the town square.

Also in the square is the Town Hall

and the Church of St Trophime, a building in the Romanesque style dating back to the twelfth century.

But it is the Amphitheatre that really attracts the attention of visitors. This UNESCO Heritage Listed Building was build in approximately 90 AD.

It is just as impressive inside with its rows of curving columns of stone,

arches, passages and staircases.

The stadium is still in use and, in the evenings during the summer, hosts the running of the bulls.

However this is not the only major Roman building in the town.

The Roman theatre is still used to stage events.

Lighting towers have been installed to allow productions in the evening.

When Vincent Van Gogh was in Arles, the Hotel Dieu was the main hospital and he was admitted there on occasions, including when he cut off the lobe of his ear.

He found solace in the garden of the hospital and often painted there when allowed.

The garden has been kept as it would have been when Vincent Van Gogh was a patient.

Other sites relating to Vincent Van Gogh's stay in Arles include the Cafe la Nuit

the scene of another well known painting.

Back on the ship, the Captain's Welcome Cocktail was held at 6.30 followed by the Gala Welcome Dinner in the main dining room. The music in the Lounge after dinner was provided by the three members of the group, Flamingo, performing music with primarily a Spanish influence.

Arles - Excursion to Saint-Remy de Provence

Friday 1 August

The first official day of the cruise and when we returned from breakfast our room had been cleaned and Angela had created a dog out of towels which was reclining on the bed.

The morning began with an excursion to Saint-Remy de Provence to visit the asylum of St Paul de Mausole where Vincent Van Gogh had lived from 1889-1890. But first the bus visited an olive farm where the processes of growing olives and preparing olive oil were explained.

Olives

Rows of olive trees with cypress in the background

The driveway to the olive farm was lined with a mass planting of petunias - very colourful.

At the carpark near the asylum of St Paul de Mausole we were surprised to find two Roman structures - a tall mausoleum and a highly decorated arch. These items were part of the Roman settlement of Glanum. These items have always been visible but other parts of the settlement have been excavated since 1921.

Detail of roof inside the arch

View of surrounding scenery from carpark

 Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) entered the asylum of St Paul de Mausole at Saint-Remy de Provence in May 1889 and during his stay, lasting a year, painted some of his most famous paintings.

Along the pathway to the asylum can be seen display boards depicting some of the artworks painted which living in this region. This painting of an olive grove is in front of a group of olive trees.

Copies of other works appear along the wall lining the driveway.

We were allowed to see inside part of the building, including the room where Van Gogh would have lived and then went out into the gardens at the back of the building.

The garden was divided into sections including this bed of lavender

and a bed of sunflowers.

Copies of Van Gogh's iconic paintings were also displayed along the garden walls.

On the way back to the ship we drove past the village of Les Baux de Provence set on top of a rocky outcrop in the Alpilles mountains.

The village is now primarily a tourist site but the site of the village has been a strategic settlement from before Roman times. Bauxite was mined in the area in the nineteenth century.

Arles

Thursday 31 July
Mid afternoon we arrived at the Rhone River at Arles to board the ship, Armdagio, that was to be our home for the next week.

Once we had settled in we set out to explore this new location, Arles. Initially we walked along the bank of the river towards the town, which like many in this area of France has the remains of Roman occupation.

The Baths of Constantine can be viewed from the path by the river.

We then entered the town with its narrow streets and colourful plants on the walls.

This was just a short walk as we were staying in Arles overnight and were going on a tour of the town the following day.

Where the ship was berthed can be found the remains of a railway bridge that once spanned the Rhone River. The bridge was destroyed on 6 August 1944 during the Second World War but this impressive pair of lions remain to show where the bridge once stood.
Back at the ship we attended the information briefing in the Armadagio Lounge followed by dinner in the ship's restaurant.