Arles 11/8

On Sunday, Sohail and I took an afternoon train to Arles. Arles is known for its Roman ruins, as well as for being the home of Van Gogh for many years. The city made a cameo in the movie Ronin, with its Arenes playing an important role. The amphitheater was built around the first century B.C.

Renovation of Les Arènes

Virtually all of the monuments I've seen have been restored to some degree. Here restorers are replacing entire blocks of limestone. It's good to know the buildings are well-cared for, but at the same time, it's difficult to determine how authentic these kind of ruins really are.

Sohail and I walked from the train station, stopping first at the arena, then moving past the ruined Roman theater, to the main square - Place de la République. Arles - at least the old section - is a decidedly cozy town, lacking much of the commercial development that defaces the beautiful buildings of larger European cities. The main square was billboard free.

Church in Place de la République



Place de La République

Sunset turned this tower orange

After dark, Sohail and I wandered the narrow streets of the old city's residential areas. The apartments were unmasked by curtains. Some of the walls bowed out into the street, showing signs of age.

Sunset from the Rhone river

We walked along the river for a bit and got some cool pictures of the sunset. The riverwalk appeared to be a new construction. A flyer posted on the path that addressed dog owners read something like: "We made a 20 million dollar investment and we can't even clean up after our dogs?"

We wandered back to Les Arènes, which looked very cool lit up.

We planned to catch our night train back to Metz in Nîmes, Julien's city of birth, so we took a train there next. A match between Olympique Marseille and Olympique Lyon was scheduled for the evening, so Sohail and I found a bar in Nimes that looked like it would show the game. Sure enough, the bar steadily filled with fans, all males between the ages of 16 and 35. Loyalties lay mostly with Marseille, whose goal were loudly cheered and greeted with the ringing of a bell. The Olympique Lyon fans were plenty loud themselves, and even hijacked the bar's bell after one goal. The thriller featured 10 goals and ended up tied. With some time yet before our train, Sohail and I tried out our long exposure camera tricks at Nîmes' Roman Arena

Les Arènes Nîimes

We boarded the night train at midnight. Sohail slept soundly in his couchette, while I shut my eyelids in a vain attempt.