Last Friday I went to Arles with one of my classes. Although I wasn’t to eager when my alarm went off at 7:30am on what is usually my day off, it was good because I probably wouldn’t have made it to Arles on my own. The bus ride was about an hour, and when we arrived in Arles my professor suggested we stop to get coffee. My American sensibilities imagined that we would run into a cafe, grab some liquid caffeine in paper to-go cups, and be on our way, but then I remembered--this was France.
The French aren’t generally fans of “coffee to go”. They sip there coffees slowly, leisurely, while talking with friends. Another notable difference is how small the coffees generally are--smaller than a “tall” at Starbucks! So our class sat outside and leisurely sipped our drinks for a while before beginning our site-seeing.
Our first tourist stop was the old Roman theater. Arles actually has a lot of Roman ruins, because it was an important city when the region was still the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis. We also visited the Arles Amphitheater, which is a Roman amphitheater that has been there since 90 AD. I was surprised to hear that the ampitheater still hosts bullfights today!
The French aren’t generally fans of “coffee to go”. They sip there coffees slowly, leisurely, while talking with friends. Another notable difference is how small the coffees generally are--smaller than a “tall” at Starbucks! So our class sat outside and leisurely sipped our drinks for a while before beginning our site-seeing.
Our first tourist stop was the old Roman theater. Arles actually has a lot of Roman ruins, because it was an important city when the region was still the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis. We also visited the Arles Amphitheater, which is a Roman amphitheater that has been there since 90 AD. I was surprised to hear that the ampitheater still hosts bullfights today!
We got lunch and took it to eat by the river. Then we headed to the Cloister of St. Triophime. A cloister is an open space within a cathedral or church, so that the monks or nuns living there would be able to get some fresh air without leaving the building. It was cool to see, but I personally thought the crypts of Arles were cooler. I didn’t know much about the crypts when I was there, other than the fact that they were a bit creepy. However, Wikipedia now tells me that the crypts are thought to have been built by the Greeks, most likely from Marseille. It is thought that it was used as a barracks for public slaves.
Finally, we went to Le Cafe La Nuit, the cafe that Van Gough made famous in his painting. The plan was to sit there for a bit, but it was a bit overpriced, so some of us went across the street to get ice cream. I got speculoos flavored, so I think I made the right call.
Finally, we went to Le Cafe La Nuit, the cafe that Van Gough made famous in his painting. The plan was to sit there for a bit, but it was a bit overpriced, so some of us went across the street to get ice cream. I got speculoos flavored, so I think I made the right call.