Arles Sunday 4 May, Day 11

With some reluctance we packed up this morning and headed back down the train station to catch our train to Arles.  We really enjoyed Avignon,  The regional trains are great. Less than half an hour to Arles but it has a very different feel - well, what we've seen of it so far. Seems to be poorer, grittier and more decayed than Avignon. Lots of the houses look like they are just on this side of collapse.  But it has its charm. 

We dumped our bags at the hotel and set off to explore. The Roman presence is very marked, with the Arena largely intact, the Theatre still with some columns standing and amazing carvings lying in the grass, and the traces of the chariot racing track still preserved near the Museum of Antiquities. The Museum houses an enormous Roman barge which sank in the Rhône near Arles.

Apparently the barge was towed upstream by either human or animal power. Given how fast the current flows, just thinking how hard that would be makes me feel tired. A great piece of archaeological rescue work to retrieve it and so many artefacts from the river bed.

Being Sunday lots of the town seemed deserted tonight but we found a nice family run restaurant which had simple but delicious food. On the way home we walked past the Roman Arena, with the deserted street and the dark sky - magical