So, as you've already read, I went to Arles with one thing in mind . . . to sit in my favourite painting. While there, I discovered so much more.
Arles is a city with a lot of history. It has some amazing Roman monuments, the earliest of which come from the 1st century BC. While there, I was able to visit both the gladiator's arena, and the theatre. Van Gogh painted a picture of a bullfight the arena, entitled Les Arènes. Bullfighting is still very popuular in Arles, thankfully I wasn't around for one, because that is definitely one sport that isn't my thing. These sites are listed under the UNESCO World Heritage site, and you can read more about them here.
To be honest, though, it was the medieval streets that drew me into Arles. The winding layouts, ingeniously engineered (like Montpellier's) to minimise the effects of the heavy Mistral winds and reduce problems with wind tunnels . . . beautifully coloured shutters, and winding plants creeping up the sides of walls, giving the houses character and life.
In addition to this, perhaps because of Van Gogh's legacy, here and there throughout the city you can find evocative street art.
This is the first time I've seen JR's street art in real life (watch the Ted Talk if you don't know who JR is). Turns out, this is actually one location he was invited to . . . but regardless, it was really exciting for me to see and recognise his art (although, it's incredibly recogniseable, so that's not much of a badge of honour). Here's a link to a facebook album showing some of the work that went on behind the scenes of the Inside Out project in Arles.
And, it was really quite fun to see the other Van Gogh locations . . .
Starry Night Over the Rhone . . . although not seen at night (my train to go back to Montpellier left at 7:30pm, before nightfall in the lovely summertime).
Café Terrace at Night (again, seen not at night)
And last but not least, I found, and ate, something like a GIANT Griffins Shrewsberry. I asked the woman at the patisserie the name for this delicacy, but I can't remember what she said . . . so instead, you just have to look and salivate in ignorance. Put your hands together to make a circle, and that's the size of this beast!
Arles is a city with a lot of history. It has some amazing Roman monuments, the earliest of which come from the 1st century BC. While there, I was able to visit both the gladiator's arena, and the theatre. Van Gogh painted a picture of a bullfight the arena, entitled Les Arènes. Bullfighting is still very popuular in Arles, thankfully I wasn't around for one, because that is definitely one sport that isn't my thing. These sites are listed under the UNESCO World Heritage site, and you can read more about them here.
To be honest, though, it was the medieval streets that drew me into Arles. The winding layouts, ingeniously engineered (like Montpellier's) to minimise the effects of the heavy Mistral winds and reduce problems with wind tunnels . . . beautifully coloured shutters, and winding plants creeping up the sides of walls, giving the houses character and life.
In addition to this, perhaps because of Van Gogh's legacy, here and there throughout the city you can find evocative street art.
This is the first time I've seen JR's street art in real life (watch the Ted Talk if you don't know who JR is). Turns out, this is actually one location he was invited to . . . but regardless, it was really exciting for me to see and recognise his art (although, it's incredibly recogniseable, so that's not much of a badge of honour). Here's a link to a facebook album showing some of the work that went on behind the scenes of the Inside Out project in Arles.
And, it was really quite fun to see the other Van Gogh locations . . .
Starry Night Over the Rhone . . . although not seen at night (my train to go back to Montpellier left at 7:30pm, before nightfall in the lovely summertime).
Café Terrace at Night (again, seen not at night)
And last but not least, I found, and ate, something like a GIANT Griffins Shrewsberry. I asked the woman at the patisserie the name for this delicacy, but I can't remember what she said . . . so instead, you just have to look and salivate in ignorance. Put your hands together to make a circle, and that's the size of this beast!
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