Provence & Côte d’Azur, southern France 2 - Arles
On Day 2 we drove to Arles, a city on the Rhône River, known as the gateway to the Camargue Regional Nature Park, a vast plane between the Rhone River and the Mediterranean Sea, where numerous animal and plant species grow and thrive in, including pink flamingos and the Camargue horses, an ancient breed native to the region. We didn't have time to explore the natural reserve this time, by the way. Perhaps, next time. We just wandered around the old town of Arles.
The charming narrow streets led us to the Roman Amphitheater. Because of the strategic location along Rhône River, Julius Caesar annexed Arles to his empire as the capital of Roman Provence. Arles retains several Roman monuments. The Amphitheater was built in 90 AD and accommodates up to 21,000 spectators on three tiers. Since 1830 it has been used for bullfighting. Good news is the arena can be visited without watching a bullfight.
One of the towers was accessible, which provided us with an interesting view of the wavy top-surface of the walls and a nice view of the old town of Arles and the Rhône River.
Place de la Republique is a historic central square, decorated with a 4th century Roman obelisk on top of a fountain, various styles of facades from the 17th to the 19th centuries, and a medieval church, the Saint-Trophime Primatial Catholic Church.
The church was constructed in several stages, the most parts we see today were built in the 12th century on the site of the 5th century basilica of Arles. The church building is considered as an important example of Romanesque architecture although a few parts including the chancel was replaced in the 15th century in a Gothic style. The church had been a cathedral until the bishop moved to Aix-en-Provence in 1801.
The series of tapestries hung on the walls on both sides caught my eye once we entered the church. They were a set of ten 17th century Aubusson tapestries and nine of them were displayed.
The Saint Trophime cloister is found at the end of the archbishop's courtyard, behind the former cathedral. The 12th century sculpted columns and capitals were impressive.
Arles is also famous as a place that Vincent van Gogh lived. He moved to Arles from Paris in February 1888, driven by the search for 'his Japan.' He was fascinated by Japanese art, particularly landscape paintings at that time, which played an important role in the style of his later paintings. Although he stayed in Arles only for a year, he was fascinated by the colors of the landscape around Arles and produced 187 paintings and drawing, including some of his masterpieces. Le Café la Nuit in Arles, for example. The yellow cafe that was the model for the painting still exists although it was temporally closed when we were there.
We walked to the Alyscamps, a large Roman necropolis, located just outside of the Roman city walls. We strolled down the alley lined with a number of sarcophagi. What an extraordinary sight it was! It must have moved Van Gogh. He left four paintings portraying the ancient cemetery.
There was a spot that he must have been to when he painted 'Chûte de feuilles' (Fall of Leaves or Falling Autumn Leaves).
The Alyscamps transformed from a pagan burial ground to an early Christian cemetery and countless Christian including saints and bishops were also laid among the Roman sarcophagi. It was a sunny hot day. The Church of Saint Honoratus in the Alyscamps, originally built in the 11th century, gave us a brief escape from the heat.
It was a very busy morning. We walked a lot and saw a lot. Also we failed finding a decent place for breakfast. Lunch sounded fantastic. We came back to the old town and tried L'Escaladou, a restaurant known for its Provençal specialities.
For a starter, I chose Goat Cheese Crisp with Fig Jam. The Goat cheese and fig jam both were wrapped with a kind of wrapper, deep-fried, and nested on a salad. The portion was huge! It could be a main dish.
J's starter was Mussels and Spinach Gratin. The container looked small but the gratin, which he gave me some for tasting, was super rich.
We couldn't believe our main dishes were coming after the substantial starters. We both ordered 'Daube,' a traditional Provencal Beef Stew. It was served with Camargue rice.
The beef was very tender. The stew had nice rich flavors from red wine and spices... at least cinnamon and cloves, I thought. The dish was tasty but the portion was so generous!
I know we were so full, but how could we skip desserts in France? J had Tiramisu. It looked different from a classic Italian Tiramisu. I believe he enjoyed it. Mine was a baked apple. Our waitress flambéed liquor in a little pot and poured it over the apple at the table side. She mentioned the name of the liquor but I didn't catch it. It tasted like brandy. Anyway the apple dessert was boozy and delicious. The whipped cream and the vanilla ice cream, which was flavored with real vanilla beans, were simple but perfect accompanies.
We were totally full and needed a walk. We visited the courtyard of the building that was originally built as the city's main hospital in the 16th century and remained as such until the 20th century. It was the hospital that Van Gogh was admitted to when he had mental breakdown.
The building is now a culture center and the courtyard has been renovated to what it was in 1888-1889, which is seen in Van Gogh's painting "Le Jardin de l'Hôtel de Dieu."
Our last stop in Arles was actually about two kilometer outside of the city center of Arles. The Abbey of Montmajour is a fortified Benedictine monastery, built on a rock island rising up from the marshes, 'the Mont Majour' by a community of Benedictine monks who settled there in the 10th century. The abbey became a large complex of buildings from the 11th century to the 18th century, representing Provencal Romanesque to neo-Classical style architecture.
For me, the most interesting finding in the abbey was the rock cemetery of the monks where medieval tombs were carved into the rock. Such a burial practice begins as the same time when the abbey was established in the 10th century. It was a kind of surreal experience to walk around the tombs on the giant slanted rock surface.
We saw white horses in the field nearby. It was nice to be out of the tourist traffic in the city of Arles.
Visiting the abbey included a lot of up and down walks, unexpectedly. We climbed down staircase (and up later) to see the Hermitage of St. Peter, which is a semi-troglodyte pre-Romanesque chapel and the oldest architectural ensemble of the abbey, according to the abbey's leaflet. By the way, a man at the entrance who sold us the ticket and gave us the leaflet was super friendly. We had a nice chat.
I wasn't sure if J would say yes to climb up to the top of the Pons de l'Orme tower, the key part of the abbey's defense system. Surprisingly, he did! I don't remember the exact number but I think there were about 200 steps. No lift, of course.
From the top of the 26 meter high tower, both the bird's-eye view of the abby itself and the panoramic view of the countryside were wonderful. The monks would have seen a different view from here when the abbey was still surrounded by marshes many centuries ago.
We were back to the ground. Our self-tour continued. The abbey was pretty large!
We stepped into the Saint Maur monastery, built in the 18th century in the neo-classical style. There was a bread oven. As a baked goods lover, I was simply interested in what was baked there.
During the French Revolution the monastery was used as a stone quarry. Its roof and roof timbers were stripped. You can see where the staircases used to be attached in the ruins.
Then we walked in the abbey church of Notre-Dame, which had a 12th century Provencal Romanesque nave. The beauty of the simplicity.
Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, the cloister with a Romanesque decorative ensemble was interesting to study. I felt that the Saint Trophime cloister we visited earlier had more detailed sculptures, though.
The abbey is seen in Van Gogh's painting, 'Coucher de soleil à Montmajour' (Sunset at Montmajour). He produced another painting and several drawings of the abbey, which he described as a "romantic ruin." After he moved into Arles, he wandered in the Camargue nature and searched motifs that would inspire him. Eventually he discovered the abbey ruins and visited the site several times. It was an honor to follow his footsteps in this trip.
To be continued...
