Make Time: The Roman Empire in Arles

My first full day in Arles yesterday was truly amazing. It started off with me walking out of the apartment and heading to the Espace de Van Gogh, which is an old hospital where Van Gogh was a patient towards the end of his life. There is a nice and bright courtyard in the center of the now-old hospital grounds which Van Gogh painted many times (pics below). On the way I grabbed a ham and cheese quiche, which I ate while sitting in the courtyard. I enjoyed imagining Van Gogh there in his manic insanity, painting this courtyard from the windows. There were a few tourists lingering here and there, but happily not too many. As I walked out of the courtyard I heard a bunch of Americans, which is definitely a change from Saorge and even Nice. Arles, with all of its rich history, is definitely one of the more tourist locations I'm visiting on this European leg of my travels. So I head towards the Arles Theatre, winding through tiny little streets and coming upon an incredibly old and beautiful outside auditorium. The beauty and history of this location amazes me, but I'm even more impressed to learn that this standing monument only represents 1/4 of the real thing. When the Roman Empire fell, much of the stone was used to build other homes, and the entire ruin was built over. Not until the 19th century did the French even decided to renovate and preserve this location. Amazing to think that for centuries there was an amazing architectural site that was completely ignored. I walk around and imagine all the plays that were put on in this location. I imagine sitting there with 100's of Romans - pun intended :) I've never been here but I get a sense of nostalgia. It's hard to put into words but I just feel as though I've been here before. As I'm walking out of the theatre there is an older woman playing guitar and singing beautiful Italian songs just outside the gates. I sit for a moment and listen to her passion. Her pain. It's beautiful and sad and makes me think of the sadness of this beautiful theatre, and how it was such an amazing structure at one point. Please look at the link above, because it shows what the theatre actually looked like when it was used. It had a retractable roof for the sun, and they used sound effects and harnesses and so many amazing things that are still used today. So cool. I only have to walk about 100 feet until I'm face to face with the Arles Amphitheatre, which is by far the biggest structure in the town of Arles. It resembles pictures I've seen of the coliseum in Rome, although on a much smaller scale. Again, I read about the history of this building and am fascinated that I'm only looking at about half of its original size. During the middle ages the inside of the amphitheater was completely built up with houses, and inside the walls was considered just another neighborhood. Again, it wasn't until the 19th century that the city decided to renovate. Apparently this was a long process because the renovation society had to wait till all the houses inside were for sale and then buy them up one by one. Finally it was finished and they have done an amazing job. Again, as I'm walking around I feel a real sense of nostalgia. Obviously I've never been here before in this lifetime, but the history and the beauty make me miss what this structure once was. I walk around the entire amphitheater and take a bunch of pics which I hope you enjoy. Nowadays they use the amphitheater for bull fights, so I see ads for them all over the outside of the building. I'm a bit hungry at this point so I walk down the side streets away from the amphitheater and come across La Mamma, the place I was trying to go the night before. NICE. I sit ouside and have some great pasta, and enjoy the views of the side street and the amphitheater from a distance (pics below). I walk along the Rhone River after lunch and then grab some groceries to cook breakfasts and dinners for the next few days, and then head back to the house. August is there and he's bought a new couch, so I help him bring in it and then I go up to the rooftop to relax in the sun. So nice. So peaceful. I sit for about a half hour before heading back out into the city, where I hit up the Van Gogh Foundation and some local galleries in town. I figured out that my favorite style of painting is French Impressionism, as well as Post-Impressionism, and so I sit and really enjoy the paintings in the foundation (pics below). The local galleries are also amazing - especially this woman who uses tile in her art. Very inspiring. I walk around town for a bit and then decide that I have to go back to the amphitheater one more time before it's closed, so I rush in and sit in the lower seats and just soak up the last rays of sun before heading back to the house. I cook some pasta for dinner and then just relax on the roof with August and some of his friends who come over. Very nice people - very kind to me.

A perfect first day in Arles.

I love the history of this place - it really inspires me. I can see why Van Gogh and so many artists loved it here. Today I'm going to rent a bike and see some tourist sites that are a bit out of town. I'll report back tomorrow, but rest assured I'm having a blast and feeling very spiritual and artistic.