We awoke early. No running today, as there was a lot to do. We had breakfast in the square, a before, got packed and checked out of the hotel. We were on the road by 10am.
The 50 km journey to Arles was quite straightforward and we were very lucky to find a parking space behind the main street. Arles is a wonderfully compact place, which made seeing what we wanted to see easy and straightforward. We started by visiting the Espace Van Gogh, the institution where Vincent was hospitalised when he had his breakdown and is now a cultural centre that is dedicated to his life and work. You can see Helen above in the garden. We then walked up past the Roman Theatre (where the Arles Festival is held each year) to the Roman Amphitheatre. This is in remarkable condition and in the process of undergoing a massive multi-year restoration project – very impressive.
Next we went to the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh, where we expected to visit an exhibition of works by artists who have been inspired by Van Gogh. After we had paid our money we discovered that the permanent exhibition had been replaced by one of works by a French artist called Robert Combas, who neither of us had heard of. Since we had the tickets we decided to go on and take a look, and we were very glad that we did, as it was very interesting. Some examples of his work are below.
We went for a pee at the Best Western before climbing into a very hot car and getting back onto the motorway. We drove for an hour or more before finding a small Aire where we set up camp and had a splendid picnic in the sun. We then pressed on to Perpignan, which we reached by 5pm, and found our hotel. We checked in then set out to explore the city, finding it very lively and cosmopolitan. We had a couple of Leffes and watched some street entertainers perform in the rain, the star of the show being the juggler showb above who kept dropping his sticks.
We went back to our room for a bit then, as the hotel restaurant was very expensive, we went back to the city centre and partook of a ‘world cuisine’ meal. The starters were not as advertised, particularly Helen’s Thai spring rolls, but were good nevertheless. The main courses were also very acceptable. The coconut ice cream that completed the meal was wonderful!
The room was reasonable but could have been a bit bigger – 2.5 stars. The bed was comfortable and quite – 3 stars. The shower was good but again only waist height so 2 stars.
The 50 km journey to Arles was quite straightforward and we were very lucky to find a parking space behind the main street. Arles is a wonderfully compact place, which made seeing what we wanted to see easy and straightforward. We started by visiting the Espace Van Gogh, the institution where Vincent was hospitalised when he had his breakdown and is now a cultural centre that is dedicated to his life and work. You can see Helen above in the garden. We then walked up past the Roman Theatre (where the Arles Festival is held each year) to the Roman Amphitheatre. This is in remarkable condition and in the process of undergoing a massive multi-year restoration project – very impressive.
Next we went to the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh, where we expected to visit an exhibition of works by artists who have been inspired by Van Gogh. After we had paid our money we discovered that the permanent exhibition had been replaced by one of works by a French artist called Robert Combas, who neither of us had heard of. Since we had the tickets we decided to go on and take a look, and we were very glad that we did, as it was very interesting. Some examples of his work are below.
We went for a pee at the Best Western before climbing into a very hot car and getting back onto the motorway. We drove for an hour or more before finding a small Aire where we set up camp and had a splendid picnic in the sun. We then pressed on to Perpignan, which we reached by 5pm, and found our hotel. We checked in then set out to explore the city, finding it very lively and cosmopolitan. We had a couple of Leffes and watched some street entertainers perform in the rain, the star of the show being the juggler showb above who kept dropping his sticks.
We went back to our room for a bit then, as the hotel restaurant was very expensive, we went back to the city centre and partook of a ‘world cuisine’ meal. The starters were not as advertised, particularly Helen’s Thai spring rolls, but were good nevertheless. The main courses were also very acceptable. The coconut ice cream that completed the meal was wonderful!
The room was reasonable but could have been a bit bigger – 2.5 stars. The bed was comfortable and quite – 3 stars. The shower was good but again only waist height so 2 stars.
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