Arles – pronounced RRRRRLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!

Today we were off to explore the City of Arles. Arles goes back to 40 B.C., yes that’s correct, Before Christ! However it never really became much until the Romans made a real prescence sometime in the 1st Century; around 90 A.D. So, there is so much history, old buildings, historic sites and things to see. As we mentioned the old town of Arles; which is a walled city, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We started off by visiting the Musee Departemental Arles Antique….. in other words the New Museum dedicated to the history of Arles. Lots of Roman ruins, artifacts, displays, models of Roman construction, etc. In fact near the entrance to the museum there is still remnants (footings, bricks, etc.) of the Chariot arena where you can see the curvature of the arena construction. From here we headed off to the Amphitheatre which was built in 90 A.D.; the last post showed us having dinner at a cafe directly across the street from the Amphitheatre. Currently it is under ongoing restoration which you will see in some of the pictures. This is because today they occasionally use it for Bull Fights (not where the bull gets killed). After this we visited the Thermes of Constantin. These were Roman Baths built between the 1st and 4th Century A.D. They were communal baths with three separate rooms, the first were Hot Baths where they used scrapers on their skin, this was followed by a rinse off in the  Lukewarm Room and then the Cold Pool and massage. We finished off by visiting the Cryptoportiques D’Arles which date back to 46 B.C. These are double u-shaped underground galleries that are 89m by 59m. You enter at the Hotel De Ville (which isn’t really a hotel, but a large building) and head down a steep spiral staircase below ground approximately 40′. First thing you run into is water dripping/running from the roof; probably a water line above with a leak; thank heavens the Romans were great builders…..other than the odd missing stone/brick it looked pretty safe to me. Here there is a lot of evidence of Roman Construction and no restoration, the area has been left pretty much as it was found. Unfortunately no narration or description; other than a pamphlet in french, so you are left on your own to explore the crypts complete with side rooms and large sections of marble, granite and limestone columns left lying as they were. Brenda couldn’t get out of here fast enough. That’s it we’re exhasuted time for a Baquette, some french cheese and a very good bottle of Chateau Neuf de Pape.