Music and Markets - - Following the Music

Adieu to Vias, Allo to Arles

Vias, Arles, France

Today we have to leave the house ready for guests arriving this afternoon; so Anne washes the sheets and takes them to the laundry for drying, does the final cleaning of each room, and mops us out the door. This darling place does make us smile and it’s fun to hear from those who rent it how much they enjoy the village of Vias and La Belle Cour.

Just when we’re about to commit to the ramp to go north to the interstate to head east to Arles, we see a LOOOOONG back up of cars ahead, so we quickly decide to go west toward Beziers instead and catch the autoroute at the next exit west. Saturday is not only a big day for French tourists going to the beach for the day, but it is also the day for leaving a weekly rental from the previous week and for beginning a weekly rental for the next week; so the roads coming in and out of Vias are jammed at 11:30 am. Beziers is not at all a beach town so without any traffic, we quickly get on the A-9 heading east from there.

We’ve driven to Arles at least three times before but I didn’t really have the lay of the land enough to picture how to get to the places I remember going to before. I remembered the dots but wasn’t confident of how to connect them. First we had to find the Hotel Jules Cesar, which sounds rather imperial - and it does have a “Small Luxury Hotel” designation - and it’s right in the middle of the weekly outdoor market. The vendors are collapsing their tarps and stuffing them into their vans for a market somewhere else tomorrow. We explain to a traffic controller that we’re going to check in to the Hotel Jules Cesar and he lets us through the barriers to weave through the last remaining vendors.

The hotel is really marvelous former Carmelite convent complete with a cloister. Its spacious lobby is appointed with a blend of antique furnishings, large and small santons (Provençal figurines), and bright Provençal fabrics. And around the back, shielded by a giant arborvitae hedge, a refreshing swimming pool. The rooms are converted nuns’ cells with the original stone interior walls. It is right on the main drag and an easy walk to all the interesting points on the walking map we got from the hotel’s front desk.

We picked up sandwiches at a snack shop and made a mental note for breakfast tomorrow that they had pastries - even good looking sacristans with slivered almonds on top- AND a coffee machine - usually you find just one or the other. First stop is a short cooling swim and a relaxing sit by the pool.

Then we walk to Cathedral St. Trophime to see their celebrated 12^th century cloister. It was not as pleasing as many other cloisters but it did have a second floor gallery to walk around. A bride and her entourage of photographers, wedding planners, lights, and the husband came in with us and took some photos for her wedding book.

In Place Republique, the main square outside the cathedral, a troupe of Provençal dancers in traditional costumes was engaging the passers-by, including them in some of the circle dances.

The dances were accompanied by two pipe players and two drummers. The effect of Frederick Mistral’s efforts to preserve and promote the Provençal language and culture can be felt in Arles much stronger than in other parts of Provence.

We walked to the ancient Roman theatre and the big oval Roman arena - much like the Coliseum in Rome, and then found the old site of the Roman forum. The forum site is made more famous as the scene Van Gogh painted in his almost ubiquitous “The Night Café” with the yellow awning. A statue of Frederick Mistral guards all the café tables and chairs covering the square in the summer.

Near the Place du Forum, Anne found a licorice gelato but when we sat down to enjoy it, she discovered it tasted awful. The proprietor proudly explained that this ice cream is made from the woody stems of the anise plant, not the fringy leafy part. It tasted weedy, grassy, and woody - the worst ever.

Downhill from the arena at the end of Rue La Cavaliere are two short round towers with an ancient gate between. Through this gate on the other side of Place Lamartine is the site of Van Gogh’s yellow house where he attempted to establish an enclave for impressionists.

We had dinner on the quiet terrace behind the little Jardin de Manon restaurant, recommended in our French Guide Routard as well as in Time Out, on Avenue Alyscamps. Near here is a double row of Roman sarcophagi which Van Gogh also made famous by painting.

On the way back to the hotel, we saw a bus full of Celtic-Latin band members with Celtic uniforms and instruments congregating on the sidewalk. We followed them across the street through the Jardin d’Ete, up the stairs, and down to the arena where they were to perform in what the billboards touted as a Celtic-Latin show. Those Celts really got around and spread the use of bagpipes and plaid kilts over much of Western Europe. We stood on the street by the arena at a spot where we could see the lights in the arena and performers coming out to the makeup and rehearsal trailers. When we got tired of that, we took a mostly pleasant downhill stroll back to the hotel.

posted by Anne and Kirk @ 12:04 PM