Posted for July 15
On the train to Arles I was super thirsty. I purchased a water. I thought I heard the lady say 2.14 so I gave her 2.20. She printed out a receipt and it showed 2.40. I said I’m sorry and pulled out a 20 Euro Bill and she said it’s ok and took my 2.20. The bullet trains in France are fantastic. Smooth easy ride that takes you to far distances in a matter of a couple hours. On my 2 hour and 45min ride to Provence, I took a half hour nap. Before getting into Arles, I’ve got a stop over in Avignon. I’ll be spending a night in Avignon later in the week prior to heading to Nice.
I was pleasantly surprised when I checked in my hotel. It was booked on hostelworld.com. The hotel was modernly refurbished. The room I had was fabulous. I especially loved my shower. It had cemented rocks on the floor with a rain type shower head. After washing up, I headed for the streets. I stopped by an outdoor area sipped on a Pastis. I then headed for a Gelato spot. I forgot the name of the Gelato flavor I had but it had Olive Oil and other stuff in it. It was an award winner and I can vouch for why it is; it was freakishly delicious.
I then walked around and checked out Van Gough’s stuff - the spots of what he painted. The stuff that he has done is truly amazing and it’s sort of sad to see how some of the existing areas have changed. Overall, Arles is charming little city with its narrow streets and walkways. It’s very rustic with it’s Roman Architecture still present. It’s definitely not Paris and I’m liken’ every part of it. My brother in-law told me to check it out, and I’m glad I did.
After a wonderful 3 course dinner at Lou Caleu, I headed back to the hotel to get some rest.
