The Slow Road
Two Women Wandering the World
The rooftops of Arles, a wonderful small city in southern France next to the Rhone River
Arles is one of the oldest cities in France, dating back to the 500s BC. It was an important Roman town starting in the 100s BC, and some Roman architecture remains.
Vincent Van Gogh lived in Arles in 1888 and 1889. He did a nightime painting of this cafe, located opposite our hotel in the Place du Forum.
Intricate carving on the front of Arles's 12th-century cathedral
The cathedral is fairly plain except for the wonderful main doorway
The Place de la Republique in front of the cathedral features a 4th-century Roman obelisk (with 19th-centurty decorations)
A cryptoportico (vaulted underground gallery) formed the lowest level of the Roman Forum in Arles. The sign says that during WWII, some Arles residents were held here before being sent to Nazi death camps.
The old city is characterized by narrow streets and tall houses in earth tones
We loved the trompe l'oeil window on this pink house
The remains of a Roman amphitheater in Arles
Today the amphitheater is used for bull fights
A vendor selling oysters and mussels from the nearby Mediterranean Sea
Olives are also a staple in the Provence region of southern France
The 14th-century Papal Palace in Avignon, another old city about 45 km up the Rhone River from Arles
A model of the giant fortress-palace. Avignon was home to seven popes between 1309 and 1377, all Frenchmen.
Only a little of the original art remains in the palace, which gradually deteriorated after the papacy returned to Rome
A beautiful high-relief Crucifixion scene in the palace
Towers on the immense fortified palace
The remains of a 13th-century bridge across the Rhone, memorialized in the song "Sur le pont d'Avignon"
An old water wheel in the pretty little street of the dyers in Avignon
A distinctive 11th-century round tower in the town of Uzes, about 40 km from Avignon
View through a doorway to the castle of the Dukes of Uzes
The Dukes of Uzes were once among the highest ranking nobles in France
View of the rooftops of Uzes
Near Uzes is a 1st-century Roman aqueduct bridge called the Pont du Gard
The day we visited the acqueduct, a boules tournament was going on
An olive grove near the town of Saint Remy that Van Gogh painted in1889
Remains of a memorial arch from the Roman city of Glanum near Saint Remy
A funereal monument from Glanum built for the local Julii family in about 30 BC
Carving on the side of the monument
