Arles

About an hour bus ride from Aix sits another lovely little French town called Arles. It's history dates back to before Roman times, but the Romans conquered it in 125 BC and grew it into a thriving trading port. The influence of the Romans is still incredibly apparent there in places like the Roman Forum, and the Roman Arena-- an amphitheater inspired by the colosseum in Rome

 It also happens to be host to the largest street market either of us had ever seen. Provence is absolutely loaded with street markets. They are held, in some form or another, practically every day in most towns in the South of France. In Aix, the "big market" is every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, where different vendors sell everything from fresh caught fish, to clothing and antique trinkets. The "off days" are filled in with farmer's markets and/or flower markets, which are held in different squares across the city center. We've been thoroughly impressed by the vast number of things that are available at these markets, and also by the prices, which greatly undercut those of the trendy shops around town. That being said, the Saturday market that was being held when we arrived in Arles put every other market I've ever seen to shame.

They had clothing, footwear, fresh meat, cooked meat, jewelry, giant pans full of simmering hot curries, baskets, purses, hats, toys, spices, incense, cheese, trees, bushels of every kind of produce in season, live chickens and rabbits, and anything else you can imagine. The tents were set up in not one, but two concentric circular isles filling the streets and sidewalks and surrounding an entire city block.







After spending an hour or two wandering the market (and still not managing to see it all) we ventured further into the city. The well known artist Vincent Van Gogh took up residence in Arles in 1888 and stayed for about a year, during which time he created over 300 paintings. The city is filled with scenes that he painted, and the tourist office offers a brochure for a self guided walking tour that leads you to a series of easels that have been positioned in the same locations as Van Gogh's. So we picked that up, and used it as a rough guide for our day. We wandered the streets, stopping now and then to look at an easel, and breaking here and there at a monument, art exhibition, or cafe. It was a wonderful day, and when the time came to catch our bus back to Aix, we were wishing we could stay a bit longer in the picturesque little town.

~Jenna