Arles

It doesn't seem like only two nights since I blogged!

After being on the internet that afternoon I walked outside & realised that it was adjacent to an old roman temple now in the middle of a square! You have to walk up about a dozen big stairs to go inside, & it's got some history of the temple & a few mosaics... not in situ but still, the first mosaics I'd seen. Wandered the streets to see what there was to see & ate across the road from the arena. I have certainly had some meals with great views on this holiday. Spent the evening going through the guide book & local info to pick out what I want to see in this area.

Next morning I found the Jardins de la Fontaines ie Fountain Gardens which, had ruins of a roman temple, a roman tower on top of the hill which was the highest one in the old walls, & (much to my surprise) some roman baths! Initially I was wondering what the canal was - it looked quite nice with swans & ducks! But because the water in below ground level in a big square, it was deceiving. That's my story anyway.

Decided to drive out to the Pont du Gard, the largest or highest or biggest aquaduct spanning a river, & ended up spending a few hours there. There's walking tracks to viewpoints on top of hills on each side of the bridge (climbed both) & then you can walk under it (had to touch it) & picniced again with a fabulous view of it! They've built a foot bridge in the same style adjacent to the lower span so you can cross the river without actually walking on it. It's 3 tiers of arches, all with incredible statistics that I can't remember - oh except the top level has 47 or 48 arches).

Drove towards Avignon with the intention of finding a B&B along the way as we had seen so many previously. Wouldn't you know it? Saw only one that was a 4-star so kept going, only to find myself in Arles. Didn't really matter as there are many thinggs to see here, & both places are pretty central to the whole area I wanted to see. Walked around the town last night to orient myself & saw from the outside the Arena & amphitheatre.

Today I've gone inside both, also seen Les Thermes (roman baths) & the Archeological Museum which had many very impressive mosaics... which I will no doubt learn how to make myself. Have met an Australian girl from Sydney - we kept running into each other at sites & went to the Museum together, & now here at Cyber Espace!

Tomorrow I am leaving the Roman world for a while & heading to a swamp land national park with flamingoes & lots of wildlife apparently. It's only 30km south on the coast: St-something or-other! Will also go to a Lavendar Farm, but don't know if that will be tomorrow or not. There's a beach near the Park that could be tempting for the arvo. Decided to stay in Arles again tonight, but have shifted hotels.

Hope all is well in Australia!

Belle xxx