Arles and Aix-en-Provence

Arles is of course where Vincent Van Gogh created some of his most luminous works. Unfortunately I didn't see any of the sites in his paintings, such as the Langlois Bridge. But I did see some of the Roman legacy, such as this well preserved Roman amphitheatre.

Another connection to Arles that I was aware of was Bizet's L'Arlésienne Suite, incidental music to a now mostly forgotten play.

Aix-en-Provence is probably what people think of when they want the name of a Provençal city. I wasn't even sure I had been there until I saw my slides, so rushed had been my visit. This is the fountain at one end of Cours Mirabeau.

One of the shopping streets. The lavande for sale on the ground is a giveaway that one is in the south of France.

Before the end of the decade, with the publication of A Year in Provence, and other books in the author makes a new life in a foreign land and observes the locals genre, Provence was suddenly very trendy. I tried to overnight in Aix during one trip to France in the 1990s but was foiled by unavailability of TGV tickets at the last moment (should have booked). I still want to remedy this oversight.

As for the reason for my rush, I was taking the overnight sleeper to Bordeaux and saying farewell to the Mediterranean.