Smart Cruising Through The Provence
By Lothar. Filed in France |
During this trip through France, we utilize 2 Smart cars and 5 Ibis Hotels : Marseille, Arles, Orange, Cavaillon and Paris Gare Du Nord Chateau Landon.
On July 8th, we take the train from Arles to Marseille and pick up another Smart Car, this one navy blue. We cruise through the Camargue Nature Park, but are rather disappointed:
we see very few flamingos and only one small herd of black Camargue bulls. The only wild, white horses of the Camargue we find, are some domesticated trail horses, which take tourist for a tame ride.
Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer is a big tourist trap with souvenir shops and an overcrowded beach, lacking any hint of nice atmosphere.
The next day, we survey the Arles open-air market. I have never seen so many colorful spices, fruits and different types of sea creatures in one place. We stand on the Quai Lamartine, along the Rhone River, in the spot where Van Gogh painted his “Starry Night Over The Rhone”.
We also admire the “Judgment Day” relief on the facade of Saint Trophime church. It shows Christ, who is surrounded by the 4 Evangelists and 12 Apostles, on Judgment Day. Below Christ, the good people enter Heaven, while the Condemned go to Hell!
Next stop: Orange.
Gabi and I visit the Orange Roman amphitheater in the late afternoon. It is very impressive, built into a natural hill, with the rising rows of seats for 10 000 spectators! The stage back wall is almost the same height as the Colosseum in Rome. We learn that the Emperor’s statue in the upper center has exchangeable heads. Instead of replacing complete statues with each new Roman Ruler, the Empire just shipped new heads out into the provinces, replacing the old ones. There are less than a dozen tourists visiting the theater and we can take in the extraordinary sights, listening to our audio-guide without distractions.
We are lucky and happen to be there during a large choir’s rehearsal. This really creates a mood of being in a theater. Eventually, our guide talks about the decline of Rome. In the early phase of the theater, there used to be about 150 performances per year and towards the later years (and decline) of the Roman Empire, this deteriorated into almost daily performances, entertaining the masses with live sex shows and gambling. The “mores” declined and the people wanted to have more and more diversions.
I can not help, but draw some parallels with the casino gambling and internet pornography in our Western “Cultures”!
Gabi and I are leaving this “Sodom And Gomorrah” and are heading into the hills!