2Qbeds, Jun 2024
Arles with Romain of Guide Provence
This was the third of 4 exceptional private tours we took with tour guide Romain from Guide Provence. We had so much fun! We learned so much! This tour was worth every penny. I highly recommend Guide Provence and Romain for all of your private tour needs!While visiting Provence for 8 days, my adult son and I based ourselves in 2 locations -- first in Avignon for 3 nights, then in Aix-en-Provence for 5 nights.One of the problems I inadvertently created when I reserved just 3 nights in Avignon, followed by 5 nights in Aix, is that if we were to take any day trips out of Avignon on our 4th day, we would have to check out of the hotel very early, leave enough time to depart Avignon that morning, tour the desired location, return to Avignon, then catch a train from one of 2 stations (the inconveniently located but much faster TGV, or the more conveniently located but much slower non-TGV) to our second base of operation (Aix) ... before checking into that second hotel late in the evening. Phew. We didn't want to be that busy all day, nor did we want to check into our second hotel that late!Five to 6 weeks before arriving in France, I had hired Romain for 2 private tours via the Guide Provence website. Our first private tour was to be a city walking tour of Avignon, where our first hotel was located. Our second private tour with Romain was to be a city walking tour of Aix-en-Provence, where our second hotel was located.I wanted to hire Romain for a third tour on our 4th day in Avignon, but that was the day we needed to check out of our Avignon hotel and into our Aix hotel ... which revealed itself to be a logistical problem that I really wanted to avoid.So, a few weeks before I departed for France, I asked Romain if there was any way he could take us and our luggage to Arles after we checked out of our Avignon hotel, give us a great walking tour of Arles, then drive us to our hotel in Aix instead of returning us to Avignon. That would be a wonderful day for us, would solve our logistics problem, and would give my son and I a quiet evening in Aix for a nice dinner and stroll around town.Romain happily accommodated us. He told me how to book this custom tour on his website so that he would earn the commensurate amount for his time, which I very happily did. (Another reason I like to hire a private guide — there’s so much more flexibility that way and one’s vacation time is used so much more efficiently.)But before booking our trip that way, I wanted to ensure that Romain's car's trunk would adequately hold our luggage so that it would be completely out of sight. (I had read several reviews of other tourists' visible luggage being stolen from parked cars while the rightful owners were touring various sights. What a nightmare that would be!) Sure enough, Romain's car was not only extremely comfortable and roomy for me and my 6'6" tall adult son; the trunk of his car was also equally roomy and could easily hold our 2 large suitcases and 2 smaller carry-ons safely out of sight. Problems all solved! Thank you, Romain!Our tour of Arles, which is chock full of Roman ruins, interesting architecture, art, history, and charming streets, cafes, and shops, was as interesting and captivating as our prior 2 tours with Romain (the Avignon highlights and Pont du Gard).Unfortunately, my son was in a bit of a foul mood that day (which Romain and I never discussed), and (at least to me) it showed. His mood admittedly put a bit of a damper on my day in Arles, as well as on my memory of all that I learned there. But I do remember the highlights, and I DID enjoy my time with Romain! And Romain, as usual, DID impart a lot of fascinating information throughout the day. It’s just that my memory of that city tour is not as clear as my memory of the other tours because of the stress I felt that day -- which was completely unrelated to Romain and his exceptional talent as a tour guide.Granted, my son is incredibly well-versed in Roman history, and I am not. So perhaps the prospect of a day of Roman historical sights was not as appealing to him as it was to me. (Though had I already known some extensive Roman history, I think I would be even more excited about seeing the actual Roman ruins that backed up what I had learned!) My son and I were an imbalanced audience for what there was to convey at these ruins, me knowing next to nothing and him knowing so much. But also that day, my son was more interested in the shops and cafes than I was. He envisioned a day of poking around the shops and cafes ... while very briefly observing some key sights along the way, while I envisioned learning all I could from our extraordinarily knowledgable guide. I was not interested in the shops or cafes at all, except for brief sustenance and coffee.In due time, my son did what I had suggested he do at the very start of our day, should he begin to feel inconsolably grumpy -- he politely excused himself from our private tour with Romain and went on his own way throughout the town, doing the things he most wanted to do that day ... while I did what I most wanted to do: tour with Romain.When we first arrived in Arles (we parked at Le Parc du centre, btw), we stopped at a charming sidewalk cafe on a cobble-stoned street to enjoy some coffee and half a sandwich each, plus use the restroom.We began as a group of 3 (Romain, my son, and me) at the Theatre Antique d'Arles, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, this one built around 12 BC, incredibly well-preserved in some places, and still in use today. It was fabulous and impressive! Romain told us all about the place. Who attended the theater (nearly everybody of all social classes). Where the different social classes and the area's VIP's sat. He told us about how the theater was used in Roman times, how it was used in the intervening years (as a stone quarry in the Middle Ages), and how it's used today. It's apparently always been a place for lovers, and for romantic dates in the evenings. He told us of the importance of theater and culture in Roman society, both for the people, and in the governing of the people.We then moved on as a group of 3 to the remarkably well-preserved two-tiered Arles Amphitheater (Arenes d'Arles) which dates back to 90AD and is still in use today for various cultural events, like concerts and bullfighting. We climbed the sometimes narrow, curving steps to the arena's very top observation point where Romain pointed out various geographical features; the north-south and east-west axes of the town; other historical sights; the Rhone, which branches off in two directions to form the Camargue delta; and the 2 lions that once stood at the end of a 19th century railroad bridge which once crossed the Rhone in Arles. (The 2 lions on the one side of the Rhone, along with the bridge's abutments on each side of the Rhone, are all that remain of the bridge today. The bridge itself was destroyed by the Allies during WWII to disrupt German shipping.)My son then politely excused himself and split off on his own to enjoy his day his way, which is fair since it’s his vacation, too.While on my own with Romain, we continued to the lovely Musee Reattu where we viewed a few Picassos as well as the works of many other artists over the centuries (a few of whom I recognized), several wonderful sculptures, and other interesting works of art.The building itself is a work of art in its own right. It was built in the late 15th century as the seat of a medieval commandery (also “commandry”) which housed the knights of the Order of Malta. At the time of the French revolution, a decree from the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France ordered the confiscation and sale of all possessions belonging to the Order of Malta in France, to include this large medieval building then known as the Grand Priory of the Order of Malta. The building was sold in pieces ... and artist Jacques Reattu then purchased it in pieces ... over a period of 30 years beginning in 1796. He lived and worked in this vast building until his death in 1833, whereupon the building and its art collections passed to his daughter, Elisabeth Grange. In 1867, she sold both the building and the art to the Municipality of Arles, in exchange for a pension and the right to continue to live there. The next year, in 1868, it officially became a museum.Though Romain and I were only there briefly, with enough time to whisk through room after room with bursts of explanation from Romain, I thoroughly enjoyed the uniqueness of this museum, the captivating historic building with it's large windows, some of which beautifully revealed the building's surprising (to me) location directly on the banks of the Rhone, its interesting architectural features, its somewhat mis-matched variety of well-curated art in a multitude of different rooms, the refreshingly cool temperatures inside the building, and all of the twists and turns of this meandering one-time administrative center for an order of medieval knights.Much (or all?) of the Musee Reattu’s art was annotated only in French, and I, sadly, cannot read French, so it was especially helpful to be accompanied by a well-informed French guide. Lucky me!After the Musee Reattu, Romain led me to the Thermes de Constantine (the Roman hot baths), which date to the early 4th century. Emperor Constantine made Arles one of his imperial residences and he directed that these thermal baths be built there. This bath house was just one part of a vast array of significant spaces that existed between the forum and the banks of the Rhone river to the north. Romain showed me how the water was heated, which pool was intentionally kept cool, who attended the baths, their significance in Roman society, and how the various portions of these ruins would have looked back in the day.Next, I saw the Place du Forum, the intimate town square that was the heart of Arles in ancient Rome. He pointed out the Cafe la Nuit that’s still on the square and told me about Van Gogh's choice of color for his painting -- particularly about the bright yellow color he chose to paint it, and why he chose it. He pointed out other artistic and historical details and told me a about life at the forum in ancient times.Next, he showed me the Espace Van Gogh. On the way there, he began the tender story of Theo and Vincent van Gogh, Theo being Vincent’s younger brother. The two were very close and the story is intertwined with elements of career and personal lives, physical and mental health, conflict and close-connectedness, and the eventual death of both brothers. The Espace Van Gogh is the peaceful courtyard of the former hospital of Arles where Van Gogh was hospitalized after cutting off his own ear. The building is painted yellow and white today and colorful garden beds still fill the courtyard. Romain told me of the long and unique relationship between artists Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh, which started in Paris and essentially ended in Arles — and of Theo’s place within that relationship. (Gauguin and Van Gogh became roommates when Guaguin moved into Van Gogh's Yellow House in Arles, which Theo encouraged and even financially supported.) About 2 months later, during an altercation between the 2 friends, Van Gogh famously cut off part of his own ear. He was then hospitalized for his mental health in the building known as Hotel-Dieu-Saint-Espirit, which was built around 1600 give or take some years. Meanwhile, Gauguin swiftly returned to Paris. Though they corresponded from time to time after that, the two never saw each other again. Theo was gravely affected by these events and it is said that he felt the weight of some responsibility for his brother’s downfall.Next, Romain took me to the Place de la Republique, the city center of Arles, on which sits a 4th century obelisk with an interesting history. The Eglise Saint-Trophime is also on the plaza. It's an absolutely stunning piece of mostly Romanesque architecture, most particularly the intricately sculpted West Portal, which dates back to the late 11th or early 12th century. Like many old churches, this church was built over a long period of time, mainly between the 12th and 15th centuries. The Obelisk and the Eglise Saint-Trophime, along with many other buildings of Arles, are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the Arles, Roman, and Roman Monuments group.From there, Romain and I took the short walk along the Boulevard des Lices, back to the peaceful and shady 19th century Jardin d'Ete, where we started our tour of Arles hours earlier. My son re-joined us here -- happy as a clam, in a much better mood, and once again greatly appreciating the time spent with Romain and with me.This was a fabulously stunning tour of all kinds of things I had never seen before, learning about all kinds of things I didn't know before, and being exposed to all kinds of things I have long loved -- remarkable architecture, intriguing art, a host of beautiful spaces, lovely gardens, and all sorts of history and stories of how people lived over the years.I highly recommend Guide Provence and tour guide Romain! I definitely got far more than my money's worth on this expert-led tour and, despite my son's initially irritable mood on this one day of our vacation, he and I departed Arles with wonder and contentment. We also both looked forward to the next day's private tour with Romain -- a walking tour of Aix and then onward to the seaside town of Cassis. What fun!If interested, I also posted a general review of Guide Provence and Romain's outstanding service here:
https://www. Cool Destinations.com/Attraction_Review-g187253-d17733634-Reviews-Guide_Provence-Marseille_Bouches_du_Rhone_Provence_Alpes_Cote_d_Azur.html
