My latest adventure was a trip to Arles and Nîmes. I found out about an exhibit I wanted to see at the VanGogh Museum in Arles, and it was going to close within a week, so I immediately made plans, bought my train ticket there, and booked my accommodation.
My friend that lives here recommended I also check out nearby Nîmes, known as the “French Rome” earning the title because of its dense collection of monumental Roman architecture and the old poetic claim that, like Rome, it is built on seven hills. In addition to Nîmes, Arles also has amazing Roman architecture including a massive coliseum, a public outdoor theatre, and a subterranean complex of cryptoporticos, which is an underground architectural complex dating back to the 1st century BCE; all reasons enough to check out another two cities in France as an easy five hour train trip with a connection in Toulouse.
“Suspects: VanGogh, Tricksters & Co”
The exhibition’s premise was inspired by things Vincent van Gogh wrote in letters to his younger brother, Theo, where he expressed his desire to break with convention, paint like a ruffian, and that he deeply despised the existing rules of conventional artwork and institutions.
The curators used those sentiments to connect Van Gogh with the figure of the “trickster”, as the rule-breaker, or provocateur, or outsider who disrupts the established order and challenges what society considers normal or acceptable, and linked him with other artists who pursued work on the fringes of society, and compiled their work in this exhibit of challenging artistic expression including paintings, photography, sculpture, video, and mixed media. Although much of the exhibition was definitely unconventional, I personally found some of the video alarming, and one item of interest particularly grotesque was a display of bottles of urine set up like a stained glass window.
The exhibit was definitely fascinating and I’m happy I got to see it and was a perfect excuse to visit Arles.
Besides the exhibit and the city’s connection to VanGogh, the city of Arles is also famous for its remarkably preserved UNESCO World Heritage Roman monuments from the first century, including Les Arènes: Built in 90 AD and modeled after Rome’s Colosseum, this massive two-tiered arena once held 20,000 spectators for gladiator games. It remains an active venue hosting live concerts and traditional festivals.
Théâtre Antique: Just a few steps from the arena, this 1st-century BC open-air stone theater still hosts beautiful evening performances under the stars. Although more rough and in ruination, this theater is still absolutely stunning.
I also visited The Cryptoportiques, which is a fascinating network of subterranean Roman galleries situated beneath the ancient Forum that once served as the structural foundation for the city marketplace. It was a great cavernous space also housing fragments of ancient Roman pillars.
Although I did not make it inside to check out any exhibits, Arles also has the LUMA building inside the Parc des Ateliers, which is a massive creative hub dominated by a stunning, twisted stainless-steel tower designed by architect Frank Gehry. The tower houses immersive multimedia installations, while the surrounding historical railway warehouses host cutting-edge temporary photography and modern art exhibitions. I did walk around the building and enjoyed the surrounding park itself and the renovated warehouses were also a very cool environment.
Another museum I did check out was Musée Réattu. It is situated in a grand former grand priory along the banks of the Rhône River, this fine arts museum includes works by Arles-born painter Jacques Réattu and prominently features a collection of 57 drawings gifted by Pablo Picasso alongside extensive exhibits dedicated to contemporary photography. I was not familiar with Réattu before my visit, but I am definitely impressed by his painting and I am now a fan.
One night of my time in Arles, I decided to check out an Irish-themed pub for some fish and chips and a few pints of Guinness and to take in some live music of a local band.
My next night, I found a cozy bistro near my accommodation serving excellent food in a tiny space of no more than five tables where I dined on abalone “meatballs” and fresh local fish stuffed with potatoes, paired with a recommended dry white wine, and finished it off with an exquisite chocolate concoction, an espresso, and a snifter of cognac. It was an amazing meal and a perfect way to end my last evening in Arles.
I feel I need to mention my accommodation in Arles. It was a modernized apartment in a part of town developed in the 16th century. To get to the apartment, I had to ascend old curved steps that wound around steep ancient stone walls. Inside the tidy and comfortable apartment with very tall ceilings, the sleeping space was a loft built up about eight feet off the floor, requiring climbing up slim and undulating spiral steps which offered an extreme challenge due to my lifelong irrational fear of heights and my huge feet. But I did sleep well for the most part until “things” started to occur. Although I don’t believe in ghosts, weird stuff started happening including creaking floors, whispers, plastic wrappers crinkling, and a book fell off a table in the middle of my last night. This neighborhood dates to the 16th century…so maybe things were still settling, while simultaneously leaving me unsettled.
From that point, I took the recommendation of my friend here in Pau to also check out Nîmes, not far from Arles.
After departing early the next morning, I hopped on the train to Nîmes to get a start on my continued adventure, not sure how many days I would take, and possibly heading to Montpellier for a day or two also.
I arrived in Nîmes in the morning as the city was waking up. As I left the train station, I was ushered into Nîmes by a massive tree-lined promenade guiding me to a huge and beautiful fountain, Pradier, and a magnificent centuries-old Roman arena and a picturesque Parthenon-looking temple, Maison Carrée.
I had many hours to kill before I could check into my hotel, so I decided to hike around Nîmes and check out everything, assuming I would dive deeper into the ancient monuments after I dropped off my bag. Of course I took many photos of ancient alleys and colorful doorways, in addition to the exterior of the Roman monuments and although I started out strong upon arrival in Nîmes, but because I could not check in my hotel until 3P and I wandered all over hell taking long breaks to sit in the shade, or eat a sandwich, or have un café, as the day progressed, I started getting tired of exploring and seeing Roman edifices and ruins, or photographing all the colorful doorways and tiny medieval alleys with interesting street art.
After I checked in to the hotel, I had a brief rest and thought I could head back out as a tourist. However, no matter how hard I tried, after a couple of hours of even more wandering, I could not recapture the spirit and knew I was done and decided to buy my train ticket home the following day, completely changing my open-ended plans, and omitting my next departure to Montpellier, knowing I could return there for a more intensive exploration at a later date. I also was originally going to find a good restaurant for dinner and maybe a dive bar, but instead I bought some things at the market, including a bottle of wine and then called it an early night and already donned my pajamas by 6P.
Where I stayed was a very nice and comfortable hotel so I took full advantage of it, had dinner and wine in my room and crashed early, awaking at 4A, finished off my bottle of wine for breakfast, and made my way to the train station as dawn started to erupt.
Arriving at the station with some time to kill, I plopped myself down at a café to enjoy a magnificent morning pastry. As I overindulged in the flan de brioche, I had a perfect view of the hallway inside the station and witnessed an intoxicated young man stumble and collapse in a heap as several passersby stopped to assist until the guards arrived. Although I felt compassion for the young man, I also felt relieved that it was not me.
Not only is there definitely an advantage to living in France, knowing I can explore at my leisure, but I also feel privileged that I am now an older person and I don’t need to run myself ragged. When I once could travel for months at a time over great distances, I am now comfortable taking my time. The journey of life is not something to hasten, but instead it is to be enjoyed at one’s leisure, lest we all collapse in a heap, intoxicated with overstimulation.
To come full circle with this voyage of discovery, as I was relaxing comfortably on the second leg of my journey from Toulouse, I ran into the same exact friend who had recommended I visit Nîmes as he was also returning to Pau after visiting Toulouse. We both ascended the hill together after disembarking the train in Pau while sharing stories of our recent adventures. The circle of life is indeed profound.
I tried to upload photos to accompany my words, but something isn’t working properly with my site, so either I’ll try something different later or I’ll give up. C’est la vie.