Oct 10-p.m.-Arles

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St. Tromphine Cathedral

Sunday, 10 October (cont.). Soon we found ourselves entering the Place de la Republique from the side opposite where we had been earlier. We were right in front of the entrance to St. Tromphine Cathedral, and the guide stopped to give us information about the church. This Romanesque structure dates from the 12th century, but was greatly modified in the 15th century. The guide offered us the opportunity to go inside. It was 10:30 and we knew the walking tour was about over, so Jane and I went in. When we came out, the guide was gone, and we were on our own.

The guide had never mentioned the cloister adjacent to the Cathedral, but we had noticed it on our map and wanted to see it. The Cloister of St. Tromphine had both Romanesque (12th century) and Gothic (14th century) galleries. There was a very large, vaulted room that must have been the chapel. There also was an upper gallery, among the roofs, that went around three sides of the cloister.

Cloister of St. Tromphine

Jane in cloister

Cloister chapel

Leaving the cloister, we walked toward the river until we came to the Baths of Constantine (4th century A.D.). I went up on the levee along the river to take pictures, but the wind was so strong it almost blew me off. The wind was less on the streets below the levee, but still very chilling. We took a quick look at the Freres Precheurs church, then headed back toward the ship. We tried to take streets a block or two from the river to avoid the wind. That took us by a cafe' with a huge pan of paella steaming on a table outside.

Baths of Constantine

Street near Freres Precheurs church

Paella, anyone?

Although it was Sunday and most of the shops in town were closed, as we neared the ship we found several of them open, catering to us tourists, no doubt. Jane bought a colorful tablecloth. We got back to the ship about 12:15 and had lunch at 1:00. Jane bought a few more things on the ship which had better prices, though less selection.

At 2:30 we decided to walk back into town. As we passed the open shops, Jane bought still more table linens. Then we walked back to the Roman amphitheater to take a few more pictures, now that the sun was bright.

Shop till you drop

Arena in the sunshine

Arches in arena wall

We passed the Roman theater again and came to the Place de la Republique. In the center of the square stands a large Roman obelisk that was found in the Rhone nearby and erected here.

Obelisk in Place de la Republique

Detail of fountain in obelisk base

Roman theater from Jardin d'Ete

We found our way to the large Jardin d'Ete, a public park along the main boulevard. The back of the park abuts the Roman Theater. We sat on a bench and enjoyed the beautiful view, as well as the activities of the many people spending their Sunday afternoon there. We took a slightly shorter route back to the ship, arriving about 4:15.

Reluctantly, we started packing. Tomorrow we would be leaving the Ravel and heading for Nice. At 6:00 there was a lecture on the herbs of Provence, followed by a departure briefing. Dinner was at 7:00. Then we finished packing. Passengers on our deck (Soprano) had to have there suitcases out tonight before going to bed so they would not impede the passageway to the dining room at breakfast.

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