Date: Friday 2nd May
Staying: City Camping – Arles, France
Distance Travelled: 157.8 Miles
Song of the day: Stuck in the Middle With You – Huey Lewis
Today we had no specific end destination in mind. We’re on our way to the Cote d’Azur, but we needed to break the trip up along the way so we’ve stopped in Arles
We managed to break the first rule today, ‘Don’t go into a city unless you have a map’. Arles isn’t large, fortunately, so you can’t get too lost. However, this means there is also a high premium on parking. The French have a lucky knack of squeezing their little Renaults wherever 5 inches is left free, but its not so easy in the van. After driving back through town the way we had come in, we pulled in at a handy campsite and walked the 2km’s back into town.
The main attraction in Arles is the Roman Amphitheatre, dating from 90 A.D. Its currently being restored, but in its heyday could seat 20,000 spectators. Its still in use today as a bull-ring (unlike Spain, the French don’t do ‘mise-a-mort’, they adore the bulls instead). In the middle ages it acted as a fortress and when a first round of restoration started in the 1800’s, it held 212 house and 2 Churches (a feat all in itself).
We also managed to get stuck in our first French traffic jam just outside Arles, as half of France tried to get through the toll booth, and the out the otherside. About 45 minutes to move 200m, possibly te slowest we have gone all trip.
PS: I love WH Sites, Really!!!
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