Day Six, Continued

Continuing on our road trip south of Avignon.. we came upon Les Baux de Provence, purported to be one of the most beautiful villages in France. We listened to the advice of Rick Steeves and drove up to the highest point of parking possible before ascending the "citadel on a rocky spur." There's a castle at the top, and nice places to walk through on the way up. The views from above were very pretty. We walked a long way but did not linger long in this village on the rock.

By the time we hit Arles on this the warmest day yet, I think we were all somewhat tired from our days of travel, walking, and exploration. We hit a few market stores, peeked in the big Roman amphitheatre, walked through a couple of photography exhibits, visited the boutique of the Van Gogh museum (this was yet another town he painted in, site of the unfortunate ear-severing incident), lingered by a fountain to enjoy the view of the Cathedral de St. Trophime (pictured below), and walked along the river. I called my parents in Georgia from one of the shops and couldn't even remember the name city we were in; we had visited so many cities (especially that started with "A"). But there were some pretty places to see, and we have nice, though brief, memories of Arles. It is, after all, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our final destination of the day was the Pont du Gard (yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site--we can't stay away!) I learned later it was one of France's top five tourist attractions. It is believed to have been constructed in the middle of the first century AD, to carry water (5 million gallons each day) across the water valley. It is part of a 31 mile aqueduct, constructed entirely without the use of mortar (instead, the stones are held together with iron clamps). I tell you what, those Romans were pretty smart!! We enjoyed the sunset over the Pont and then headed back to Avignon for dinner and a welcome night's rest.