Arles, France
Day One

It was hot on the train coming out of Nice. The doors wouldn't open by themselves, and the air conditioning didn't seem to be working. The people around me appeared to be complaining about it.

A lot of people got on at Cannes and the next stop, St. Raphael. I remembered a man at the American Express office in Nice who had lost his wallet at the Cannes Film Festival.

I shared a compartment with a mother and her two small children. I enjoyed listening to her keep her children still -- in French.

Another couple was seated in reserved seats, and when the owners came to claim them, there were French words exchanged. The uprooted man disappeared and never came back. His wife moved to other seats and sat quietly the rest of the trip.

From the train, I saw a couple of sheep dogs guarding about a hundred sheep. Those two dogs kept all those sheep off the railrood tracks and roads.

The scenery from Nice to Marsailles was very nice. I saw orchards of colored roses, and I saw bamboo and poppies along the railroad tracks, just as I had remembered. There were wildflowers everywhere.

The train from Marsailles to Arles was fast, stopping only in one other town.

We arrived in Arles quite late in the afternoon. At the train station, I tried to use my phone card to call the hotels which Rick Steves, our pocket guide, recommended, but I couldn't figure out the phone system. So, we started walking to find a hotel. I adored Arles immediately and insisted on finding a hotel in the old city.

The streets wound around making the way seem deceptively difficult. With Rick Steves' help, we found Hotel du Mussee, tucked away, but not too far from the train station.

Hotel du Mussee

Margit coming down the hotel staircase

We checked into the quaint, old hotel, and spent a few hours unwinding. The cost was half of what we paid in Venice, so I had my own room, as did Todd and Angie and Margit and Tim.

My room I love French windows!

View from my room

Hotel du Mussee architecture

Hotel du Mussee charm

Hotel du Mussee hospitality

At first glance, Arles appears to be a small town full of old ruins.

We met for dinner and found a very good, provicial French restaurant not far from the hotel. For an appetizer, I chose a green salad mix with toasted garlic bread with olive spread. My entree was ravioli with goat cheese, and for dessert, creme carmel. We chatted with a Wisconsin couple who highly recommended that we visit the newly-opened museum of old things.

Angie, Todd, Tim, Margit, and Walli

Note the sculpted gekcos in the light

Close up of sculpted gekcos

There were two sculpted gekcos on the wall near the overhead, appearing to catch bugs attracted by the light.

We walked back to the hotel in light, drizzling rain.

Back at the hotel, the dripping rain on old tile roofs and cobblestone streets, through a window thrown wide open to the night air, added to the charm of being in Arles, France. I knew Arles was already one of my favorite places on earth. Before drifting off to sleep, I made a mental note to remember to buy sunglasses.