FUN-travel: Arles to Chalon sur Saône, France – 7 day Uniworld River Cruise
August 14, 2012 by Susan Clarke
Trip Day 27 – Cruise Day 2 – Monday, August 6 – Arles, France – Uniworld Rhône River Cruise
Hospital Courtyard
What I LIKE
- hot French press coffee
- nice fruit selection @ breakfast
- 9 am – school on board – 1st Period – Art History 101 – 45 min talk on Vincent Van Gogh – very interesting
- 10 am walking tour
- it’s cloudy & overcast – then rain
- temperature in the 60’s (AH! what a relief)
- 1st stop – Roman Amphitheater – over 2000 yrs old & held 25,000 people
- 2nd stop – Roman baths
- 3rd stop – Town Hall Square with Romanesque church
- 4th stop – hospital Van Gogh sought treatment when his ear lobe was cut off
- 5th stop – Café de Nuit where he painted one of his most famous paintings & one of my favorites
- really nice lunch with lots of fresh veggies
- 6 pm ship departs
- 6:45 Captains Welcome
- arrive first lock @ 8 pm
- the food on the ship is really, really good
- dancing in the lounge
What I DON’T LIKE
- the food on the ship is really, really good (eating way too much)
Café de Nuit
FF (FUN-fact) – Got to walk in Vincent Van Gogh’s footsteps. He lived here for 15 months and created 200 paintings and 100 drawings. Many of his famous paintings were during this time including the Sunflowers, Starry Night over the Rhône, The Cafe at Night, and the Garden of Arles Hospital to name a few.
More FF – Arles has existed since the sixth century BC and the Romans built their first bridge across the Rhône here creating a vital route between Italy and Spain to expand their empire.