We cycled into town and met Martine, a local guide who was taking us for a walk around the old town.
We started at a garden where Van Gogh had painted during his time here (some of which was spent in a mental hospital after he cut off his ear).
From here to the town hall where we saw a replica of the sculpture Venus d’Arles that is at The Louvre. The original was found under the Roman theatre here in Arles in the 18th century.
This was a Roman centre so boasts significant ruins of a theatre and arena. After our walk we bought a pass to visit the monuments we had seen.
We spent the next 2 hours marvelling yet again at the grandeur of the Roman constructions. The street level is now about 5 meters higher than in Roman times so we had to go down under the town hall to visit the Crypto Porticos.
These housed stalls that opened onto a large square in the centre of town. At 1pm we were on the bikes for a short 20 km cycle to Saint Gilles to meet the barge. On the way we sighted white horses and bulls, famous in this area.
They still bull fight here in the summer at the arena. They do Spanish bull fighting so the bull is killed. In other towns we had seen small arenas where French style of bull fighting occurs. The bull is not killed and the bull is smaller with the horns pointing up (instead of out).
We then boarded the barge for a 3 hour cruise to Aigues-Mortes. On the way we spotted some flamingoes but I hope to get a better photo tomorrow.