DonQui has stayed in Arles before and loved the city. So he is going to revisit for a couple of days before heading to the Mediterranean coast.
He loves simply wandering around the streets without any particular plan just to see what is around the next corner.
And Arles is an eminently walkable city. At this time of year (May) it is not overrun with tourists apart from a few small gaggles temporarily let off their cruise ships for good behaviour.
An important Gallo-Roman town and capital of Roman Gaul in the 5th C AD, there is plenty of good Roman stuff for DonQui to enjoy. The Roman arena served as walls of the city in the middle ages with most of the town (much reduced after the Roman era) being crammed inside it.
The arena was cleared and partially restored in the early 20th century and now once again functions as a place of entertainment — although without gladiatorial combat as far as DonQui can ascertain.
The well-preserved Roman amphitheatre is also still in use for plays and concerts.
After a good trot around the place, DonQui pauses for a little sustenance at the delightful Restaurant Escaladou, just around the corner from the Roman arena.
When abroad DonQui likes to sample local dishes rather than something he might have at home. In this case his meal starts with this delicious Provençal fish soup complete with croutons, cheese and rouille (a sort of aioli made with egg yolks). It is followed by a traditional stew of Camargue wild bull (gardiane de taureau)— well, partially wild as although roaming freely through the salt marshes of the Camargue the herds are looked after by humans. The slow-cooked meat is lean, tender and flavoursome.
Arles was immortalised by Vincent Van Gogh who stayed here to paint some of his most famous works (1888–1889).
There are couple of places that have been maintained more or less as they were when he painted them.
With the weather warming up to a pleasant 27º DonQui now heads to the sea to cool off and relax for a few days.
donquiblog 
I’ve been in Arles for a few days once, back in 2017. I really liked it. Thanks for the memories. It makes me want to return there.
One thing I remember about that café is reading that it wasn’t that orange colour when Van Gogh painted it. The orange came from the street lights (the painting was at night). The owner more recently painted it orange to look like the painting.
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It looks beautiful, Senor DonQui, and as always your description of the food makes me very hungry.
The gladiatorial arena looks suspiciously like a bull ring!
Enjoy the rest of your travels and take care, no more broken ankles!!!
By the by have you ever considered writing travelogues rather than history books!
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