A Long Train Ride to Provence

Today was a transition day and due to a holiday in Spain, it wasn't as seamless as we had hoped. Our train to Arles in Provence was not running today as we expected and our train journey ended up being a long one.

However, alls well that ends well. We took a local train to a town just over the French border on the coast and entertained ourselves by following the journey on a map. The trip from the border station in France to Arles lasted several hours, but it's always interesting to see each small village we pass. I often wonder what it would be like to stop for a moment and explore one. Some look very prosperous while others, particularly in the northeastern corner of Spain, are surrounded with dry scrubland and cactus. The coast of France was striking. Heading toward Nimes, the train wound its way along the coast passing several beaches where 15-20 surfers glided through the waves pulled by kites that danced in the breeze.

When we arrived in Arles, We met several train travelers to Avignon stranded by a train strike. The taxi driver who promised to take us to our hotel ditched us in favor of taking three people to Avignon for 90 euros. He said he would call another cab for us, but he didn't. No worries though. We walked along the river to our accommodation which was only 10 minutes away.

Our small hotel is very pretty. Our room is quite small, but overlooks a courtyard with small tables and plants.

Tonight we ate outside at a cafe called La Piazza de Themes. We laughed when we searched the menu for none existent pizza and realized the restaurant's name was piazza not pizza! After eating we walked around and we're surprised at the number of outdoor cafes full of people even though it's after 11:00pm. Transitions are hard, but after a long day we are here in Provence at last.