We are up early shower and breakfast to prepare for our next train journey, to Arles. We ascertained today that if you go to breakfast at 630 am , the bread and croissants are warm and fresh. On the other two mornings, we had breakfast at 8, so only got the cold dregs.

Nevertheless, as expected, the train from Carcassonne to Arles is nearly empty. I wonder how many of the handful of people in our carriage had the Eurail Pass reservations that reached the SNFC limit and necessitated our having to buy additional tickets for this leg.

We arrive at Arles around 11.10 am The accommodation is brilliantly located: only 8 minute walk from railway and around 60 metres from the excellent Roman Ampitheatre. We leave our bags at reception because checkin is not till 3 pm and and we proceed to explore the city.

We initially walk along the Rhone , passing Ancient Roman Baths and the Modern Art Museum, then veer back towards the inner ancient city, purchasing a two day pass that enables us to view a range of monuments and one museum.

Our first 'pass' visit is to the , which is a letdown because the primary exhibits have been removed due to extensive restoration works, with scaffolding marring the experience The Roman Ruins and adjacent Ampitheatre are spectacular. The Ampitheatre dates back to AD, though significant rebuilding was necessitated following WW2 bombing. THe Ampitheatre is currently used for gladiator battle reenactments ( from April to August) and continuously for bullfights ( we are very close to the Spanish border). Signage emphasises that unlike the Spanish, the French do NOT kill the bulls after the fight. Perhaps they have rehabilitation Hospitals for bulls in France. The last bullfight occurred 3 days earlier and the next will not occur whilst we are in Arles. We would have morally struggled to attend anyway.

We head to hotel around 4pm to formally check in ( beautiful room with terrace overlooking a square) and then head out to buy more food supplies for next few days. A very comfortable bed enables a good night's sleep.

Day 2 in Arles and the weather is awful. Heavy rain and a bitterly cold wind. We brave the weather and walk to the Musee Reattu, a modern art museum with an extensive Picasso display and other reasonably contemporary pieces that our senses distinguish as ranging from quite interesting to a hysterical w..k.

Afterwards, we return to our hotel and the weather discourages us from heading outdoors for anything other than a visit to the local Monoprix, which is a popular French retail/supermarket chain. We end up spending the bulk of the day in the hotel watching movies on YouTube. The Gray is very bleak but worth viewing. DO NOT BOTHER with a John Travolta movie titled From Paris with Love. Yes, today's blog is uneventful, but importantly, the weather has finally compelled us to rest.

We organise our bags for another departure in the morning. Arles is a lovely old town with much of the centre retaining that 1930s feel that the main protagonist was drawn to in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris.