Fireman? Ballerina?

Cash Register

I think that when I was five I thought that being a cashier was the best job in the world. I was sure that I would love spending all day pressing buttons, hearing the drawer open with a ring and being in control of all those dollars and coins. I was happily contemplating being rich with all those dollars and pennies way back then.

Walking down the same streets that the Romans did

Tags

Arles, cobble stone streets, history, postaday2012, Roman ruins, travel

Yesterday the baby girl and I explored the city by walking down practically every tiny street leading us this way and that way. You can’t really get lost because it is so small, walk one way and you meet the Rhone river, walk another way and you meet the large avenue Georges Clenmenceau. Everything in between is a testament to the enduring history of this tiny city. My favorite was the Roman Amphitheater that is currently being worked on for maintenance but you can still enter and explore, it was built by the Romans in the first century after Christ and it is still standing.

Right alongside the Amphitheater are cafe’s and tea houses because it is the South and hot so they were packed, visiting historic monuments provokes a powerful thirst you know. Before the baby girl and I sat down to quench our thirst we went through all the shops, you can’t help yourself, the fabrics on display are so beautiful with their bright colors and patterns, at one moment I wished that I had an extra suitcase because there were bolts of fabric I wanted to bring home, the funny part is what would I do with them once I got back, I don’t sew. The pottery was just as alluring, the vibrant colors, the thickness and solid feel to the pieces, I was really wishing for that extra suitcase.

When the baby girl and I tore ourselves away from those shops, we sat down at a tea house specializing in crepes, the baby girl ordered a crepe aux caramel beurre sale and the expression on her face of sheer delight was an adorable sight to behold, she looked five again in that instant. Personally my favorite dessert here has been the ice cream. Last night after having a pizza, very good with the thinnest crust that was physically possible, the baby girl had her usual, steak tartare, we went to an artisanal ice cream maker, the baby girl had a scoop of the caramel beurre sale (caramel made with salted butter) and I had a scoop of cantaloupe and a scoop of mango, it tasted like the actual fruit, it was creamy and luscious melting slowly in my mouth then sliding gently down my throat imparting the natural flavors of mango and cantaloupe along the way, it was stupendous.

Today we are leaving Arles for Avignon. I am so happy to have revisited Arles and its monuments. Next time I would love to do it with my hubby so that we can explore the whole region because there is so much more to see.