After flying and flying, we’ve landed in Marseilles. We landed on early morning Saturday, and you’d think that we’d be ready for a full day of activities… yawn. Long flight, and I think we are both tired. The flights were fine, but only after we managed to be allowed to sit together from Frankfurt to Marseilles. Something is wrong with the tickets, but hell, we made it.
We have our rental car, a Citreon C5. It is actually much larger than I was expecting for an European car. However, this rental has been through hell and there are serious dents and scratches all around the car. At least no one will think that I’m a safe driver. Maybe this will help keep the bad guys away from us.
So, we get the car and the GPS out and head to Arles. Amy wants to see the ruins in Arles. Now comes the fun part. We have a large car and we are driving through Arles, which has tiny streets. Luckily the car is pre-dented, since we came close multiple times of scraping the car on a corner as we tried to turn. Luck is with us though, and we find the best parking spot, right next to the ruins.
We explore the ruins and I’m pretty impressed. They managed to build all of this thousand years ago, and it is still standing. I do wish the ruins were better preserved, but it does look like they are trying. The stadium is still used today so they have this hybrid of modern and ancient structures so everyone can actually sit in the stadium.
After visiting Arles, we decide to head straight to Marseillette, where are our B&B is for our stay in Southern France. It is a pretty long drive but it is giving me time to adjust to how they drive here. Luckily, our GPS knows Europe, or at least thinks it does. We do end up going on some rarely used farm roads, but we do end up at Gite Sainte Marie in the afternoon.
When we arrive, we learn the hard way that our host doesn’t speak a word of English, and that my High School French is sorely inadequate for the task. Thank goodness, Cyndie, our friend arrives soon and can help translate. We then unpacked, relaxed a bit, and headed over to Cyndie’s for dinner. Finally, at near exhaustion, we head back and sleep.