From the scenic countryside of Bailly, I was off on a mad dash to the south of France. The "south of France" is portrayed as an idylic land of blue skies, green water and pastel villas clinging to the hillsides -- someone should sue them for false advertising! There are extremely beautiful areas in southern France, but there are also really gritty parts as well which can come across as "charming" in the daytime but aren't where you want to find yourself after the sun goes down.
Arles was one such place, or, at least the area I stayed in was. The lodging was in a section of town that could best be described as "shabby chic" without the "chic". Houses that at one time were likely painted white but were now were an interesting shade of grey, discount tire stores that had seen more prosperous days, too many cars that had seen better days, barred windows, gated/walled courtyards and way too much graffetti were the norm. First impression was that I was back on 14th Street in Oakland or on a random street in East LA. The people I met were fine and seemed to know each other but you didn't see that many on the streets. On the inside, the place I stayed was okay except for the five foot tall entryways that lead into the kitchen and bathroom -- only took once forgetting to duck for me to learn to pay attention!
My reason for visiting were the Roman ruins from the first century that were remarkably well preserved. From where I stayed they were only a mile and a half walk -- mostly through narrow, twisty, paved and cobblestone streets lined with buildings hundreds of years old -- that was atmospheric, and, except for the uphill (of course) part, kinda fun!
The Roman arena where gladiators used to fight to the death is supposedly in better condition than any in Italy, and it was amazing! Built around 50 AD, it held over ten thousand spectators on three different levels, depending upon your social status.
Today, the outer walls are totally intact but most of the seating in the upper level where the commoners would have been seated is gone (the stones "repurposed" over the centuries into constructing other buildings) -- it's now occupied by metal bleachers. The lower two parts are pretty much original and it was an experience to sit on the same stone seats that would have been occupied almost two thousand years ago. The oval arena surface is not original -- it supposedly would've been ten feet higher and consisted of a wooden platform, not the sand/dirt you see in the movies. Underneath would've been a network of passageways with trap-doors and lifts for raising performers, animals, equipment onto the platform. Today the arena is used to stage bullfights.
The signboards were very informative, even if they were pretty much all in French. Gladiators were "performers" who would sign five year contracts -- many were not Roman citizens -- and if they made it through the five years alive they would be given citizenship -- a really big-deal, as they could then own property, receive a retirement stipend from the government, travel without restrictions, etc.... (Soldiers had to put in twenty-five years to earn the right to be a citizen so you can see why being a gladiator was a fairly good deal.)
Contests were not held on an every week basis -- they were typically only held to celebrate certain holidays, birthdays and the visits of celebrities and they would often take place over one or two days (not just an afternoon).
There were also different classes of gladiators depending upon the armor they wore and the weapons they used -- apparently, they would typically fight within a class with only rare events where you have one person with a sword/shield fighting a guy with a trident/fishing net. The signboards also said that rarely was someone intentionally killed -- the crowd would vote and if the loser put up a good fight, they would typically be spared -- only cowards and those who appeared not to try were killed -- fighting "dirty" was actually admired and wouldn't normally get a thumbs down. Same went for the animals.
Spent quite a bit of time there -- walking the tunnels, climbing the stairs and sitting in various places trying to imagine what it might have been like watching the gladiators on a sunny afternoon.
Also spent time at a Roman theater dating from the same time period -- looked pretty much like an amphitheater you might see today -- semicircular seating, a large stage (also with trap doors, lifts...) and a huge three story back stage (only pieces of which remain). Here they would stage dramatic readings, plays, music events, etc...
Visited a huge Roman aqueduct the next day -- the Pont du Gard -- it was impressive -- a series of three arched levels built on top of each other over a large ravine -- it didn't live-up to its hype and was quite an expensive admission. No signage at all, no one offering any kind of interpretation/explanation -- just an ancient, impressive (from an engineering perspective) bridge. Seemed like they just wanted to take your money. Many people (especially those with young children) just polked around under the bridge or played in the river. One of the few places I would have passed on if I had only known.
Overall,my time in Arles was enjoyable and I learned quite a bit. People here take their Roman monuments very seriously -- the Romans left their footprints everywhere in Europe so it's a big part of their history -- we don't have any direct connection to it in the US so not sure we could relate to it in the same way.
