Final stage of our 750km round trip on the regional rail network of Provence
Onwards to Arles on our last TER of this round trip. I’ve always enjoyed Arles, the Roman amphitheatre, the old city with narrow streets which protect against the Mistral wind and the heat of the Provence sun; there’s a feeling of discovery at every turn along these roads: anything may be along the next street, a Roman, a toreador, passionate lovers or just a kamikaze scooter.
A night in a seventeenth century building, a pleasant Camargue meal accompanied by a luscious purple-red Coteaux d’Aix wine, a morning and an afternoon spent waling the calming streets and then composting the last of our rail tickets for a trip on an Intercités train back to Marseille St. Charles. The comfort of the long distance train, the smooth ride from the era before the TGV when the SNCF inter city trains were the pride of French railways and the express route constructed for comfort as well as speed.
Back to Marseille St. Charles after about 750km on the regional railways and very good luck with the weather, we were greeted once again by the incomparable view of the old town of Marseille, the cathedral church of Notre Dame de la Garde on the rock surveying the View Port and the haze on the Mediterranean beyond.