Day 18 - Sep 18, 2009 Last updated: 10/15/09 9:00pm PT
Day dix-huit, Roman theater of Orange and Arles museum.
Here’s where knowing some French might have come in handy. We bought train tickets this morning to the town of Orange to see more Roman stuff. Wandering around the station while waiting for the train, I noticed a sign that looked like the train didn’t stop in Orange today for some reason, and that we’d need to transfer to a bus in Avignon. It would have been nice if the person who sold us the tickets to Orange mentioned this to us. Luckily there’s a picture of a bus in one of the columns. How’s your French? Here’s the sign for the return trip.
Today we went to the Theatre Antique d’Orange (aka old Roman theater). It’s the only theater with the back wall still standing in Europe. There are two others (Turkey, Syria). There’s a similar theater in Arles and it’s a total wreck. The theater is 2000 years old and seats 10,000. Not nearly as impressive as Pont du Gard, but interesting enough.
The back of the theater’s wall from the outside.
They had a statue of the Emperor in the top center position. The statue heads were replaceable for when the Emperor changed. The roof is modern to help protect the wall.
The stairs were well worn.
After we got back to Arles, we stopped at the Musée Departemental Arles Antique. It had models of what the theaters and arenas looked like. It appears the Romans invented the retractable stadium roof too.
I think all French waiters think they are magicians. They bring you a menu, they say ‘voila’. They bring the food, ‘voila’. They bring the bill, ‘voila’.
Tonight on our way to dinner we got rained on. We had seen rain on travel days from the inside of airports or trains, but other than a couple of drops in London and a light sprinkle on our way to dinner in Bacharach, we’ve had great weather. Last night was a heavy downpour with thunder that woke us up, but we were dry in Orange. Then it started pouring right before we left for dinner, but stopped by the time we went back to the hotel.
As we were sitting in the restaurant, the rain stopped. Then there was a warning siren, after the storm had passed and the sun was coming out. I think they sound the siren to alert the residents that the storm has passed and it is safe to go out to dinner.
