When planning our journey Arles was one of the places Wk said he wanted to visit. Initially we (or more like I) would have absolutely loved to visit the lavender farms in Provence (all thanks to L'occitanne, I'm sure 99% of girls who look at L'occitanne have dreamed about visiting Provence!) but because it was winter, there would not be anything to see as the lavender will be all grey and dry, and the farms would not be opened :(
When we planned our journey we were driving towards the south and we had to pick a place to stop at otherwise it will be a long, hellish drive. Since Arles is in Provence and Wk wanted to visit, to Arles we went.
Intermission.
This is a Tarte Aux Noix, or walnut tart we got from Sarlat. We wanted try it because walnuts are a produce of that region. So delicious! I don't remember if there's anything super special about the walnuts though, just gobbled it hahahah.
Ok back to Arles. Arles is listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage sites.
To be honest I can't remember why Wk wanted to visit this place LOL. As I construct this blogpost I shall find out. Google FTW! Forgive me, history is not my thang ok. Neither is architecture. My must-do's are all food and shopping hahaha.
This is one of the many spots where painter Vincent van Gogh took inspirations from for his many paintings. Arles was where he produced most of his paintings before he went crazier, cut off his ears and went into an asylum before his death. This one here is called Starry Night over the Rhone (river).
Once a Roman ruled city, the streets are narrow and buildings are ancient. Check out the windows. I love it! This can never be found anywhere else or even be built anymore.
Did not plan prior, whipped out my phone, quickly scrolled through Tripadvisor and decided on this quaint little place for lunch. We had no idea what to expect, as usual.
They serve only pasta dishes. Complimentary marinated olives as starters. I never liked olives but the French marinated olives, I love!
We decided to go all out and try the weird stuff since we're all the way in France. I picked the snails in cream sauce and Wk went with frog in some spicy sauce I think. Can't remember what they were called in French. Serving was massive. Pasta and meat were cooked well, flavour was delicate. There's not a whole lot of sauce to it which I quite like, sometimes a dish doesn't necessarily need to be drowning in sauce.
The server (who could possibly be owner) was so welcoming, polite and helpful. At the end she even served us complimentary drinks! Pictured above are these ridiculously cute, tiny glasses of limoncello, an Italian lemon liquor.
Check out the Salvatore Dali inspired table decor. (left picture)
Sadly, I can never remember the name of this place to save my life :( There's a whole list of restaurants in Arles on Tripadvisor and they all sound the same to me. Le this, la that, les something. Ok scratch that, it applies not only to Arles but the entire France.
Salon de the - teahouse, or tea room. Ugh I so love the old-fashioned windows, doors... everything!
We took a stroll in the amphitheatre after lunch.
Built by the Romans, it was inspired by the Colosseum. After the fall of Roman ruling, the theatre became a fortress. Houses were built inside it and the theatre became a town. This went on for 13 centuries before it eventually became a national monument. It is now used to conduct bullfights.
Not enough windows? Paint them.
This is how narrow the streets are. Look at how stupidly close the mini van is parked to the building. When we arrived in the city and looked for our accommodation, it was an absolute nightmare, especially turning into corners. We scratched the front bumper! Omg so damn stressed. Eventually we found the hotel and the parking was another nightmare. If I were to advise, either park at the skirts of the city or drive a really small car (eg. Smart Cars).
Obelisque d'Arles, in Place de la Republique.
Now on to our accommodation.
26 Rue du Sauvage,
13200 Arles, France
+33 4 90 93 56 66
This boutique hotel is close to a century old! We literally booked this place the night before. Only because it's a low season and being winter that we were able to easily get a room a day prior. We picked this because it's in the heart of the city and it has a car park.
Space! Aaaah.
Courtyard in the hotel.
Don't know why but Arles reminds me of Melaka. Its south of Malaysia, historical and also listed in UNESCO World Heritage site!
Dinner time!
Look at that hao poh face hahaha.
3 Rue Dulau,
13200 Arles, France
+33 4 90 18 26 57
Monsieur why you photobomb my picture?
We ordered each an entree, main and dessert. Which one were they on the menu? NO IDEA hahahaah.
The owner was super kind and helpful! He told us he could speak minimal English but when he started translating/explaining his menu in English, wtf he spoke much better than both Wk and I.
This is a tiny little restaurant hidden in the city serving traditional French cuisine. Wife cooks, husband is the maitre d. Perfect partnership!
For entree, I had a bone marrow dish, Wk originally ordered a fish ceviche but somewhere along the line either it's our terrible English/French/rojak language problem, or the host took the wrong order, or the wife saw the order wrongly, the beef carpaccio dish arrived.
We were too shy to send the dish back since the host was so damn kind and warm so we ate it anyway.
Wk takes the worst food pics ever LOL. What kind of shitty angle is this? Wtf.
They both tasted yummy!
For mains he had some braised beef (forgot which cut, cheeks maybe) and I had something called duck Rossini, duck fillet topped with a lightly seared foie gras. His beef was pretty good, my duck was on the drier side but eaten with the creamy foie gras it's quite enjoyable.
My dessert was a chestnut fondant served with ice cream. A tad too sweet for my liking but I like how it's baked and served in the chestnut can! It was piping hot though I think I burnt my tongue eating it.
Can't remember what was Wk's but it's a frozen dessert served with a pool of some kind of alcoholic sauce. Not a fan of alcoholic desserts.
By the end of this dinner, we were both in a serious food coma. But it was SO worth it.
Be First to Post Comment !
Wait.. who is the hao poh face? both looks hao to me! hahahah.
Maybe he was trying out flatlay for that beef carpaccio, which I'm also pretty bad at.
The roads at Bali are just as narrow with motorbikes zooming here and there.
Why your memory so good still can rmb almost every single detail, feelings and taste. wtf.
Makes me wanna vacay blog too but have to do it on BlogSpot which allows multiple photos in 1 post (not like tumblr 1 pic per post nia)
Esther,
I thought about putting "I meant Wk. Not me." but decided to leave it at that. Dimji someone noticed both got that hao poh face hahahaha.
I don't think he knows what flat lay is but even if he does I think he'll still be shit at taking food pics LOL.
Yes vacay blog! Or you can Dayre hehe. What happened to your blogspot?
Post a Comment