The residential architecture in Arles is both charming and refreshing. Arles is a town in Provence with history dating back to the ancient Roman era, as evidenced by its amphitheater. Also, the town is noted for inspiring the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh.

Arles' Roman arena serves as an amphitheatre and a bullring.

Left, above and below: Overlooking the rooftops of Arles, Provence

Linden trees line the street entering St. Remy in Provence.

Surrounding pictures are of Les-Baux-de-Provence, an exciting (but tourist-packed) village seemingly built right into and jutting out of the incredible rock formations that make up the Alpilles.

We may complain that places are filled with tourists, too many people seemingly wandering with little regard for each other, getting in our pictures uninvited, creating queues and filling up the restaurants, the botiques and the parking places.

Some people tend to stay away from such places, call them tourist-traps. All the better, I suppose, for those who look past the hoards and see the attraction.

After all, places become 'touristy' because they offer something, a beauty, a uniqueness, that goes beyond the mundane, better tha average and greater than the expectancy.

Such is Les-Baux-de-Provence.

In the town of Eyguieres, there is held a bullfight much unlike the traditional fights. The goal in these more humanized fights is to remove a small rosette from between the horns of the bull.

Several 'raseteurs,' all wearing white, enter the ring at once to take part in the contest as well as to help in distracting the bull from charging one of the fighters.

The Camargue is a vast area of wild plains and marshland located south of Arles and borders the Mediterranean. It's a natural habitat for hundreds of species of birds, including the flamingo (left).

It's capital city (above) is Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, population of less than three thousand, except in the summer, when it rises to more than 50,000.

Avignon, a fortified city and home of the Palace of the Popes (left), built in the 14th century. This and the next couple of pictures are of the city's great wall.

The small-boat harbor (Old Port) of St. Tropez. St. Tropez is an upscale community known for its beaches and nightlife. It is roughly the western-most border of the French Riviera.

Villeneuve-les-Avignon is a medieval community and popular tourist attraction in Avignon, Provence.

Monaco's small-boat harbor. Monaco is a country, state and city all rolled into one. It's located on the French Riviera the French coastline of the Mediterranean.

Monte Carlo is a small area of country/city Monaco, the area on which sits the world-famous casino.