Frejus - St. Raphael

July 21, 2001

Didn't have much to do one day, and since Eloise and Danny were out visiting us, we decided to do the short drive up the coast to St. Raphael and it's next door neighbor, Frejus. Frejus is known for some of it's Roman ruins, particularly a Roman amphitheater. Though if you have seen the amphitheater in Orange this one pales in comparison, but Eloise and Danny haven't been to Orange ! St. Raphael is known for being next to Frejus. So here are some pictures showing everyone having a great time. One note, though, Connor slept through alot of this trip, so he is, unfortunately, not in many pictures.

Actually, in all fairness to St. Raphael, it did have a very nice old church, which we can see in the pictures below. It is hard to see in the left picture, but the roof of the big dome was green and other colors from the colored tiles they used. It was very pretty. The second picture is of the same church, around the other side. The big dome is hidden behind it. St. Raphael does also have a bit of historical importance to it. It was one of the main landing bases for the Allied forces during the final stages of World War II, in August 1944.

This little fellow had the best time in St. Raphael because he got a nice dessert after we ate in a ... Surprise !!! Mexican restaurant ! We found one that actually was not too bad. Though you wouldn't recognize what they called a burrito, and it looked eerily similar to the enchilada. But nonetheless, it tasted good ! So we only need drive 30 minutes for Mexican food now.

Every town has its fountains, and Frejus is no exception. Here are a few pictures showing everyone in front of the Frejus fountain.

Last but not least, the most famous part of Frejus, the Roman amphitheater, or Arènas. Here are two views from the inside. All the scaffolding you see is because the place is still used for concerts and bull fights (boo). This thing goes back a long way, as does Frejus itself. It was colonized by good old Julius Caesar himself around 49 BC. Lots of fun stuff happened in Frejus, then known as Forum Julii, including a sacking by the Saracens in the 10th century. The amphitheater itself, now heavily rebuilt or restored, was built in the 1st and 2nd centuries.

The last picture shows Patti, Eloise, and Danny holding one of the crumbling sections of the ruins.

Last Updated Monday August7, 2001 23:14 PM CET