Another Ruin and Pont-Nimes and Pont Du Gard

French Gardem

Pont Du Gard

Oct. 9, 2015- Nimes and Pont Du Gard

Another Ruin and Pont-Nimes and Pont Du Gard

We got a late start to Nimes this morning. It wasn't far. It had been on a major Roman route thus has a few well preserved ruins. Our first stop was at the Maison Carre, a temple to Augustus Caesar, built in the early 1st century. It sits in the center of where the Forum was. There we saw a well done movie dramatizing the history of Nimes from the Gauls through today. The Temple has been in continuous use since it's inception including stints as a stable, arsenal, and a fort containing shops and homes.

We grabbed a lunch of what we thought was going to be a Maxi Burger, but turned out to be a chicken sandwich on a burger bun. Could have been worse. Then we trudged on to yet another amphitheater. It claimed to be the most intact in all of Europe. It certainly looked complete and since we're now amphitheater mavens, I'd agree. The audioguide told us how gladiators were well paid and well trained athletes. As the Roman Empire weakened and Barbarians invaded in the 4th century, the cities contracted. With less demand for blood sports, gladiatorial careers weren't sought after and quality fell off. Today, bull fights fill the arena, bloodless, of course.

We walked to the formal gardens which weren't so amazing. I don't love French style gardens with all that gravel and few plantings. The Italian garden on the hill was lush with trees and winding paths. My preference. Ice-cream called once more and then it was off to le Pont.

This was in Pont Du Gard, 20 miles away. This Roman aqueduct (the best preserved) was the most complete we've seen and towered over us. The still perfectly placed stones gleamed golden in the sun as we tried to get the full length of it in one camera shot. Admission was free but parking was $20 per car. A bargain if you have a van full.

We drove back to Arles, which has been a perfect place for our touring base, past endless vineyards with grape leaves turning red and bronze as the air cooled. Stunning.

Just a bit of Nimes trivia should you ever be on Jeopardy. Levi Strauss bought cloth from traders in New York. It was from Nimes, thus called de Nime in French, and, voila, we have denim.  

We had a quick dinner of pho at the Vietnamese place next to our hotel and will turn in early.

Tomorrow Aix-en-Provence.

Toby