Nimes and Pont du Gard

Here are the pictures! I didn't take too many (for once, I suppose).

After the relaxing 1.5 hour bus ride, during which I alternated reading and admiring the French countryside, we arrived in Nimes. George commenced to give us a brief walking tour of all city's attractions so we could pick and choose the places we really wanted to explore afterwards. First was the Temple of Diana in the Jardins de la Fontaine, then the Tour Magne, the Maison Carree in the old Roman forum, and finally the amphitheatre.

In true French fashion, instead of using our remaining 2 hours to further explore Nimes' Roman offerings, the Abroadco students and I went to a cafe to luxurate in the sunshine while eating lunch. It was perfect. We admired the idea of the amphitheatre (and marveled at how non-discreetly a woman was breastfeeding her child at the table next to us) while munching on salads and baguettes.

After returning to the bus and driving for another 30 minutes, we arrived at Pont du Gare. This ancient Roman aqueduct spans the Gard River, and is a popular tourist attraction in France because it is extremely well preserved for its 2,000 years. The French government invested a lot of money a few years ago to improve the UNESCO heritage site with a museum and walking trails.

It was a wonderful place really-- not at all pretentious with its grandeur-- but more subtle. I breathed in the fresh air with big gulps, sat on a rock that had been smoothed by years and years of strong Mistral winds, and awed at the Roman architecture. The structure is held together by nothing essentially, as no mortar was used in the aqueduct's construction. The stones were hand cut to perfectly piece together to form every graceful arch. There are still carvings made by the Roman builders that you can see on the rocks indicating outside and inside stones.

I was glad to escape the fierce wind when we returned to the bus for the ride back to Aix. As always, it felt like I was coming home when I saw the familair fountains and quaint streets of my French town. I loved Nimes and Pont du Gard, I simply love Aix more.