Pont du Gard and Nîmes

I went to France to see ancient Roman ruins. 

Ampitheaters and arenas and aqueducts, oh my!

Pont du Gard is one of the most visited sites in France, and one of the best preserved aqueducts in the world.  I overheard a college student tutoring his traveling companion about the Romans.  "There weren't great artists, but they were great engineers and planners."  Well said.

The sky looked threatening while we hiked around the aqueduct, but we managed to stay dry until a cloud burst open while we waited on the side of the road for the bus that would take us to Nîmes.

This would begin the most challenging 24 hours of our entire trip.

First, I hate buses because I get car-sick.  So while the scenery was very charming, I felt lousy once we arrived in Nîmes.

And we realized we didn't have a map of the city.

We wanted to see the arena, and we figured it would be easy to find.  But due to some construction along the esplanade, we couldn't see the arena, turned right when we should have veered left, and wandered up and down the wrong street for a good 40 minutes.

Somewhere along the way, I lost a button on my jacket.

After walking a loop around the city center, we finally found the arena.  Good grief, how did we miss it?

We stroll along Les Quais de la Fontaine, and Nîmes began to redeem itself, even though it took my button. 

A lost button would be nothing in comparison with tomorrow's adventure.


Coming next...The challenges continue in Aix en Provence.