Nimes - 15th - 17th June

 At the bus stop in Sault by 7am to begin the journey to Nimes. We were pretty weary from our previous weeks cycling but had to stay alert as a three change journey, bus, train, train for Nimes. Coopers whom we'd teamed up with were also on the bus and first train.

Nimes is famous for well preserved Roman monuments and water, lots of it. The Romans brought water from a spring 50km away by the Pont du Gard aqueduct and channels to Nimes in the 1st century. Nimes was a reflection of Roman superiority and defensive in the sense that they also built a 7km wall around the city. 

After this short stroll nearby our spacious apartment we got down to updating a week worth of blog, laundry, groceries for our four day stay. Lucked upon a good dinner option of yummy salads.

Three types of tomato, aubergine, courgette, artichokes, olives, hazelnuts, lettuce.  Died and gone to heaven.

Sunday with the inevitable church bells awakening we plotted a history highlights walk of Nimes Centro. First stop the Trash market( folks selling household goods, clothes/ shoes, anything surplus to requirements that they could get some coin for) on the sidewalk then into the fresh produce market at which there were plenty of locals buying for Sunday lunch.

Love their dried, cured or fresh meats in France. Lots of Jamon (cured ham) as in Spain.

Salads to take home, makes the anaemic offerings in NZ look an even sadder affair.

Olives, sardines, mackerel and nuts.

Paella....could be purchased in whatever quantity and taken home for Sunday lunch.

And if not cooking or taking home your own lunch the French retire to their favorite cafe/restaurant for Sunday lunch. Being sad puppy backpackers on a budget Jeff's famous homemade baguettes was our choice. Have become experts on the quality of a really good baguette- the crust must "sing" when squeezed.

Jeff had bought a sheep headed walking stick which was going to be tricky travelling with. Story is every country we have travelled to be it Nepal or Jordan etc he has to have a sheep memento as a nod to our good fortune as sheep scanners.

So we come across a group of old boys showing various craft skill of which one was a chap making wooden jigsaw puzzles. Jeff asked/charades if he would cut said walking stick in half. A bit of consternation but deed done. Lots of laughter and a helpful chap who spoke some English. 

We are now the proud owners of one of the old boys jigsaws which he would not let us pay for. The wood is from a Plane tree which are well used in French towns as shade trees.

The arena of Nimes is a Roman amphitheatre built around 100CE, not long after the one in Rome. 133m long and 101m wide. Is the best preserved in the world and used to this day for concerts; everyone from Dire Straits to Metallica. A bit different from Roman times when a day started with animal fights, prisoners being killed by animals then the highlight of gladiator fights.

At two stories, 21m high supposedly held 24,000 spectators in Roman times.

Hard to get your head around that back on the day lions, bears were in the pit, now a sound stage.

Wandered some more, lovely old buildings and alleyways. There was a Porsche show with 150 Porsche on show so Jeff had a look but decided once you had seen one Porsche you had seen them all. Admission of 2 euro was a Rotary fund raiser.

This building was erected in 1880, very OTT but leaves for dead the Stalinist architecture favoured today.

Said Porsches.

Jeff thought the woman on the left looked like she was on her cellphone. " I can't talk now he's just around the corner.."

Today we hiked up to Tour Magne on Mont Cavalier behind the city and came back down through the Jardine de la Fontaine. The Tour Magne is an 18m watch tower 

(one of 80) built as part of the Roman city wall giving great views of the surrounds.  Originally was double in height but lost a level when ransacked looking for treasure.

As per the tower we climbed outside Girona, it was converted into an optical telegraph post in 1800's but now just a tourist attraction.

There are 140 steps internally to the top.

Nimes from the Tour Magne

Jardine de la Fontaine

Tomorrow I am going to brave a haircut in my best French (not) and we will take a bus to Beaucaire, which is a river port on the right bank of the Rhone.