April 15: Pont due Gard, Uzès, Nîmes

In playing "catch-up" on posting our adventures of the last few weeks these next few posts aren't likely to be in chronological order, but if you're reading this you probably don't care!

These pics are from our first weekend renting a car. We started the day at what is probably one of the most famous Roman aqueducts as well as one of the most well-known historical sites in the south of France, the Pont du Gard. It was constructed in the FIRST century to bring water from the Uzès river to the city of Nîmes, 50 km away. The pont itself is 275 meters long and carries water 49 meters above the riverbed. There is a lovely beach and lots of walking trails on the site, and as you will see, it was a beautiful day.

We then set off for the lovely medieval village of Uzès.

We wandered into the "medieval garden" that was growing plants that would have been growing at the monastery there in medieval times. It was unexpectedly delightful; you could climb a tower (think "Rapunzel") for a 360-degree of the area, and it also was hosting a couple of art exhibits in the lower rooms of the building.

Our last stop of the day was the ancient Roman city of Nîmes, where we explored the Roman arena, Les Arènes de Nîmes (2000 years old, having survived multiple incarnations including housing the population when attacked by Visgoths). It is now back to what it was designed for, concerts and public events, though they no longer kill bulls in the French version of bull-sporting (course-camarguese), where the raseteurs try to remove tassels from the bull's horns without getting injured.