In Ruins

Yesterday we were in ruins.  Literally, not figuratively!

Yesterday we left the Loire Valley and said goodbye to our beautifully quiet, St. Aignan, but took with us a myriad of memories to be treasured.  We left flat farm lands and headed south through rolling hills and the Pyrennes Moutains to the city of Nimes, with the grandparents trailing behind, trying to keep up with our 150 km per hour speed.  Apparently their tiny Peugot or maybe the passangers don’t have as many guts!

This may have to be rated PG for Parental Guidance needed!

This time George joined in....

We left our "mark" from the Loire Valley to the Provence Region.

Matt jumps out to take his turn because mom
had the lunch food spread all over her lap.

The topography of the Provence region has rolling hills
and a darker, smaller stone is used in building.

It was the longest driving stretch thus far in the trip, perhaps made longer by Anthon’s new record of having to stop 6 times for potty breaks in the first 2 ½ hours.  We’ve become an excellent pit crew.  Matt literally vears off of the side of the tollway the moment he finds a few feet of shoulder, I jump out of the passenger side while Anthon is unbuckling.  I throw open the door, he jumps into my arms, he drops his britches, I help him lean to avoid splashes, pull up the britches, tell him congratulations for keeping dry undies, throw him back into the back seat, telling him to put his seatbelt on and hope he does, jump back in and Matt zooms off.  Papa and Grammie got quite the show traveling “behind” us!

Nimes (neem) was beautiful, busy, and better than we had expected.  It is the largest city we’ve been in thus far with the exception of Paris and it was exciting to feel the rythm of the city.  We noticed immediately the fashion of the city.  People were beautiful.  Beautifully dressed, and it seems that most had fabulous fashion sense (just a fun little aside….).  We did not go to Nimes to people watch, although we enjoyed that very much.  We went for the II Century (100-200 AD) Roman ruins.

First we visited the Arenes de Nime (The Arena of Nime).  This ampitheater of Nimes is the best preserved roman ampitheater in the world. 

A much needed nap.

Here are a few fascinating facts:

-Visitors to the arena were placed in the ampitheater according to their social status (I think that means we would have been in the nose bleeds.)

-A day in the area began with fights to the death between animals and hunters.

-At midday the death convicts were put into the area with wild animals.

-In the afternoon gladiators would combat.  This fighting was a proper fighting sport practiced by well trained volunteers.

-In the I, II and III centuries the Nimes Arena was the center for gladiator combat.

The disturbing part to us is that this was people’s main source of jovial entertainment.  Blood and gore.  Literally cheering for people’s death.

-During the IV Century the Arena was  used as a fortress for military defense.  During these middle ages it was used as a refuge for “knights of the arena.”

-During the XI and XII Centuries bullfighting came from Spain to France.  It was very popular and in the XVIII Century it was no longer just for high society.

 Lastly, we visited Monte Carree, an amazingly preserved Roman Temple.  Built in the II Century.  It was built for Augusta Caesar (Julius Caeser’s nephew, whom he adopted as his son-  Thank you Story of the World Volume 1!) by his grandsons.  Inside the Temple we watched a 3-D Docu-drama of the Heros of the Nimes Arena.  It made the history come to life!

Dinner was a bit of a disappointment from a street side vendor.  Cardboard pizza and quiches will make tonight’s dinner in Milan, Italy taste heavenly.

Still sleeping....

We finished the day at the Hotel Mas Des Piboules.  It was one step up from Hotel Premiere Class.  I will say that when Grace jumped onto her mattress she cried out, “Ouch!”  We slept on cardboard.  Enough said.