Nimes

Yesterday we decided to head off for our first out of town visit.  Wendy has a list of about 10 out-trips that we hope to accomplish while here.  Nîmes is the closest to Montpellier so a good starting point.  We took an early tram down to the train station, then caught a train to the town of Nîmes.  

If you look at the map on our blog site, Nîmes is half hidden by the blue balloon pointing out Montpellier.  To the east and a bit north.  Train ride is just 35 minutes station to train station.  As we left the station we followed a Rick Steves walking tour to hit the most tourist highlights in the old town.  First was the Roman Arena, dating from AD 100; they claim it is the most complete and best preserved in Europe.

At the time it seated 24,000 people.  Now it is used for bull fights and concerts.  The bull fights in this country are a little different than the ones in Spain: the bull gets to go home with only his pride wounded!

    

We followed a tour with an audio guide which was very well done. It encouraged us to imagine the activities that might have occurred on the sand below us those many years ago. The place was, and is,  an engineering marvel. It was built to get lots of people in and out quickly, and it still functions that way,   although the stairs are big - high step ups and lots of uneven cobbles and raises.  So one does need to be careful and not drink too much beer between innings I would think!!!!

Afterwards we wandered off to find a place for lunch (very easy here).  Down the little side streets there were small plazas full of restaurants.  It would be great to insert a picture here to show you.  Can't believe I did not take one.  But obviously I was too interested in deciding what to eat.  Once again I chose a Chèvre-chaud salad and I was not disappointed.  Wendy had a little quiche and hers was not so interesting.  

Can you believe I get to eat this whole thing?  It had chopped walnuts, tomatoes, a chunk of grilled ham on top that was listed in menu as something less than appetizing like fried lard.  The little whirly things on the side are Parmesan cheese melted and something very delicious done with them.  The chèvre chaud was fabulous with some fried onions on top and maybe a drizzle of honey.  I want to make this at home.  It's all in the type of goat cheese one uses.  

After lunch we headed back off on our walking tour.  The crocodile is the symbol of the City of Nîmes so shows up on crests and signs around town.  

The post that the pigeons are enjoying symbolizes a palm tree, a symbol derived from Roman military past and their victories in Egypt.  Nîmes was apparently THE place to retire if you were a Roman general.

One of the places I had on my list to visit was the Musée du Vieux Nîmes that was supposed to explain the birth place of the fabric denim (de Nîmes).  Our guide book said it was self explanatory.  I think he did not want to read all about fabric because it was all in French and I did not understand any of it.  But it was free so nothing lost on that little side trip.

The next stop along our walk was the glorious Maison Carrée.  

Built in 4 AD as a Roman Temple, it is one of the most complete buildings surviving from the Roman Empire. We enjoyed the feeling of grandeur and old.  The neat thing about it though was how much space was around it so lots of room to wander and see it from all angles. However it was very hot in that open esplanade, and we were beginning to fade. 

We wandered as far as the Jardin de la Fontaine, past the canal and in as far as the Temple of Diana.  This was another Roman ruin, probably a library.  It was interesting to see the signatures on some of the stones of earlier stonemasons who had visited this site as they toured Europe looking for inspiration.  One I could read showed a drawing of a hammer and the date 1656 under it. 

The sign in front said:

And there were 2 young folks sitting up high on the rocks which I assume means they were escalading the monument!  But it was time for a cool drink of lemonade at the outdoor café next door, then walk back to the train station and return home after 5.  Hot and tired but it was a good day.