It rained agin last night, but the morning was bright and clear under sunny skies! We headed off to Pont du Gard, the aqueduct built by the Romans to carry water to Uzes. Â The entire complex consisted of an underground channel, bridges, and tunnels and carried 4 million gallons of water a day the 31 miles. The Pont du Gard, a three tier structure, spans the Gardon valley (275 meters) and was the tallest aqueduct in the Roman empire at 158 feet tall. It was built of limestone blocks without mortar with the water channel at the top.
Off to Nimes for lunch, at a sidewalk cafe named L’Oeuf a la Cote. We settled in late, after 2 PM, and the lunch specials were gone, so we settled for ravioli. On the way into the square, we had passed by the Maison Carree, but it is being refurbished and was shrouded, completely hidden. We did a stroll through town, checking out the Arena, a dramatic Roman ruin dating to the first century, built for gladiatorial combat. Prior to its 19th century restoration, it was used to house 2000 people in slum-like conditions. Nimes is known for its textiles, actually created denim (de Nimes)!
The Porte d’Auguste, built in 15 BC, accomodated the Domitian Way, the main road from Rome to Spain, which originally passed through the center of Nimes. The city’s main park is the is the Jardin de la Fontaine with its octagonal tower, Tour Magne. The city’s coat of arms is a crocodile chained to a palm tree and the city has placed them in bronze studs among the paving stones of the old town. We headed back to the gite, with Lou at the helm in the middle of rush hour traffic. The only internet cafe with WiFi in Nimes was in McDonalds and it was too late in the day. One day we’ll be able to upload these posts!
Dinner at the gite tonight was brigole (stuffed with ham and onion), zucchini and onions, tomato salad and the best baguette yet from the bakery in Uzes.
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