Rainy Day!!

Field Trip Day! and Unfortunately rainy day. I have to give props to my Dad, I had originally packed a rain coat and umbrella, but he talked my into a poncho instead of an umbrella. A poncho, he said, will be able to cover more and I can put it on over my backpack, with an umbrella, I have one less hand and it doesn't cover as much. AND that proved very true today! I was probably the driest out of the whole group even though I looked like a teenage mutant ninja turtle. (My poncho is green and my backpack made a very good looking "shell") LOL

Anyways, today we went to Nimes and the Pont du Gard. Nimes was an awesome city. Really the first city we have gotten to explore in. All of the other places we have visited have been towns and villages, with open air markets or little family run shops. Today was the big city..haha. The first thing we did when we got off the bus was the Roman Arena. Basically Nimes has got the best kept secret in all of Europe! They have a Roman Arena that they still use today. Mostly for bullfights, but also mock gladiatorial games. It is the best preserved Roman Arena in Europe and it was awesome!!! It hold 27,000 people and it was made from cut stone...no mortar! I couldn't believe it when I saw it. I loved it! So after I climbed to the very top of the arena and did a lap around it, I decided it was time to move on.

We walked around Nimes and found a nice little cafe right where we were supposed to meet our professors at the Miason Carree (An old Roman Temple) We decided to grab a cup of coffee and just enjoy people watching. I had my first cafe experience and I ordered my own coffee in French and it was very fun!! and very good! Anyways after the wonderful cup of coffee we headed out on a little walking tour. We went through a very beautiful park that had fountains and marble statues and stairs. It was amazing and I really don't know how to explain it. but I will upload pictures and you can all see for yourself. Then at the top of the park hill there is a watch tower, La tour Magne. Built in the BC era it was the first tower in Nimes. And when you climb the 200 steps to the top you can see out over the whole town. The view was incredible!!! I could see into the Arena I had climbed around on that morning!

After Nimes we went to the Pont du Gard. This is a Roman aqueduct, meaning a bridge that transports water to Nimes. It is also a great example of the ingenuity of the Roman engineers. I mean this bridge spans a valley and a river. It was built stone by stone, all perfectly cut and leveled so that gravity would force the water to travel down into Nimes from a higher spring in the mountains. It is an amazing feat, one that I can barely comprehend. I mean it was built when there were no cranes, levels or even power tools. How did they cut each stone to fit so perfectly? And it is still standing today, years later!!

Unfortunately at the Pont du Gard it started to rain. So I pulled out my trusty poncho and became Sara the awesome art animation ninja turtle...LOL just kidding. I did have a lot of fun in my poncho though, because I felt kind of ridiculous in it. And since it was green and a lot of the trees are green I tended to blend in with the environment which was kind of fun. OH and a warning, when you go to touch the water under the Pont du Gard, don't fall in!!! I about tumbled into the water head first when I bent down to touch it because I had my bag on and my poncho and I was off balanced. But it is a really funny picture because it was snapped right when I was trying to regain my balance. HAHA

So tomorrow is the Papal Palace in Avignon. Its an early start so I will see you all (or talk to you all) on the flip side!!

Here is some pictures from the Roman Ruins from yesterday and Van Gogh's Asylum visit

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Glanum%20%20StRemy/