Provence

Trip Start Aug 10, 2008
1
5
14
Trip End Aug 31, 2008


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Flag of France  , Provence,
Friday, August 15, 2008

After leaving the busy little tourist town of Carcassonne, we headed northeast to Pont-du-Gard where there is an ancient Roman aquaduct.  It is massive.  It was built to bring fresh water from the mountains into the city.  The entire sturcture was built without mortar, only gravity holds it together.  Looking at these huge structures in awe of the technology that the Romans used, it really makes me wonder where mankind would be today if Rome hadn't fallen.  Attila really wanted to clambor up to the top but (surprise surprise) it is not open to the public (well, actually, you can go about 20 feet on to the top with a guide for extra €s)  Anyway, we walked under, around, and through the giantic structure and climbed onto the cliff adjacent to it for a better view.

Having exhausted our enthusiasm for the aquaduct, we left Pont-du-Gard for the city of Arles.  We checked in to our B&B and went exploring.  The Roman Coliseum was impressive (the 2nd largest and most complete of the remaining Roman Coliseums), however we were a little diappointed wth the renovations.  They are rebuilding the portions of the structure that have degraded over the years.  The new portions are WHITE and so sharply cut... it no longer looks like an ancient Roman building, but rather like a new version of what the Romans designed.  I'm sure the intentions are good but we were not impressed.

We continued to stroll through the old town, searching for a place to eat that met with Attila's approval.  He is having a bit of a difficult time adjusting to French food.  We finally settled on a restaurant that served mainly Italian fare (and raw beef but we steered clear of that one).  I had a great 4-cheese pizza (sans chevre... without goat cheese) and Attila had lasagne.  After dinner we sought out some gelato and continued our stroll through the old town.  Tomorrow, it's off to the Riviera!
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