Roland was keen to go into Nimes as it was close to where we are staying in Congenies. We should have taken the bus, but time ran away with us, so we ended up driving. As it happened, there were a lot of road improvement projects going on, in and around, Nimes, which meant we had some anxious moments in town. At one stage we found ourselves stuck on a bus only route and couldn’t easily get free. Tom Tom (or Jane as we call her) was no help, remaining tight-lipped as we blundered aimlessly about looking for a car-park. In the end we just followed our nose and parked at the first car-park that presented itself.
We were pleased to find that we had somehow happened upon a reasonably central carpark, which was adjacent to a lovely covered market. The market had a really lively, friendly atmosphere and Angela fell in love with it from the start. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before she was accosted by a satyr who was wandering the market. It caught her unawares and, needless to say ,she jumped out of her skin. So we decided that before we did anything else we would just calm our jangling nerves with a glass of wine and a beer. We enjoyed a very pleasant hour perusing the market stalls.
Satyr on a Saturday morning Apres l'Avant-midi d'un satyr
After the market we made our way to the Amphitheatre of Nîmes, which is the most well preserved Roman amphitheatre in Europe. On the way we stopped off at la Maison Carrée, which is a temple dedicated to Emperor Augustus’ grandsons. It is an impressive building, which dominates the forum. It looked a little incongruous on its own, and probably would have been more so before the sympathetic refurbishment of the square by the British architect Lord Norman Foster in 1992.
la Maison Carrée
We have seen other amphitheatres and this one was no less impressive. This amphitheatre, however, still seems to be in continual use as a venue for concerts
Amphitheatre of Nîmes
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