France 179 - Nimes - the first Roman of the trip/mustard seems to be the new menu du jour/the arena, the Tour Magna and Parnassas

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Well we made a city in the end . It had to happen finally. We could not keep missing them . We had done our research and found it quite easy to get into Nimes. There were two very large car parks on the T1 bus route into the city . Both were park and rides . The furthest out was Casarges and the second one at Parnassus. We chose Parnassus because it seemed easier to park the van and it felt reasonably safe. We parked up and searched out where to buy our tickets . Was this going to be another place where tickets were hard to come by. In the end after looking at closed buildings we followed the crown who seemed to be walking up the steps to the road above . There we found the bus lane with its shelters and ticket machines . They were not the easiest to work but in the end I found the correct tickets for two journeys and printed them off . At 5 euros for the two of us it was cheap to get into somewhere the driver had been before but I had never seen. The bus was full to bursting . We had a few stops to travel to get to Arenas . Each stop was marked on the wall display making it easy to see how many you needed to pass before getting to your destination. The next stop was always displayed overhead so no fear of missing your stop.

We arrived at the Arena . You could not miss such a thing . It was lower and more squat than the Coliseum in Rome or the Amphiteatre in Pula but nevertheless pretty impressive . Our first stop was a well earned coffee right in view of the arena. It is said to be one of the best preserved roman amphitheatres in the Roman world . 133 meters long (145 yards) and 101 meters wide (110 yards) with its arena measuring 68 metres by 38 metres. The outer facade is 21 metres high with two stories . Around the walls are 60 arcades . Seriously though it was pretty impressive . It is one of of the 20 largest theatres in the known 400 of the Roman world . At its time of building it held 24,000 spectators who spread their bottoms over 34 tiers of terracing . Today the arena is still in use for bullfighing and also concerts and roman games . We paid our 34 euros entrance which covered the arena , we thought the Maison Caree and the Tour Magna . The areas around the inside of the arena were atmospheric but there were few areas we could access . Unlike other arenas we could only walk a few hundred yards before having to climb into the arena . No doubt that was impressive but the seating and the scaffolding which kept the audience safe spoiled the view . Health and safety had certainly spoiled the atmosphere of the arena and in no way could you see anything half decent of the inside . By now the sun was burning down on us so we sat for a while and took in the scaffolding view . Lets just say the arena was spectacular outside but the inside left us a little cold .

We walked from the arena to the area around the Maison Caree . This appeared closed . When I checked our tickets the three places we could visit did not include the maison caree but the museum . It did not look as if the Maison Caree had not been opened to the public for years. The building was extremely clean and looked well cared for . A few others stood outside and tried the door. The name had always had me pondering . Maison Carree means the square house and it is one of the best preserved Roman temples in Southern France and the best preserved in what was the roman empire It was built around 4 - 7 AD and dedicated to Gaius Caesar . It was during the 19th century that the Maison Caree through the efforts of Victor Grangent was restored to its former glory . It is a classic example of Vitruvian architecture as it is nearly and exact replica of a tuscan temple . It is raised up on a plinth of 2.85 metres the doors reached by steps which we climbed . It forms a rectangle almost twice as long as it is wide and dominated the Forum of Nimes. None of which remains . A deep portico runs along almost a third of the buildings length and is richly decorated . Columns and capitals everywhere . A door which we stood in front of was 6.87 metres high and 3.27 wide and led into a small and windowless space which once housed a shrine . Apparently had it been opened it would have housed a very touristy history of Nimes . I dont know the last time the doors were opened .

We headed off for our next Roman fix the Tour Magna . We crossed the very impressive park with its water features , fountains , formal gardens and steps leading upwards . We had not realised that we needed to climb up the park to reach the Tour Magna . After a long out of the way walk we eventually reached the top and spied to tower . It was impressive but all its gates were locked . The Tour Magna is all that remains of the roman city walls . It is visable from a distance and indicated a presence in the town . It was the highest and most prestigious tower in the walls . Octagonal in form it once comprised of three levels however today the top story has disappeared and it only reaches a height of 32 metres . On a clear day though from the top you can see Mount Ventoux, The Alpilles and the Vistre floodplain . Inside was a modern circular staircase which I climbed . Only one vantage point remained and I was slightly disappointed and headed back down . We ended up back in the lovely park and next to the Temple of Diana . The temple is a 1st century building which was built under Augustus . It was located near to the spring of La Fontaine and the sanctuary built up around the spring . It has a basilica like floor plan and that suggests it might have even been a library rather than a temple . I wanted to take photographs but these took a while as an elderly lady chose to climb the walls despite the sign forbidding escalating the walls . She struggled up, posed Japanese style for a photograph and struggled to climb down .

Leaving the gardens we headed back to Arena for some lunch . We found a lovely cafe just across from the arena which served another menu du jour which appealed . Mustard on pork again . Followed by a selection of puddlngs - a tiny rum baba and a small apple tart . Thin pastry covered in thin slices of apple. Rounded off with coffee.

We headed back to catch the bus to Parnassus . Easy enough again . Were we pleased we made Nimes . Yes on the whole we had a lovely day out .

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