Roman Festival in Nimes

Our original plan was to visit Nimes and its 1st century AD Roman Amphitheater (Arena) from Arles. Yet on our first full day in Avignon, we found ourselves on the first bus to Nimes -- our object was the Roman Festival. For three consecutive days, there would be an afternoon show for 20,000 paying spectators in the Nimes Arena with 500 participants/actors in the style of Spartacus. While we would like to think we are way above actually paying for such spectacles, we could not resist the opportunity to gawk at all the goings-on.

As soon as we stepped off the bus, we started to spot people in Roman regalia.  We found out that there would be no "site visit" for the Arena for three whole days as we had suspected; Roman Festival entry only. The participants came from UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, in addition to France. I had assumed such festivals happened all the time in the summer. We never expected to run into one since we only travel in the spring. Here was our opportunity!

While waiting for things to gear up, we poked around town.  Even more impressive than the Arena, Nimes has the incomparable Maison Carree, a Roman temple. There is another very impressive so-called Temple of Diana which still has parts of the roof and is just left to be clambered about. The nearby palatial Jardin de la Fontaine is one of the oldest public gardens in Europe. We also learned that "denim" came from "de Nimes" and jeans is derived from "Genoa". Even today, Nimes still has a prosperous air, though I could not figure out what drives their economy....

In the end we enjoyed plenty of the Roman festivities in the streets and backstage outside the arena, marveled at the participants dedication, and headed for the bus as the last actors entered the Arena.

We walk towards the ancient Arena, just before 9AM, and spot a toga.


After consulting with the TI and arena box office, we head towards the Jardin de la Fontaine and the Temple of Diana.







The Le Castellum Aquae is the terminus of the Pont du Gard Aqueduct.


The Maison Carree is one of the best preserved Roman Temples and is certainly an eye-catcher. We sat and admired it from several spots. It's now a theater.










Before the noon hour, the participants in the festival paraded around town and showed their stuff. Here's the 8th Roman Legion.


Legion X was the coolest. They had horns and badass legionnaires.




And Legion VI was pretty cool as well.


And there were shows of battle maneuvers.






Here's some video.


And the link is here if the above video does not play for you.

Wait!


Marching back to the arena.




There were also some non-legionnaires in the festival. Roman senators?




The Nimes market hall.


Town Square.


And a denim jacket in the City Museum.


Nimes Cathedral.


The sold out festival is about to begin. We don't have tickets so we hang out backstage.






The chariots roll into the Arena.


Legion I is ready.


Spartacus and follers are ready.




And we head for the bus station....

Carpentras: A Happy Mistake

We chose to base in Carpentras (about 70 miles north of Marseille) because we had plans to visit Les Dentelles de Montmirail.  Upon close examination, the bus we needed to take for Gigondas (trail head) is one of those commuter buses that only brings people out in the morning and returns them in the evening, exactly the opposite direction for our needs.  Luckily our very kind airbnb host gave us a ride to and back!  We saw more people here than all the Luberon walks added together.  The only Americans we spotted were drawn to the wine shops in the village of Gigandas.

Carpentras itself is a very likable town, with a lively old center.  It is one of those old towns that still has various manifestations of its long history, eg. a Roman arch, 1300s synagogue, hospital, aqueduct, etc.  Its Friday market is not at all touristy, though we prefer the more intimate feel of Apt market.

Another day, we made the obligatory trip to Vaison la Romaine, fairly popular with French tourists.  Not only it has the Roman excavations, it also has the medieval town on the hill.  It's a wonder Vaison was not crowded.

Carpentras turned out to be a great base after all.  We could have made many more day trips from there.

The Carpentras galleria, Le Passage Boyer, decorated with umbrellas.




The Carpentras Roman Arch, from the 1st Century AD, much smaller than a Triumphal Arch, is undergoing renovation. We did get a glimpse of the reliefs on one side depicting two chained prisoners.


And the ever present Mont Ventoux with cool car parking just below the city walls.


I talk to a robot at the bibliotheque.


Carpentras has a new-ish well-crafted train and bus station complex. Here's a commuter train.


However, we rode the bus to Vaison-la-Romaine to visit the Ancient Roman ruins there. The sites are located in the midst of the modern town which is laid out on basically the same grid as the Roman town. Cool.






In the 1920's, the THEATRE ANTIQUE DE VAISON LA ROMAINE was partially reconstructed, most obviously the seating, and provided us with a pleasant lunch spot while school groups and others visited.










Vaison Town Square.


And main shopping street.


The old Roman Bridge.


View from the upper town to the lower town.


Upper Town street.


And a shot of the Vaison Aqueduct from the bus window as we head back to Carpentras.


Our host Jean Claude gave us a ride in his red PT Cruiser to and from Gigondas, one of the famous wine villages, and we had a day to remember hiking in Les Dentelles de Montmirail....Looking back to Gigondas from its Point de Vue.


In Les Dentelles. The first shots are of us scrambling around on the South Face, with views to the south and occasionally Mont Ventoux.












Looking back to the South Face from across the valley.




There are vineyards in a long string below the South Face.






We are not the only hikers.


We had our lunch near the Chapel of St Christopher around which are some climbing and rappelling spots.




And we complete our counterclockwise circuit by walking back to Gigondas with views of the North Face of Les Dentelles. More vineyards.


And Jean Claude picks us up in his PT Cruiser with the top down.


Our apartment has a view of Porte d'Orange, an old city gate.


The Friday weekly market starts right below our window and next to our downstairs entry.




And sprawls over the Old Town.