You want a completely intact Roman temple from the 4th Century BC? No problem. You want a perfectly preserved Roman amphitheatre right in the centre of the city (so impressive it was used as the setting for the film, Gladiator)? Not only can Nîmes boast both those things, but it’s also
just the right size for exploring on foot.
Smaller than Montpellier and Toulouse, you can easily get round Nîmes in a short period of time and enjoy the car-free centre of town which oozes charm at every turn.
Originally known as Nemausus, the town was a jewel in the Roman crown. The town was laid out in true Roman fashion following a grid pattern and had its drinking water supplied by a 50km long canal (comprising the Pont du Gard which we'll visit tomorrow).
Nîmes’s other major claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of denim, which originally meant “de Nîmes”, or “from Nîmes”. In the early 1900s the town’s merchants exported the cloth to the United States in order to make sails for ships, tarpaulins and workmen’s trousers. In 1870, a Bavarian immigrant by the name of Levi Strauss used this cloth to make trousers for the trailblazers opening up the Wild West – made in Genoa (hence, the origin of the word “jeans”) of “de Nîmes” cloth, one of the world’s best known garments was born. Now how is that for a wee bit o'trivia?
While we were in Nimes we saw the Maison Carré. Dedicated to Emperor Augustus, this Roman temple dates from the fourth or fifth Century BC and is one of the best preserved anywhere in the Roman world. Used over the centuries as horse stables, a meeting chamber and as an archive, today it houses a small museum and bookshop.
Another Roman remnant in Nimes is les Arènes. Inspired by the Coliseum in Rome with two stories of vaulted arches, this is one of the most intact amphitheatres to be found anywhere in the world today. It has seating capacity for an amazing 20,000 people over 34 tiers and is used for bull fights, pop concerts and sporting events.
Unfortunately we didn't have time to visit the Carré d’Art Nîmes’s museum of contemporary art
sits proudly opposite the Maison Carré. Its glass and chrome façade are the work of British architect, Sir Norman Foster, as part of an ambitious plan by local worthies to regenerate the city. The building was stunning . . . one of the list of things to do when I return to this area.
On the way back to Montpellier the bus veered off of the highway and headed into the country . . . waaaaaay into the country on those lovely one-way roads that some called 'white roads' because your knuckles grip the steering wheel of your car so tightly they go white. Imagine that in a HUGE bus. Happily I was a passenger.
Our destination was Château d'Or et de Gueules. Grapes have been grown here for more than 100 years but the chateau has only been producing their own wine for 14 years. The name comes from the family crest of Diane de Puymorin, with its colours reflecting the personality of the wines she produces - gold ('Or' in French) to signify the depth and fullness of the southern sun and warmth, red ('Gueules' in old French) for the character, power and round.
What a treat it was to listed to Diane describe her winery and what makes the wines unique.
She described the soil and growing conditions that create this unique appellation and then took us into the cellar where we learned the production from initial press to bottling/corking/labelling. All of that was great information but we really were interested in tasting some amazing wines
Talk about happy AQ course participants! At ETFO we work hard and we play hard. The reward for 3 hours of classes this morning was a visit to Château d'Or et de Gueules. A fair trade if you ask me.
Diane also provided snacks - cheese, bread, and olives for us to nibble on while we tasted the 6 wines she had selected.
People liked the wines so much that there was a long line to purchase . . . rather than wait in line I popped out to see what I could see . .
Some were visiting the winery horses.
Others were wandering the vineyards themselves. Yes, there really are ETFO AQ participants standing in the vines in that shot!
There was still time and I wasn't interested in joining the bus driver who was watching Batman en Francais dans le autobus so I walked back down the lane to a beautiful field of sunflowers that we saw.
Ahhh . . .
Here is my favourite shot of the day. One of our participants has her one-year old son traveling with us - we have taken to baby Thomas - he has become the group's baby! No this is NOT Thomas' mother . . . love Thomas in one arm and the case of vin in the other! *smile*
It was a quiet group heading back to Montpellier. Between the jet lag, course work, end-of-year-teacher-exhaustion, wine, and walking we were exhausted!
Tomorrow the group was five hours of instruction and then free time to explore Montpellier some more.
Sunshine and sunflowers... that and a wine tour makes a perfect day.
I'm glad you qualified with some education too!
Posted by: sandi @the whistlestop cafe | July 05, 2012 at 10:42 PM
What a fantastic day!
Posted by: Sandrac | July 07, 2012 at 11:47 AM
Love the history, trivia, photos, and your personal take on it all...you are the perfect armchair travel guide!!!
Posted by: Kayte | July 10, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Yes, this was one of the best days on teh entire trip. What a blast!
Posted by: JDeQ | July 29, 2012 at 02:39 PM
Quelle beauté cette ville! On pense faire une location autobus afin d'aller le visiter dans quelques mois. Merci d'avoir partagé votre expérience avec nous.
Posted by: Megan | November 06, 2012 at 11:18 AM