Bye, Bye Avignon and Err the French!

So a couple days ago (June 14) we went to Nimes to see some Roman stuff.

Here is the Tour Magne which we were able to climb. It is an old Roman tower (built over an even older Celtic tower) that used to be part of the city wall. It gave us a good view of the city.

This was a beautiful park right below the tower. It is the best park we have seen so far in France. It has 'Augustinian' springs running through it.

A water fountain at the entrance of the park. This was a big deal because this is one of the first fountains that was actually running in France. In the background, on the hill, you can see the Tour Magne.

More of the spring outside the garden.

When we went to the Maison Carree (another Roman structure that was the center of the Roman forum) there was a 3-D video that we were able to watch. God, I can anything look good.

Here is the best preserved amphitheater in the world. 

They still hold bullfighting and other events here.

This is what Andrew and I do once we get back to our hotel most days... eat dinner and drink wine. Since we have no fridge in the hotels we have been staying in we go to the grocery store usually once a day, but sometimes 2 (sound like anyone you know Dad or Papa???). Although the grocery stores don't compare to a Buy-Lo, they have fresh bread, cheap cheese (we are eating a lot of Camembert right now) and of course because we are in France cheap wine (Andrew convinced me to get the 5 litre in the picture because we were in Avignon for 5 nights. The real selling point was that it was cheaper per litre than any bottles). We also try to have a vegetable of some sort, usually carrots or tomatoes. Thank god we are creatures of habit because we haven't gotten sick of this yet.

Today was our travel day from Avignon to Nice. It should have been a smooth 3 hour train ride on a high speed train but... because of poor French planning, engineering, infrastructure, lack of motivation and heavy rain, our train was "supprime", which we learned today means canceled. When we went to check which platform to get onto in Avignon we noticed that it said our train was going to Marseille, not Nice. I spoke to an information person at the train station who informed us that no trains were running past Toulon, so we would have to find a train from Marseille to Toulon and then a bus MIGHT bring us from Toulon to Nice. Of course, this information was only given to those people who stood in line and asked. There were no postings or announcements or any other information made available. So Andrew and I took a train to Marseille and then I went to ask again if there was any other way to get to Nice (I figure that if I don't like the first answer I get, I'll ask again and again until I get a better response). Luckily it worked, we found out there was a bus or buses (the guy didn't know) leaving from Marseille to Nice (the guy didn't know when either...). So Andrew and I rushed to the spot the information man said they would be. When we got there, there was a crowd of people waiting for a few buses, or bus (nobody knew how many buses there would be or when they would be coming). We happened to be standing next to some Brits. We talked about how if we were back in Canada or if they were in England, there would have been an orderly line (or 'queue'). But not in France. When the crowd started to move I pushed my way to the front and we managed to get on a bus.

Thank goodness we got to Nice... and it wasn't all that painful, but now Andrew and I have more to add to our list of things we don't like about France (which currently includes the fact that it is full of French people, among other things).

When we got here we fell in love with our room, and with Nice, of course, which is absolutely beautiful.

We can't wait to spend a day on the beach lathered in sunscreen!

Look Familiar?

Ok I'll give you a hint:

Yep, Andrew is a James Bond look a like... but he is a much younger version. 

We went to Marseille yesterday (June 12) to check out a beach and it was blazing hot. Luckily we had our bathing suits on... except Andrew's bathing suit are shorts that are made up mostly of cotton (we disagree on this point) and they look like they would take a long time to dry. Because we are in France I guess, some women decide that bathing suit tops are optional. So when Andrew was teasing me saying that he was going to wear his underwear into the ocean (which usually I wouldn't approve of because I wouldn't want anyone to feel uncomfortable because there is a weirdo in his underwear) I told him to go for it because some people didn't even bother wearing tops to the beach. By wearing underwear he was actually going above and beyond the women on the beach. So he wore his underwear swimming, and now you all saw Andrew in his underwear... and now it might be uncomfortable when we get back.

The beach really was beautiful. When we were there, we were told that the temperature was 28 and the temperature of the water was 21. Andrew said the water was colder (I didn't go in the water... mostly cause I didn't want to be seen with someone swimming in their underwear).

Today (June 13), we went to the Pont-du-Gard. It was really beautiful. We took a bus out to the site and once we got there we walked around a bit and then found a spot in the shade to read (me) and nap (Andrew).

We got back in a reasonable time today so we got to explore Avignon (where we are staying). It is a neat little town. It is a walled city and when the Pope lived in France, his residence was here. 

A couple more day trips, one to Nimes and another possibly to Carcassonne and then off to Nice!