Although we really can’t complain, as this is the first rain we’ve had since we’ve arrived in France, and it was expected to pass through fairly quickly. All the laundry I did last night – as well as R’s blue jeans! – were thoroughly dry, thanks in part to the small but mighty space heater in the study, as well as the general overall warmth of the apartment! I do have to say that the apartment does have one of the nicest bathtubs I’ve ever come across anywhere – it’s the perfect size, but it’s for soaking only, no bubbles anywhere (which is my kind of tub!) and the hot water is really hot! Also, the plumbing fixture is perfect for getting one’s head under it, and though there is the smaller extension hose to wash things off, this tub and fittings is absolutely perfect for me … so, a nice soak as it rained outside, and then we sat down to a simple breakfast of French bread and raspberry jam along with grapefruit juice. You can’t get much better than that!
It took us a while to get ready to go out, but then we headed to Les Halles, only a block or so down the street, to the indoor market Philip had told us about. It’s really an interesting place. Not too crowded, but so nice that it’s indoors! Our favorite market in Lyon is, of course, outdoors, and while there is plenty of room, it could definitely be rather frigid in the wintertime, which is the only times we’ve visited Lyon! An interesting thing, though, is that we were finally able to locate Gabriel Coulet Roquefort, but it wasn’t the kind that we had at Nathalie’s, Castelviel. We will definitely have to keep looking, and possibly may have to return to Roquefort at some point before we head home!! At any rate, we did find a place that was roasting whole chickens, so we were able to get a roasted chicken, as well as potatoes, and then found some nice looking haricot vertes (green beans) at another stall. From there, we made a brief stop at the Carrefour for more water, more grapefruit juice and a few other things, before bringing everything back to the apartment for dinner tonight.
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| Different stalls at Les Halles |
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An amazing amount of olives!
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| Hams and sausages from everywhere! |
We decided, as it was still pretty wet, that we would leave the outdoor places – principally, the Arena and the Maison Carree for either tomorrow or Thursday, when it’s supposed to be dry, and head instead to a museum or two. The closest being the Natural History museum, we thought we go their first. Well … unfortunately, like many natural history museums we are finding worldwide these days, not a lot of attention is being paid here, and it’s unfortunate. Not only is the collection very small, the building itself is fairly dilapidated and definitely in need of serious attention. They did have a nice collection of Menhirs taken from around France and particularly this area, as well as quite a nice display about man and his/her ancestors, as well as ancient animals from this area. There was also a display about the geology of the area, including some petrified trees that had been found in an ancient mine a few mines from here. That was done in both English and French, which was very helpful.
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| Our tiny apartment elevator! |
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| Across the street from our front door |
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| Nice "greeter" in the garden! |
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| Now those are teeth! |
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| It's nice to be greeted by someone tall! |
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| Some stunning menhirs! |
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| Loved the carving on this little one! |
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| R's spanish salad |
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| My Italian salad with penne and ham! |
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| Street outside the restaurant |
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| Beautiful church spires we can see from our balcony! |
From the museum, we spotted a restaurant called La Reserve which looked interesting. And, as it was a bit past lunchtime, we decided to go in to have something to drink. Turns out, though, that their menu looked so good, we decided to have lunch – and SO glad that we did! We both ordered salads – and they were both truly excellent! R had a Spanish salad – lettuce, fresh cheese, chorizo, and marinated onions, and I had their Italian salad – lettuce, penne pasta, tomato, small balls of wonderful mozzarella, and ham with pesto and olives. Wow! We’re thinking that this is one restaurant we will definitely come back to, as it’s not too far from the apartment, and the food and presentation are terrific! Glad to know that there are still some restaurants in Nimes that are open!!
After that, as it was after 2, we decided we wanted to take a little time off, so headed back to the apartment and we both took naps…it’s really nice being just a little lazy now and then! Definitely more to do tomorrow … but we’ll do it … tomorrow!
Robert put together an abbreviated history on Nimes that I wanted to share, which summarizes in a few short sentences what has been happening in this area over the past centuries. So, a bit about Nimes!
According to archaeologists, the site was the home of neolithic peoples over 6,000 years ago. Development continued through the Bronze Age and into the Iron Age, when it became a fortified town (around 600 BC). The Romans entered the area in 123 BC but the local Celtic people offered no resistance. The city was on the Via Domitia – the Roman road connecting Iberia to Italy – and grew to become Colonia Nemausus around 29 BC. The city still shows signs of its Roman past: The Maison Carrée – a temple from the first century BC; the Amphitheater from the second century AD; the so-called Temple of Diana, built by Augustus in the first century AD; the Aqueduct, including the Pont du Gard (where it crosses the river).
Nimes was captured by the Visigoths in 472 AD, the Muslims in 725 and, in 752, by Pepin the Short, King of the Franks. Relative peace came during the reign of St Louis (Louis IX – 13th century) but unrest returned with the Wars of Religion, in the 16th century.
As peace returned, the city grew prosperous, although with some disruptions during the Revolution and WW II.
[One additional note on the arena – like the Arena di Verona in Italy where opera is held every summer, the Arena in Nimes is still in use today! Unfortunately (in our view) it is used for bullfighting, but is also used for other types of concerts and public events. We from the U.S. find this fascinating, considering that most buildings nearing 50 years of age are considered candidates for replacement these days!]
Much love,
m
xxx
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