Provence continued...

Apart from nature, we also saw plenty of other stuff. First of all we stayed in Avignon, so missing the 'Pont d'Avignon' (or Pont Bénézet, as it's officially known) was really hard. Furthermore, because all pupils took Latin and/or Greek in school, you couldn't escape Roman theaters, buildings and other assorted thingymebobs. So, here are some photos of some of what we saw!

Emperor Hadrian (if I recall correctly)

On our morning in Vaison-la-Romaine we first of all visited the theater there. The old Roman theater that is. After that we got the chance to visit the rest of this small museum. This photo shows Emperor Hadrian (I guess the one from the wall) in all his glory! Vaison is quite remarkable, because not only did it show two emperors, it also showed an empress (Sabine)!

Little street in Arles

Since I took photos of more than one theater, I didn't think it necessary to put them all here. It would be very boring! And when in Arles I saw this lovely little picturesque street. I wasn't the only one loving the view and finally managed to get a shot without anyone in it. Until I got home that is and saw the 'big picture'. Someone sneaked in! Not very nice, but at least I got the bike in!

Pont de Langlois

Do you recognize this bridge? Chances are you don't when it's like this, but imagine it while the ramps are down, there's a cart on it and some washerwomen on the water's edge doing their laundry. Can you picture it? If you still can't, check out this link. The bridge in the photo is actually a replica, since the old bridge wasn't safe anymore I guess. And this bridge isn't used anymore either and another bridge (very rickety) has been erected about 30 meters away.

Arena in Nîmes

A Roman theatre is basically a half-circle. It could seat between 2 and 7 thousand people and was used mainly for plays. A Roman arena is made by putting two theatres together, creating a full circle. Sometimes the arena was elongated, to create an oval. A small oval could be used for gladiator fights, a large oval could be used for chariot racing. The arena in Nîmes is a smaller oval. It's still being used today, mainly for bullfights (apparently not the killing variety).

Maison Carrée in Nîmes

You might look at this and think: well, that's not Roman, that's Greek! I certainly did, but according to the pupils it was Roman. The Greek version would be completely open and you could approach it from all sides. The Roman version is only open on one side and could therefore only be approached by one side. This was probably part of the Forum, one of the more important spaces in any Roman town.

Pont Bénézet or Pont d'Avignon as it's commonly known

This bridge was built to span across the River Rhône and the Isle of Barthelasse in the middle of that river. It used to have over 20 arcs, but at some point the bridge was damaged and this is the only remaining part of it. Fortunately there are several other bridges now to cross the river, since this bridge doesn't span the whole river!