Provence, past & present

Day 5 – Friday 5 July

The day was spent travelling from Nimes back to London. We took the TGV to Paris and then Eurostar to London. A great time was had by all and we are looking forward to the lower temperatures in the UK.

Sorry, no photos today!

Day 4 – Thursday 4 July

The morning was spent at Pont du Gard (a famous roman aqueduct with the bridge added later), looking around the site, watching a short film and visiting the museum. After an ice cream, we headed to Uzes for lunch and some souvenir buying.

Later, we visited the Haribo factory and enjoyed a lot of sweets  – definitely a highlight for many in the group! 

Back to the hotel for a swim, supper and packing ready for journey home tomorrow.

Day 3 – Wednesday 3 July

Today we spent the morning in Arles, beginning with the Baths of Constantine. After some refreshing and reviving ice cream, we visited L’espace de Van Gogh, where he and Gaugin had a huge argument and he famously cut off his own ear.

Next stop was the Roman Theatre and we enacted a version of the Greek tragedy “Hippolytus”. Our lunch stop was Arles, followed by a pit stop in Saint Remy.

The afternoon was spent at Les Antiques – mausoleum and triumphal arch – just outside the site of Glanum (“France’s Pompeii” – though this is a stretch). The students sketched olive trees outside the asylum where Van Gogh spent the last years of his life (no longer a working asylum, don’t worry).

After a long but enriching day we headed back to the hotel for a swim and supper.

Day 2 – Tuesday 2 July 

We started the day by visiting Maison Carrée, a temple in Nimes dedicated to an imperial cult. Next we visited an amphitheatre, previously used for gladiator fights, and subsequently for bull fighting.

We stopped for lunch before visiting Tour Magne and walking through the gardens in Nimes.

After a stop for ice creams, we returned to the hotel for a swim and dinner.

Day 1 – Monday 1 July

The day was mostly spent travelling from London to Nimes by train – about five hours in total!

We arrived safely at the hotel and were unpacked and ready for supper  in advance of a full day of sightseeing in Nimes tomorrow.

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