Roman' in Provence - from Cycling to Chariots!

After a couple of nights of movie viewing and a break from blogging, we are BACK! What happened on Monday you all yell. Well it was a bit like a mystery tour of Haute Provence. We went looking for the famed  Gorges de la Nesque and after a fairly hair raising drive we saw a nice tree covered gorge but we didn't think it was a highlight. We then headed up Mont Ventoux with many cyclists and were amazed at the barren rock covered top, it was 1912 metres high. Why I asked often would anyone want to ride up those torturous mountains?


The top of Mont Ventoux

Tuesday dawned and we headed off on a full day of Roman discovery. We spent the morning in Avignon with the Popes. The Palais des Papes which housed Popes in 1309-1377 provided us with large amounts of information and we were amazed at the size of their residence. We saved our feet for a change and went on a little train around the walled city.




Pont St-Benezet
Sur le Pont d'Avignon was written about this bridge.




A view of the walled city of Avignon

After Avignon we went to Pont du Guard which was a highlight for Meryl. It was amazing that the Romans could build such a structure nearly two thousand years a go. It was a bridge and an aqueduct which took water from a spring to the town. The museum there was fantastic and gave us a wonderful insight into how it was built.



Pont du Guard

The final activity to finish a long day of Roman history was a visit to the Theatre Antique in Orange. The great wall at the back of the stage was built in the first century. Regarded as the best preserved of the entire Roman Empire in Europe. Concerts are still being held there today.



Theatre Antique in Orange