5/1/2017  Roman Arena, Roman Games, Mostly sunny.  46F/64F
5/2/2017  Pont du Gard Roman Viaduct. Rain, clearing mid-afternoon.  45F/64F
5/3/2017  The Millau Viaduct. Mostly sunny, becoming partly cloudy.  48F/68F

From Geneva we caught a train to Lyon, France. You have to go through customs from Switzerland to France because Switzerland is not in the EU, but it required no more than a glance at our passports by French customs at the Geneva train station. The rail route follows the canyon of the Rhone River into France to Lyon, and from Lyon we boarded the TGV train (Tres Grande Vitesse, or “very high speed”), i.e. France’s version of the bullet train, which took us to Nimes (“Neem”). Since France has had these bullet trains around for over 30 years, they are not quite as new and shiny as in China, but they are just as fast … and turn the foreground into a blur, and get you there with breathtaking speed. Come on America, let’s get with it!

Photo 5355.  The scenery of the South of France flashes by as we ride the TGV from Lyon to Nimes.

We found Nimes to be a very agreeable, low-key, middle class, family-friendly small French city with Roman ruins that are better-preserved than those in Rome.

Photo 5611.  A wide pedestrian promenade from the Nimes train station to the town square and Roman arena.

Photo 2087.  The Roman Arena in Nimes was built circa 70 AD and still is in active use with a capacity of over 20,000.  We just happened to be in Nimes at the time of the annual Roman Games, which we went to see, and which was a 3-hour spectacle of military battles, wild horse-riding demonstrations, a mock naval battle, gladiator fights, and a chariot race.

Photo 2071.  Cheryl poses with a couple of Roman gladiators walking around town before the Roman games.

Photo 2125.  The Roman emperor surveys the scene from the stands.  The players take this very seriously!

 

Photo 2224.  Aftermath of a battle

Photo 5545.  Approaching the Pont du Gard, Roman aqueduct near Nimes constructed circa 40-60 AD. The bridge is over 1,180 feet long with a water channel drop in elevation of 1 inch — pretty decent grade control. It is part of a 31-mile aqueduct from a the mountains north to the Roman colony of Nimes, which at that time was called … Nemesis!

Photo 5547.  Details of the Pont du Gard stone work.  No mortar.

Moving from the era of ancient Rome to the modern era …

Photo 2248.  The Millau (“mee-YOE”) Viaduct is the tallest bridge in the world (1,125′ from surface of ground to top of tallest tower). The old road wound down into the canyon of the Tarn River, through the village of Millau and back up the other side. This was a traffic bottleneck during the summer season for driving from Paris to Spain, and the new bridge saved hours for drivers. To this engineer’s eyes, it is a work of stunning beauty: the gently tapered piers, the single line of support cables, and the very slight horizontal curve of the deck to put the geometry of the bridge on display for the northbound traffic. It was completed in 2004 and is 8,070 feet long. It was designed by British architect Sir Norman Foster and French structural engineer Dr. Michel Virlogeux. It would be hard to find a structure that puts the virtues of the engineering profession on display better than the Millau Viaduct: utility and beauty working in perfect harmony.

Photo 2327.  Millau Viaduct from below the structure

Photo 2790.  Back on the TGV to Paris.

Next stop: Paris.