The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge built in the first century AD to carry water over 50 kilometres to the Roman colony of Nemausus. It crosses the Gardon River near the town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard in southern France. It was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1985.
Wikipedia Link
This was a very photographed structure by everyone in the
group....especially me. There was a lot of climbing at this site and a
lot of oddities I was able to take pictures of. Naturally all my pics of
this site are missing such as the shells embedded in the aqueduct itself, the
graffeti from the 18th century and the lighting and stone carvings. We
were allowed on the other side of a locked gate, giving our group a chance to
see where the water flowed thru the aqueduct. Fortunately Marlene's pics
were intact. Here is
a pic of us with
the Pont du Gard in the background by Todd from her
phone.
It was the height of tourism for the schools as children on field
trips were there. They too climbed the hills to reach those photo op
locations and watched the movie and viewed the exhibits at the visitor center which I did not visit..
The Church of St. Trophime is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral located in the city of Arles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône Department of southern France. It was built between the 12th century and the 15th century, and is in the Romanesque architectural tradition
Wikipedia Link
At the time of our visit, there was a beggar was sitting on the steps of the church. Going against my conscience, I followed the unwritten rule of traveling to ignore the man. After leaving the church, the man was still sitting on the steps.
The cloister was constructed in the second half of the 12th century and the first half of the 13th century.[4] for the use of the Canons, the priests who attended the bishop and managed the church property. Under a reform instituted by Pope Gregory, the Canons were required to live like monks, with a common dormitory, refectory and cloister within the cathedral enclosure, separated by a wall from the city.
Wikipedia Link
(Refer to the Cloitre section)
The cloitre is nothing much to marvel at from the entrance. There are a couple of statues and cars parked. But once one pays the admission (we used the
exhibits passport) a treasure trove of statue, stone carvings and plaques can
be seen on the main level. There is a room upstairs showing a movie of
the place and an exit to the roof area.
In Ancient Roman architecture a cryptoporticus is a covered corridor or passageway. The usual English is "cryptoportico". The cryptoportico is a semi-subterranean gallery whose vaulting supports portico structures aboveground and which is lit from openings at the tops of its arches.
Wikipedia Link
This was a dark, dank rather boring experience. In places there were puddles and drops of water. About the only reason why I'd return is to retake the pictures I lost....namely the data/wire closet and the other modern day structures supporting the exhibit
like the metal staircase.
The Espace van Gogh was originally built in the sixteenth century as Arles main hospital and it remained as such well into the twentieth. It's major claim to fame is that it was here that Van Gogh was committed after the infamous episode of cutting off his left earlobe in December 1888. The courtyard has been extensively planted out to resemble as closely as possible his famous painting "Le Jardin de l'Hôtel de Dieu". The complex now houses the town library as well as exhibition spaces, a series of souvenir shops and a cafe.
[copied from http://www.arles-guide.com]
Marlene and I visited the grounds of the cultural center but did not pay the admission to explore. The Bibliothèque, one of the "offices" within the center was given an upgrade and renamed Médiathèque, noting that the building's plaque is one of my missing pics.
I bought a postcard and stamp at the souvenir shop and mailed it in Nice on June
6th. It was received on July 1st.
I thought the tour of the city would not be complete without
taking a trip to the banks of the River Rhone. Fortunately Marlene went
along with the idea. As we approached the promenade we saw a familiar
face - Daphne. Marlene and Daphne got to talking and I felt like a third wheel
and decided to do some exploring and take pics of the area and of the
river. There were a lot of old style buildings with some in ruins
as tho they had been standing in ruins after a war.
Daphne gave us a
brief background about the boxed shaped cruise ship docked alone the Rhone.
I was fascinated with some mooring hooks that were secured to the walls of the
promenade.
