Nimes etc - part2

The roman Arena is the major attraction in Nimes and deservedly so. Valerie could not cope with all the steep stairs so had to wait for me across the road, listening to a trumpet performance. I managed to negotiate all the curved arched corridors and the steps. It was well worth the visit. After a nice lunch We continued walking towards the Jardins de la Fontaine. Here more water emerges from the earth and has been channelled into canals - all in a formal setting with lots of statues. But the big attraction is the remains of the Roman Temple of Diana. You just don't see 2000 year old buildings in Australia! We did not take the 140 steps up to the Tower Magne, built around 15 BC. Then it was a mad dash back to the bus station, to save waiting another hour. We made it, and the trip back. Thursday morning I went to the Renault dealer to find out about my tyre. It had been available since Wednesday and they had tried to call me. It turned out that I had been giving everyone the wrong number! I blame those European 7s. So late morning we set off for the town of Orange, up the river a bit from Avignon. This is an attractive Ville, and we arrived just as the morning market was closing down. We enjoyed a delicious lunch near the tourist office then walked to major attraction, the best preserved Roman Theatre in Europe. Valerie got free entry from a sympathetic ticket seller due to all the steep stairs but at least got into the lower space. We both got audio guides and Don got the top of this 10,000 seat theatre, partly built into the side of a convenient hill. Another fascinating piece of the long past. We drove the short distance to the Arc de Triumphe, then set our sights on Mont Ventoux, famous foe often being a gruelling stage in the Tour de France and dominating the area. Our way was firstly across very flat farming country, with lots of vineyards and orchards. Then from the pretty town of Malaucene the rod went up. A sign said that the road was closed but we pressed on. A bit later a sign added that it was open to .... Pass. The road was excellent and there was almost nil traffic, a welcome change. We watched the temperature drop steadily and the views were breathtaking. Gradients were regularly advised, presumably for the cyclists, the steepest being 11 per cent. We eventually arrived at the ... Pass amidst more and more snow. Valerie was "freezing" whereas I felt invigorated. We had coffees in a little restaurant in front of a wood fire - nice. A family of cyclists, on mountain bikes! arrived, and they were cold. I did not find out where they had come from but it seemed unlikely that they had ridden all the way up. They did ride all the way as we saw them on the way down and at the bottom. We arrived home after a satisfying day.