Avignon

I am just sitting in Avignon TGV Station waiting for my train to Paris so thought I would have a go at writing my blog while Avignon is still fresh in my mind. I really enjoyed my two nights in this city and would recommend a visit here to anyone who is planning a visit to France. Things got off to a great start at my new hostel because it was half the price of the one in Nice and 100x nicer. It was called Pop Hostel and was in a renovated 18th century building. I only had to share a room with 3 other people and it's the first hostel I have been in that has air conditioning. Although it was on the main street it was very quiet inside so I knew I was going to be sleeping well there. Once I was settled in I went walking around the city centre on search of some good French food!   I didn't have to look far and found a comfortable cafe across the road from my hostel. I ordered a chicken baguette, mille-feuille and an iced coffee. I found myself a table outside and did a spot of people watching while I enjoyed my food. It was great!  

Nice room

Mmmm mille-feuille

The building my hostel was in

Then I had a wander around the cobbled streets, walked to the city wall (part of Avignon is inside city walls) and was justa real lady of leisure for the evening. All the walking made me hungry so when I found a small Risoto shop that had a deal for risoto and a drink for €6 I got in there quick and bought my dinner. I am not a huge risoto fan, never have been, but for that price thought it was worth giving a go. I was so pleased because I have never had such a good risoto! I got a chicken one that had lemon in it. It was so good that I went back last night to have the same thing again!  

Yum!

The hostel offered a French breakfast for a small price and as I was enjoying my croissant the next morning I overheard some Aussies asking about a day trip to the Pont du Gard and the town of Nîmes. Both of these were spots I was desperate to get to and had been trying to figure out how I could get there. The tours I'd found were €50+ and I just didn't have the funds to justify that so when I heard they were catching a bus out there I plucked up the couraged and asked if I could join them for the day. They happily welcomed me and at 11am we (4 Aussies and 3 Kiwis) set off to try and find this bus that would take us to the Pont du Gard.  

11.25am came around and the bus never showed. We were told to look out for a big yellow one but no one saw a yellow bus in sight. 11.40am, still no bus. A few of the group were getting a bit restless but I was happy thinking to myself how much better I felt about getting lost as a group instead of by myself. Finally we spotted a yellow bus in the distance and had to sprint to another stop and by 11.50am were on the way to the Pont du Gard. The bus only cost €1.50 can you believe!  

Good deal!

At this point I was feeling quite giddy with excitement. For those who don't know, the Pont du Gard is a Roman aqueduct and one of the oldest Roman hydraulic works. It was built around 20BC and brought water into the city of Nîmes from a spring in the mountains. I can remember when I first learnt about it in my Year 12 Classics class and marvelling at how clever the Romans were to build such a thing. Learning about this may have even been what sparked my love of Roman architecture, which I studied in more deoth at university, so you can understand my excitement.  I kept it quite well hidden though because I didn't want my new acquaintances to think I was weird. When I first got a glimpse of though I nearly burst. Oh it was a glorious!  

I made it!

Up close and personal

View from the aqueduct

So beautiful!

Just try wipe that smile off my face!

After our Pont du Gard visit we caught another €1.50 bus to the city of Nîmes, a city that was occuopied by the Romans for many years which explains the Roman influence in this region. The main reason for stopping off here was to visit the Nîmes Arena. This arena a Roman amphitheater so similar to the Colosseum in design and purpose only smaller. It could still hold 24, 000 spectators though! It was an amazing structure to explore because it was in such great condition, better than any other in the world. The entry fee covered an audio guide as well which was great because it gave so much mkre tp the experience. I managed to only pay €6.50 to get in because I said I was unemployed (kind of true) and they accepted my working visa as proof. At the Pont du Gard I got in for a student because I asked if they had discounts for teachers and when they said no I jusy asked for a student one and they agreed, sometimes you just have to ask!  

So happy I got here!

Yay!

Nice arches

So happy!

I wish they'd get down from here!

From the outside

Shot of the OE

The audio guide was great at transporting you back to 2,000 years ago and imaging the atmosphere within the arena. The things that went on there would've been so gruesome, people getting mauled to death by lions and bears. The mkst interesting part was when I learnt about the gladiatoral combats and how, unlike Hollywood films would like us to believe, after the 1st century AD gladiators were actually free men who volunteered to fight. 90% of the combats ended up with a loser that survived because if one of them died the owner of the school he was trained at had to be paid to compensate for the training school's loss. It could cost the sponser of the event a lot of money if he allowed the gladiators to fight until death. There were also referees in the arena, can you believe? These were men who were retired gladiators and they were there to judge the effort and perseverance of each combatant. It was such a great and fascinating tour.  

On the bus trip back to Avignon (about 2 hours) I fell asleep because I was exhausted after such a funfilled day. As I mentioned earleir I went back to get soem risotto for dinner. I had mentioned it to some of my new friends so one of them came to get some with me. When we got back to the hostel to eat it the others wanted some so after I'd finished I took them back to get some too. They were all very impressed with the risotto and the young French girl who had served me both noghts was very happy at the extra people I brought along. She let us choose any risotto and drink for €6, instead of the chosen risotto of the day, and that was my first positive experience with a French person on this trip :)  

I had a few hours to spare in Avignon this morning before heading to the train station so again walked around the streets of Avignon, popping in and out of shops and jusy enjoyed the city. I walked along the river and admired the Pont d'avignon and then went back inside the city walls and climbed to the top of a hill to look at some views of the surrounding towns. Provence is a very beautiful part of France and I am very happy that I included it in my travels.  

Very French

The Pope's old residence

One more sleep until my birthday! Cannot believe I am nearly 25, that's just crazy! To start celebrations early tonight I am headinv up the Eiffel Tower with a girl I met in Nice and I have a very nice day planned for my special day tomorrow but you'll have to wait for my next entry to see what fun I get up to!  

Love to you all X