Blog #6
Lindsey Turbeville

Montpellier has many sites to offer, but it is always nice to get away from the city life and see the surrounding area. So, on Saturday, June 12, we made our way to the city of Nîmes. For me and Kindahl, it was lucky that we made it at all, since we were fifteen minutes late to the bus stop. After the 45 minute bus ride with our tour guide, Jeremie, we arrived to Nîmes. The first sight we came to was the Le Jardins de la Fontaine, where we learned about it being built in approximately 25 BCE. As the centuries continued to thrive it was buried under ground as the population built around the fountain. Later, it was excavated and now serves as a running fountain for many tourists to enjoy.



This is a picture of the Le Jardins de la Fontaine. As you can see from its enormous size, it’s amazing to think that at one point in time the entire fountain was buried underground to be forgotten.


After leaving the gardens, we went further into the city of Nîmes, where we visited St. Castor, Maison Carrée, and the Amphitheatre or spectacula, as the Romans would say.We were told that this particular Amphitheatre was probably one of the best maintained in Europe.


I found it very interesting that this city waited until the late 20th century to excavate many of these monuments and use them as historical sites. I must add in here that during our break from touring, I made my way to lunch where I devoured one of the most enjoyable meals I have had this entire trip. Tiramisu gets five stars in my book.


After leaving Nîmes, we took another short bus ride to Pont Du Gard. This was by far the highlight of my day trip in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. The size of this roman aqueduct was breathtaking and essentially a series of arches that were placed perfectly on top of one another in order to make a “bridge for water”. We were able to hike to the top of the aqueduct and have a moment of bliss, as we gazed over the valley area, the river and its beautiful essence. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of these ten minutes.


After making our way down the hill, we were given the option to continue hiking, but I chose to go take a dip in the river. The water was very cold, but we managed to make it in to about our knees. Then suddenly, Rebecca, Steven and Brandon R. decided to cliff jump into the river from about thirty feet up. Basically it was AWESOME! I was definitely cheering them on, but never would I have the guts to something that outrageous.

This is a picture taken of me, Kindahl and Rebecca after she took her brave jump into the River! It was by far a perfect ending to a long day and great to make some more memories in France.