Les Matelles

This is a quaint little village near Montpellier. People really live here and have decorated their surroundings with colour, floral and otherwise. I had to take photos of the stone stairs and windows. I love them.

Nimes

This afternoon, after classes, I visited Nimes. First stop, the amphitheatre (les arenes). This was built at the beginning of the second century AD. There had been amphitheatres in Italy since the second century BC and as Nimes had become a Roman colony in 49 BC, this type of building had become popular as a place to be entertained. A day in the arena started with fights to the death between animals and hunters. At midday, those convicts who had received the death penalty were tied to stakes and given over to wild animals. In the afternoon there were combats between gladiators.
In later years this place was turned into a fortress and people lived there. In more recent times the amphitheatre was used for bullfighting, coming from Spain in the 11th and 12th centuries. They still have performances held here, the main one in April, where they invite you to go back in history and watch gladiators fighting, horse tournaments and military processions, to name a few.
This amphitheatre in Nimes is the best preserved Roman theatre of its kind in the world.
La Maison Carre, the square house, is beautiful. We had coffee nearby and enjoyed just looking at it. This is also a world famous remnant of Roman times. It was built in the first century BC as a temple and is the only one still intact in the world. Among other things, it was used as a town hall and a church through its history. Now it is a cinema and projects a 3D movie of the history of Nimes. There are gladiator battles with weapons appearing to be coming at you.
I visited the gardens and took some more photos of beautiful bridges. Hope you enjoy.

 For those of you interested in food, my next report will show just some of the treats awaiting the traveller to France, and to Nimes in particular.

La Grande Motte

I was fascinated by the appearance of this seaside town. It is fairly modern for Europe, about the nineteen sixties. The buildings have been designed to look like Egyptian pyramids. And there's a whole lot of them! This town just looks so different from others in the area, quite striking.

Just a bit more about Aigues-Mortes

Not only was this a trading port but also the point of departure for those going on a crusade. The town came about through king Louis IX, who also became known as Saint Louis, in the 13th century. His plan for the town was just about finished when he left in 1248 to go on the 7th crusade to Jerusalem. The walls were not actually finished till early 14th century. The town is enclosed on 4 sides by ramparts, herisse de tours et perce de portes.( with towers and gates).
This port was also the only way to get into France from the sea. Nearby there are mountains of salt, extracted from the sea. In earlier times, salt was used as a form of money and those who could produce it became very wealthy. Salt was even used as a form of revenue earning. Imagine paying your tax with salt!
Port de commerce et depart pour les croisades, ne de la volonte du roi Saint Louis, Aigues-Mortes fut l'unique acces maritime au royaume de France. Louis embarqua pour la septieme croisade en 1248. Le plan de la ville etait presque termine.
Other important things about this place is that it is not only one of the most spectacular medieval strongholds in all of Europe, but also one of the best preserved. Cette forteresse des sables (sand), intacte et preservee, est aujourd'hui l'une des fortifications medievales les plus spectaculaires et les mieux conservees d'Europe.

A fascinating place. I loved it.

Aigues-Mortes

I was completely captivated by this walled town. The ramparts and buildings really made be feel I had gone back in time. The astonishing thing is that people actually live here in these same houses as peoples from another time. You must excuse that I share so many photos of stone steps, doorways, little streets with arches, windows and doors, and bridges. These are my favourite places and I can't resist taking photos of them.

This was an important trading town in the Middle Ages as it was near the sea.

Some more photos of those fabulous rocks

Le Lac Salagou

I thought I was back in Scotland. This lake has red rocks round it and the lake bottom is red too. It is because of the ferous oxide. The land and hills all have this red colour in the soil too. With the cloud overhead in a grey sky, I really felt back on my native soil. What stood out was the greenness of  the grass, coming up everywhere after the rain.
Then we visited the Cirque de Moureze, an amazing area of tall rocks/ fossils which we were told was caused by erosion. The whole area had been under water many years before our history. Another energetic hike up and around these boulders was well worth the effort. I would suggest you google image some of these places. Just fascinating.