Easter Weekend: Pt 2

Day 2 started off with a visit to the arena in Nimes. It looks very similar to the colosseum in Rome, but a little shorter and smaller in diameter. However, it appears to be much more intact than its larger cousin. Then to the roman temple just down the street. This was very impressive from the outisde as most of the columns appear intact. Inside, however, nothing is original and it has been converted and reconverted to various uses over the years. My advice is to take a picture and move on.


Next stop was another cave, Grotte des Demoiselles. This cave was similar in style to Aven Armand, but with a lower density of stalactites/stalagmites. It was a much larger cave though (at least the portion that the tour covered) and definitely interesting. This part of France seems to be ground zero for caves, and there are too many caves to even attempt to visit on one trip.

Then, off to the Cirque de Navacelles. This is a circular valley with a glacial kame in the middle. It is a huge place and bears a resemblance to a meteor crater (except for the giant kame in the middle). Very scenic location and well worth visiting. Tying all these together were still more awesome roads. The route into and out of the cirque were very exciting, but due to the higher traffic and tendency of drivers not to keep right, it's necessary to keep fairly slow.


From there, it was off to Carcassonne, the ancient walled city with a game named after it. The old city is up on a hilltop and is quite a large and imposing site. Double rings of turreted walls give it an impregnable look. Inside, though, it is a giant knot of tourists and tourist shops selling all sorts of knicknacks and trinkets. Definitely go visit, but get in, take your pictures, and get out. And stop to have some cassoulet, it's tasty.


Pics from Carcassonne are here.