Roman Ruins

After our experience in Milan, (insane traffic, graffiti ridden buildings, and your basic rampant chaos)we decided to skip Rome. We felt bad missing out on one of the greatest cities in Europe but decided the extra stress was not worth it. Fortunately, in France I learned that there are a great number of Roman ruins that are still intact thanks to my book Take Your Kids to Europe. We were privileged to visit the town of Nimes (the birthplace of denim!) where we saw a Roman temple, the Maison Carrée, which is considered one of Europe’s best preserved, as well as an arena. The arena in Nimes is still used for bullfighting and concerts. Once we were inside this awesome structure, Larry surprised us with a few bars of Di Provenza which stunned a few innocent bystanders and made us wanting more Verdi in the incredible natural acoustics of the arena. The next day the five of us went to the Pont du Gard, a three-tiered Roman aqueduct that immediately became Larry’s favorite sight. It was fascinating for all of us to learn how the aqueduct was built and its many uses. There were other sights and cities nearby in the Rhone Valley that we never got to that I hope to someday: Orange, Avignon (although when we passed, we saw huge and impressive castle walls that encircled the "downtown"area), Gordes, and many more. I can’t believe how the Romans were so ahead of their time. It seemed that all over Europe in many cities whether it was Cologne or Milan or Paris that the Romans really did conquer Europe and made amazing and lasting impressions which have quite miraculously lasted through the ages.

PS The farm house we stayed at near Rousillon was built over a sight of Roman ruins. And the structure itself was actually constructed with pieces of the ancient dwelling. Grandpa Hey-Hey had strange dreams that evening.