The Romans knew a thing or two about living in a decent climate. All teh more surprising, therefore, that they eventually chose to cross the Channel and invade the British Isles. There were benefits, however; it is because the Romans were stupid enough to invade a country with a climate as crappy as Britain that we have central heating. Every cloud, etc. … and there is certainly no shortage of clouds in the British Isles.
In these parts, around Arles and Nîmes, there are several notable Roman architectural relics. one of the most famous is the Pont du Gard, an impressive three-tiered Roman aqueduct that carried fresh water into Roman Nîmes, where there is an equally impressive Roman arena similar the Colosseum in Rome.
Scattered here in and around les Alpilles are more Roman relics, perhaps not as grand as those more famous relics aforementioned but quite impressive nonetheless. A little south of us is a another Roman aqueduct, much less imposing than the Pont du Gard but it served a similar life-giving purpose to someone in these arid parts 2000 years ago. It’s in the middle of nowhere, really, and there’s nowhere to park so we had to leave our car with fashionable abandon at a very rakish angle on a road verge nearby.
Slightly to the north of us on the outskirts of the well-known tourist trap of St-Remy-de-Provence, lies the Roman settlement of Glanum where there is another more money-spinning archaeological site. Here, there is parking and plenty of it at €2.50. beside the car park are two quite impressive Roman relics: a triumphal arch (triumphant of what, I’m not entirely sure) and a mausoleum.
Having shelled out your €2.50 to park, across the road there is the archaeological site of Glanum itself, at a further €7.00 each to get in. Knowing us, you’ll just have to be satisfied with the triumphal arch and the mausoleum on the outside and be glad that we paid the parking fee. 😀
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