7 June 2016. There is no question the ancient Romans were talented engineers. The Colosseum in Roma is still standing after almost 2000 years while the courthouse in Salem, Oregon, was condemned after 10 years due to construction problems.
Me at the amazing Pont du Gard. Still standing after 2000 years.
At Avignon there are two famous bridges: The Pont du Gard and the Pont Saint-Bénézet. The Pont du Gard is as old as the Colosseum (1st century A.D.) and still standing, but the Pont Saint-Bénézet (aka Pont d’Avignon), built between 1177 and 1185, was abandoned in the mid 17th century as they could not keep the arches from collapsing when the Rhône River flooded. Today the four surviving arches on the bank of the Rhône are believed to have been built in around 1345 and are all that remain. It is a bridge to nowhere.
The bridge to nowhere, that is the “Pont du Avignon.”
Roman engineering triumphs, but not necessarily the Romans of today. Overall it seems to us that maintenance is not a priority. Italians wait until something is broken to fix it.
We’ve stopped in Antibes and Avignon visiting Nice and Arles while in the vicinity, followed by a few chilly days in Chamonix during which Mont Blanc refused to reveal itself. We navigated through the French train strike with minor inconveniences and we ate our share of baguettes and too much cheese. We had a fabulous pizza in Antibes, of all places, and a terrible one — one of the worst ever — in Chamonix. (I’ll blog about this one shortly at Our Weekly Pizza.)
Following are a few travel photos with captions for those inclined to click through the slideshow.
A presto!
This woman must be an Italian. I was wearing hiking boots as we trod up to the top of the Pont du Gard for the view.
Pont du Gard. This view was well worth the trudge uphill.
Mural in the hallway of our hotel, Hotel Le Colbert, Avignon. One of the best we’ve stayed in.
The very colorful Le Colbert.
Artwork everywhere at Le Colbert.
Hotel Le Colbert breakfast room. Patrice served an exceptional breakfast.
Morning light, Avignon. One of our favorite things to do is wander in a town early, as it is waking up.
Saw this little guy on a wall beside the trail at Pont du Gard.
We found many of these painted “windows” on facades throughout Avignon.
Avignon bicycle.
Antibes beach walk, featuring copies of paintings by famous impressionists with the view the artisit portrayed.
View from our apartment, Port Vauban, Antibes.
“Nomad” from the collection at the Picasso Museum, Antibes.
I loved this view at the Picasso Museum, Antibes.
The lovely curve of the beach at Nice.
What a French train station looks like early in the morning when there is a strike. A couple of our trains were cancelled.
Hiking Cap d’Antibes. Lovely trail here belied what was to come.
The Cap d’Antibes trail became quite rugged in parts, lots of stairs, and some tricky footing.
Terrific restaurant in Antibes. We had a little cat keep us company. I love that in Europe!
No doubt an Arab-owned yacht, powering past Antibes as she steamed toward Nice.
Flower market, Nice.
Contented customer, Antibes.
In Arles we followed the Vincent Van Gogh trail, where copies of his paintings are placed in the location he painted.
A Van Gogh painting of the courtyard of the hospital he stayed at in Arles, today’s Espace Van Gogh.
The courtyard as it looks today. Few differences.
Guard cat, Pont du Gard.
I thought Ric looked every inch the Frenchman sitting in this Avignon cafe.
Girovaga 