Our first day trip took us to Avignon. A bit gritty on the outside, there are not many big sights to see. This is a busy little town though, full of people shopping and enjoying the cafes. After parking the car we got about 100 yards before Angie broke one of her flip-flops, so the first order of business was finding a shoe store. After that we were free to explore. One fun fact we discovered was that Avignon was once the seat of the pope. In 1309 a French pope was elected, and at the urging of the French king, his holiness decided he had enough of unholy Italy. But after residing in Avignon for about 70 years, Italy demanded its pope back. So with no one willing to back down there were two popes (one in Avignon and one in Rome). In 1403 Italy won out, and the pope has been in Rome ever since.
Speaking of Rome, our next stop was the nearby Pont du Gard, a perfectly preserved Roman aqueduct from about 19 B.C. The 30-mile aqueduct is mostly on or below ground, but here spans a large canyon. Dropping one inch every 350 feet, the aqueduct supplied 9 million gallons of water per day to Nimes. It took the water 24 hours to make the trip with a drop of only 40 feet. The bridge itself stands 160 feet tall, the second tallest Roman structure still standing. (Rome’s Colosseum is a mere 6 feet taller.)
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