Nîmes

 Here I am in Nimes!

I am checking into my absolutely beautiful hotel. I couldn't resist staying here. I could sleep on the stairs, it is so amazing. 

But....the rooms are not so bad either. LOL. 

 I am going to go check out a few sites here, but my stay here is not long. I am flying out late tomorrow afternoon and I am going to spend the last of my time in France in the city of Love. In the meantime, there are a few beautiful places to check out and I just know I am going to find a fantastic place to eat.

 My first site of the day.....
The Arena of Nîmes

The Arena of Nîmes is a Roman amphitheater found in the French city of Nîmes. Built around 70A.D., it was remodeled in 1863 to serve as a bullring. The Arenas of Nimes is the site of two annual bullfights, and it is also used for other public events.
The building encloses an elliptical central space 133 m long by 101 m wide. It is ringed by 34 rows of seats supported by a vaulted construction. It has a capacity of 16,300 spectators and since 1989 has a movable cover and a heating system.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_of_N%C3%AEmes)

 Then off to.......
The Maison Carrée
The Maison Carrée is an ancient building in Nîmes, southern France; it is one of the best preserved temples to be found anywhere in the territory of the former Roman Empire.

It was built c. 16 BC,^[1] and reconstructed in the following years,^[2] by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, who was also the original patron of the Pantheon in Rome, and was dedicated or rededicated c. 2-4/5 AD to his two sons, Gaius Julius Caesar and Lucius Caesar, adopted heirs of Augustus who both died young. The inscription dedicating the temple to Gaius and Lucius was removed in medieval times. However, a local scholar, Jean-François Séguier, was able to reconstruct the inscription in 1758 from the order and number of the holes in the portico's facade, to which the bronze letters had been affixed by projecting tines. According to Séguier's reconstruction, the text of the dedication read (in translation): "To Gaius Caesar, son of Augustus, Consul; to Lucius Caesar, son of Augustus, Consul designate; to the princes of youth."^[3]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maison_Carr%C3%A9e)

Then.....
Nîmes Cathedral

Nîmes Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Castor de Nîmes) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Nîmes, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the local saint Castor of Apt.
It was the seat of the Bishops of Nîmes until 1877, when the name of the diocese was changed, and is still the seat of their successors the Bishops of Nîmes, Uzès and Alès.
The cathedral is believed to stand on the site of the former temple of Augustus. It is partly Romanesque and partly Gothic in style.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%AEmes_Cathedral)








^{Now it is time for food. And then another few sites tomorrow.
See you in Paris}