215. Travels with a Cocker Spaniel in the Cévennes*

* Title plagiarised from R L Stevenson's classic account. 

Sunday, 15th June. Back home again after a restful few days away in the Cévennes, that delightfully unspoilt area that lies along the south-eastern edge of the Massif Central. 
En route to the Cévennes, we broke our journey at Carcassonne - and the view of the medieval walled town from the autoroute was stunning - and straight out of the Middle Ages (via Walt Disney...) The old town was knee-deep in tourists when we visited and listening to their chatter it was clear that the medieval town of Carcassonne is firmly on the international tourist map.  

Carcassonne

After a short 3-4 hour drive the following day, we arrived at our home for the next few days in the heat of the afternoon (temperature in the mid-30s). We were staying at a country hotel situated in an idyllic setting on a winding lane midway between Saint-Jean du Gard and Alès. This link will give some idea of the activities in the area. Staying at the same hotel was a lively group of some 40-odd septuagenarians who graduated from Montpellier University over 50 years ago and they've been meeting up on an annual basis ever since! After unpacking we found our way to the pool for a very welcome and much-needed splashdown.
This isn't a region of France that I've visited before and so we headed down to Nimes the next day. Winding our way through the shaded streets of Nimes we came first to the Roman amphitheatre - a colossal 2,000 year old stone structure that's still in use today (primarily, and regrettably, as a bullring). Its profile dominates the town (above) and it serves as a powerful reminder of the impact of Roman culture on Western Europe. 

Place de la Maison Carrée, Nimes

British architect Norman Foster was responsible for the renovation / restoration / (insert word of choice) of the Place de la Maison Carrée at Nimes. Without wishing to be too unkind to the architect, I think that when faced with designing a structure designed to complement the Maison Carrée, the timelessly elegant Roman structure (above left), then whatever we build 2000 years later is always going to come off second best. Norman Foster's structure is the Museum of Contemporary Art (but it could just as equally be a supermarket logistical centre). No votes from me I'm afraid. We were starting to wilt in the heat as various indicators around town were showing 36-37°.. We kept the dog topped up with water but it wasn't fair to him to stay any longer so we headed back to the car. (air con to max!)    
We next found our way to Uzès.. another jewel-like ancient Roman town. On another day it would reward careful exploration but on the day we visited, the thermometer was up at 39° and so we parked ourselves in the cool of the Place Albert 1er (below) where the dog (and us) could keep cool. (Click on the photo)      

Place Albert 1er, Uzès