When we decided to head for Nimes this long weekend we had no idea that it was going to coincide with their Pentecost Festival (Feria de Pentecote) – which is a 5 day event centred mostly around bull-fighting. As a result the famed Arena (the best preserved Amphitheatre in the whole of the Roman Empire) wasn’t open to visit – since it was hosting the bull fighting events. Built in 100AD it could seat 24,000 people and even had a retractable roof (...we couldn’t even manage one of those for the Wellington Stadium!). Clever lads those Romans. Arena access aside, it was great to be there for the Feria. Reminded us of the Wellington Sevens. Lots of people dressed up, bands, street bars, people getting drunk...that kind of thing. And we did manage to get to see many of the wonderful Roman ruins before the heat got the better of all us, and we flagged it for a swim back at the camp ground.
Reflection for the day: what a mix of cultures Europe really is. Today we were in a French city, famed for its Roman architecture, in the middle of a festival that celebrates bull fighting where we lunched on Paella (both of which are of course Spanish!)
and while you felt like you were in Courtney Place; New Zealand. How cultured you all are. I am starting to become very jealous.
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