Monday, May 24, 2010

Paddling under the Pont


Visited the Pont du Gard Saturday as part of our 3 day Nimes tour. The Pont is the only remaining part (albeit the most impressive part) of the 50km aqueduct that provided water to the city of Nimes. Built by the Romans (of course) in 50AD, it was the highest of its kind in the Roman Empire and would have been equally impressive if just built yesterday. Clever lads those Romans. Over the 50km length it only falls on average 25cm each km; how they got that right 2000 years ago is beyond me. Interestingly, most of the rest of the aqueduct was pulled down over the years with the stone being recycled for use in churches and other buildings. Today it is a UNESCO world heritage site. We spent the afternoon there, picnicking near the Pont, visiting the associated museums and, as you can see, taking a dip in the river.

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