Today we say adiós to Spain and salut to France! We had to stop along the way at a rest stop for 30 minutes. The drivers can only drive for so many hours before they are required to take a break. The drive was long, but quite picturesque. Our first stop was in Carcassonne, a medieval walled in city. There is also a more modern part to the city, but we just visited the walled in part. We split up and ate lunch here. There was a nice cathedral and the Comtal castle to see, although we did not go into the castle itself. There were many quaint shops along the way. After Carcassonne we continued on to Nîmes to our hotel. It is really nice, and really old. The elevator is one that you have to open the doors yourself and has glass walls. It was quite an experience! The students also had fun trying to figure out how to use the skeleton key. After we got settled in we took a short walk to the Tour Magne, which used to be one of the watchtowers surrounding the city in Roman times. We had to go up in two groups, as space was very limited up there. The view from the top was breathtaking! From there we walked to the Maison Carré, or square house. The Maison Carré used to be a temple and is simply a one room square building. Inside we watched a short movie in 3-D about the history of Nîmes. From there we walked past the arena and on to dinner. For dinner we had a “tarte tomate chèvre et basilica (quiche made of tomatoes, goat cheese, and basil) and salad with “sauce dijonnaise” (vinegar and oil with Dijon mustard). The main dish consisted of a chicken with mushroom sauce and potatoes, or “Suprème de poulet aux champignons.” For dessert we had “Fondant au chocolat,” which is a very rich chocolate cake swimming in cream. Since it was Alex’s birthday, her dessert came with a sparkler. In France they put sparklers on birthday cakes instead of candles. Then we walked back to the hotel and settled in for the night. Much of the day was spent in the bus today, so there is not as much to blog. À demain (See you tomorrow!)
P.S. I am a day behind on my blogs because I have finally figured out that I can use my time on the bus writing this, then just post them in the evening so I don't have to stay up late! Sheesh! That's why they are a day behind.
