July 15-18, Avignon & Nimes

It was hard to leave St Martin d'Ardeche. I will have to return someday! By the time I rolled out of the auberge at 9:30 am, the heat and humidity were already palpable. I took the road out of town through Aigueze towards Orange and leisurely cycled southeast by more vineyards and fields of sunflowers. As I learned later, I was helped by a strong wind at my back called the Mistral that commonly blows down the north-south corridor created by the Alps and the Rhone river. As I biked, I saw more hilltop castles & picturesque landscapes that I will never tire of seeing. I took a quick tour of Orange, that started with the beautiful Roman triumphant arch at the northern edge of the city. I passed through the bubbling market place, that sold clothes, trinkets, fruit and meat, then onwards to the theatre. I ended up buying a beach towel since I had forgotten my towel at the Paris hostel (towel is a necessity!). But I felt a push to keep pedaling. I stopped for lunch at the side of the road and had goat cheese pizza that I had picked up at an amazing bakery in St Martin on my way out of town. I then continued pedaling through the region Chateauneuf-du-Pape which was the highlight of my day. The road had little traffic and twisted through well-kempt vineyards and estates. The town Chat.-du-Pape was idyllic and I enjoyed visiting the wine stores that looked like caves and exploring the narrow, hilly streets by bike. To keep good time, I cycled on a main road into the Avignon suburb, Le Pontet, where my hotel was situated. Not recommended. Lots of traffic, dust, and unpleasant industrial roadside buildings. The place I stayed was nothing to write home about but it had Internet and I got caught up on some emailing and some much needed sleep!

The next day, I rode towards the center of Avignon and saw numerous street performances around the Palais du Pape as part of the month-long Avignon arts festival. I decided to head towards a small town called Aramon next on my way to Nimes. The road looked on the map like a minor road but turned out to have no shoulder and heavy traffic. When I got to Aramon, the town was pretty but quiet. It was just past noon and I saw a cute restaurant 'Sous les Oliviers' and decided to go in to relax, cool down, and treat myself after an unpleasant stretch on the road. The place was sunken down into the ground with walls and ceiling made out of stone (cave-like). The ambiance was fantastic and food was amazing. After spending a couple hours enjoying my three-course lunch (my first such lunch on my trip!), I headed into the heat to continue towards Pont-du-Gard and Nimes. The roads after Aramon were wonderful. A little twisty and hilly, passing through vineyards and old towns. The town of Theziers had a beautiful Roman church at its outskirts. I arrived at Pont-du-Gard mid afternoon and wow, what a magnificant sight! The sheer size of the aquaduct bridge was awe inspiring. I parked my beach towel by the water and just chilled out for a few hours, basking in the late afternoon sun. I got to Nimes around 8 pm and on my way to the hostel, I passed by Les Arenes (the amphitheater of Nimes like the Colluseum in Rome) - very cool! That night, I met some cool people at the hostel including two Canadians, Teela and Lindsay, who were biking around France like me. We had fun sharing stories and good cycle routes :)


The next day, we hung out together before I headed back to the hostel to have R & R. I guess the many days on the bike and in the sun had caught up with me! After some serious rest, the next morning I was ready to explore Nimes. I headed to the gardens where there was a Bacci ball tournament going on. I had never played the game and tried to figure out the rules while having fun watching the many people, both young and old, on the sidelines completely engrossed in the game. I then took the audioguided tour of Les Arenes which was fascinating. After completely saturating my brain with information, I headed to Les Halles for a drink where I met up with Andy, from England & who worked at the hostel, and Martin, from the Czech Rep. Les Halles was an indoor market, selling produce & meat, but at its center was a bar where Andy (who's been living in Nimes for 19 years) met a group of lively friends every Sunday for drinks and food. I had an amazing time and tried some 'food' I had never tasted before - we had heart, guts, testicals (I didn't get a straight answer as to which animal these came from), octopus & Camenbert cheese. We then had a dessert plate that included espresso, creme brûlée, cream and chocolate cake. The people & conversation, what a riot! After heading back to the hostel, I played Bacci ball with Andy, Martin, Laurent (a guy from Montreal), and Dave (a guy from London who organizes the European version of Burning Man). Dave then gave me an exhilarating ride in his orange Caterham car (check them out online!). The same folks from lunch came by the hostel and we played Bacci ball, drank wine and ate good food late into the night. Ah, the life! The community here is wonderful.

Tomorrow, I head off by train to Nice. Goodbye Nimes! I should not despair, because I'll be back someday.

July 15

July 16

July 18