May 26 - Nimes - Sete - Barcelona

 What a long day it will be!   We said good-bye to our Englishmen friends after breakfast and others who were not joining us on the post-cruise option to Barcelona.   We found out that the TGV high-speed train to Barcelona was being worked on today.   So we were in for a long day of bus riding!

Our first stop was in Nimes.  It was considered the most Roman town outside of Italy.   In its heydey it was a Roman regional center, home to 50,000 to 60,000 inhabitants.   Emperor Augustus started a major building program in the city.   This the Maison Carree, a well preserved Roman temple (1st C. BC).     (bus pic, we didn't stop..)

Here's their fantastic amphitheater.

We didn't get a chance to visit their famous aqueduct, the Pont du Gard, which brought water to the city.

This was a good break for us.  Oh, by the way, the history of denim can be traced back to Nimes!    (and, partly to .. Genoa,It.)   On the way out of Nimes our driver noticed that the major highway was all bogged up due to a major accident.   So he took us on a side road, which turned out to be the famous Roman 'Via Domitia' ancient road from Italy thru France to Spain.

Our next destination was Sete, France, a beautiful port town.

This is our transfer point.   Our French driver and bus will switch with a Spanish driver and bus, while we ate lunch and toured the town.   Jan and I enjoyed some crepes for lunch.

Enjoy some pics from this very picturesque town!

Sete is a major port town.  Logs & lumber are brought here from Africa.   Today was the first day of the season for fisherman to go after red tuna.

Back on the bus, .. about 260 more kilometers to Barcelona. (after already driving 125 km)

Yay, we're now in Spain!!   My first time ever.

We checked in to our hotel.   This is our window view, 5th floor.

Looking forward to another exploration day!    See you there.