The grand tour of France in a motorhome September 13th Day fifteen

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Nimes, what a wonderful place she is. Shady wide streets, lovely fountains, lots of roman ruins and 32C. What’s not to like?

We parked earlier on in the T1 park and ride and caught the tram into the city centre. Ten-minute ride, efficient, clean and speedy. The car park is easy to find and access. No height restriction barriers to worry about.

The Arena of Nimes was built around 70CE, shortly after the Colosseum of Rome. It is genuinely impressive – 133m long, 100m wide and an arena area measuring 70m x 38m. The outer walls are 21m high with two stories of 60 arcades. During Roman times it could hold 24,000 spectators spread over 34 tiers of terraces; all divided into four self-contained zones. With great views over the city roof tops and a little display and shop on the ground level, this is well worth a visit.

 We then stroll around the streets and over to the central park, passing tree lined canals. The Temple de Diana proves mesmerising in terms of its structural build. The garden du fountains is a great place to laze with shady trees and magnificent ponds.

 All in all, Nimes is a great hit stop off.

Later in the afternoon we head for Avignon, stopping off at a supermarche on the outskirts. We use the toll roads. Our destination is Camping du Pont d’Avignon; big, sprawling but peaceful with a nice pool area. The plots are well screened from each other but cramped and very dusty. You will need a groundsheet. Shade is good though and taps are a short walk away. Facilities are very clean.

We have a hornet’s nest in the tree above the van but they cause us no problem whatsoever and its fascinating seeing them flying in and out. Stargazing potential proves nil! Too many trees and not very clear views of the sky above.

This evening I use our portable CADAC for the first time. We brought a new one specifically for this trip. A half price bargain. Right place right time kind of thing. We use it with a small portable gas cylinder although we have the fittings to use the external van gas supply point as well. Salmon fillets, red and yellow peppers, onions. Lovely way to cook; spoilt of course by mosquitos and biting midges! 

Useful information:

Route: D981 onto A9 to Nimes; A9 and then N100 to Avignon

Distance: 73 miles

Costs: 68 euros for four nights with 10 amp EHU