photos 2011 may 12

The Nagasawa family trip to France: May 1 - 15, 2011

Paris (Seine River)
May 1	Arrive in Paris, Eiffel Tower
May 2	Louvre Museum, Jardin Tuileries
May 3	Cathedrals, Jardin Luxembourg
Sarlat (Dordogne River)
May 4	Sarlat
May 5	Cave paintings, Roque St. Christophe
May 6	Castles, Laines at Blagnac
Blagnac (Garonne River)
May 7	Laines at Blagnac, L'Amphitryon
May 8	Toulouse, Hiking
May 9	Cite L'Espace
May 10	Toulouse
St. Remy, Lyon (Rhone River)
May 11	Nimes, St. Remy
May 12	Pont du Gard, Camargue
May 13	Des Baux, Avignon
May 14	Lyon
May 15	Train to Paris, fly home

May 12

This is breakfast at the hotel in St. Remy, which was quite charming. This was mishap #2: We thought breakfast was complimentary at the hotel. It wasn't. Grrrrrr....

So we went to our campsite (which was much cheaper). On our way, the kids listened to C.S. Lewis' The Last Battle. They really loved this story. John is dancing here because he loved how all the main characters in Narnia are reunited in Aslan's country, where they are invited to go "further up and further in." In John's words yesterday, "This story answered all my questions." And, "C.S. Lewis' view of judgment day is just like yours, Daddy." This led to a sweet conversation with John and Zoe asking why couldn't they see God. It would be easier to believe in him, they said. So we talked about ways that we can and can't "see" God.

On our way to the Roman aqueduct, we drove along this beautiful road lined with trees.

Pont du Gard, a massive Roman aqueduct that is over 2,000 years old. It was part of a 50 kilometer aqueduct that brought water from a spring to the hot baths of Nimes.

Check out how massive this thing is. Ming and the kids are standing next to the column.

See the car driving on the first level? You could probably drive a semi truck across it.

In the museum, they show the routes the Romans considered. The most direct route was also the most difficult because of terrain. They wound up taking the longest route, because they could build the aqueduct with a steady drop of 1 inch per 35 yards.

Here's how the laid the arches. A wooden frame. Huge bricks carefully cut. Lime mortar.

This is the top of the aqueduct where the water passed through.

Turning around, this is where the water came through into the aqueduct. All throughout the 50 km of aqueduct, they had to build water control systems to manage flooding. Amazing planning.

Then we walked to the river level.

We ate a quick lunch here: sandwiches, cheese, and fruit.

Beautiful colors.

Pont du Gard is just 6 feet shorter than the Roman Coliseum.

The Romans were even prepared for the river flooding. They build triangular guards to channel any flood waters around the columns, so the columns wouldn't take the direct impact of the water. Brilliant engineering.

The Camargue: The Wetlands of Southern France

We met the Laines again at a conservation area. This was in the Camargue area, where the Rhone River meets the Mediterranean Sea. It is home to a lot of vegetable and animal life. The area is famous for its white horses, which we saw at the end. It is also being encroached upon by oil and other companies.