Field Trip and Brownies

We are back to our routine and there are six weeks of school to go.  Of course, tomorrow the girls don't have school.  If you forgot, it is Pentecôte.

 Last week, I was lucky enough to accompany Sylvia and her class to the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine.  The museum is one of the museum that flanks the plaza overlooking the Eiffel Tower.  It is a short walk from the kids' school.  It poured rain on the walk back to school, so I was glad we were not too far away.  If you are curious about the museum, this random blog provides a good description and better photos than my own.

 Unfortunately, this animatrice was not prepared for her CP (grade one) audience.  "When exactly was the Middle Ages?" she asked.  The teacher tried to get her back on track, but it was hopeless.  She was carrying reams of notes and seemed really nervous.  I felt sorry for her at first, and they I just wanted her to stop.  I can't believe that the kids sat reasonably well through it all. All of the parents shared the same opinion, the poor woman really couldn't have been more boring.

 Sylvia was a great listener and answered several questions.  Whey I complained to her about the animatrice, she did not share my opinion.  That's Sylvia's teacher in the stripes.

 

 Gargoyles

 After looking at examples of columns, the kids designed their own column.

 Yesterday, Lillian and I went to a Brownie meeting and a book signing.  This is an awards ceremony.  Look at all those patches!

Lillian's leader is fantastic and Lillian love Brownies.  When she is not being a Brownie leader, Kim, is a wedding planner.  She has a new book out about getting married in Paris.  It is called The Paris Wedding.  It is a coffee table book full of lovely photos and it also explains the intricacies of being married in Paris.

After Brownies, Lil and I went to the American Library to hear Barbara Wright talk about her new book, Crow.  Lillian is reading the book for book club.  Here is a one minute review of the book.  Barbara Wright was once a Girl Scout and gave a lot of attention to Lillian and the other two girls from her troop who attended. 

I think the American Library should fly Peter Rock and family over here so that he can read from

 The Shelter Cycle

Les Arènes de Nîmes

 

Our last stop was Les Arènes de Nîmes. 

The Arena of Nîmes is a Roman amphitheatre found in the French city of Nîmes. Built around 70 AD, it was remodelled in 1863 to serve as a bullring. The Arenas of Nimes is the site of two annual bullfights during the Feria de Nîmes, and it is also used for other public events.  The building encloses an elliptical central space 133 m long by 101 m wide. It is ringed by 34 rows of seats supported by a vaulted construction. It has a capacity of 24,000 spectators and since 1989 has a movable cover and a heating system.

 



There was a booklet for kids that led us through the arena.  We learned about the history of the arena, about gladiators, and about bullfighting.  There were several specific types of gladiators and only certain types could be paired to fight with one another.  

Modern Day Gladiator

See the Tour Magne in the distance?  The girls were great walkers.

 

Of course, from the arena there is a view of a handsome graffiti bullfighter.

La Maison Carée, Le Caré d'Art, et La Tour Magne

When we visited Nîmes, we had planned to see la maison carée, la tour magne, and les arènes de Nîmes.  We began at La Maison Carée, which is one of the best preserved Roman temples anywhere.

It was built c. 16 BC.  The temple owes its preservation to the fact that it was rededicated as a Christian church in the fourth century, saving it from the widespread destruction of temples that followed the adoption of Christianity as Rome's official state religion. It subsequently became a meeting hall for the city's consuls, a canon's house, a stable for government-owned horses during the French Revolution and a storehouse for the city archives. It became a museum after 1823. Its French name derives from the archaic term carré long, literally meaning a "long square", or oblong - a reference to the building's shape.

 

Inside is a very strange 3D movie recounting the history of Nîmes.
On the same plaza as la Maison Carrée is Le Carrée d'Art.  Lillian saw it and decided we needed to go inside.
 

The Carré d'art at Nîmes in southern France houses a museum of contemporary art and the city's library. Constructed of glass, concrete and steel, it faces the Maison Carrée. In 1984, twelve architects, including Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel and César Pelli were invited to submit proposals for the museum. A design by the British architect Norman Foster was selected, and the building was opened in May 1993.  The current exhibit is modern works of art chosen by the architect of the building, Norman Foster.

We did a quick run through and I was glad we did.  The building also holds the city's library, so we took a quick run through the children's section, too.  I thought it was a great idea to have the art museum and the library together in the same building.

We found a bakery and bought a picnic to take to Jardins de la Fountaine.  The garden was built in 1745.  It is a large park with an enormous, elaborate fountain and many pathways that wind their ways up a wooded hill.  



We walked up the enormous hill on switchback paths and reached the Tour Magne.  

The Tour Magne, or the Great Tower, is the only remnant of the ancient Augustan fortifications. Standing at the highest point of the city, Mont Cavalier, it overlooks the entire plain and is a focal point for all means of communication.  The tower was originally a dry-stone oval tower, with a maximum height of 18m and already part of a rampart.
A structure that was both prestigious and strategic, it represented sanctuary and protected the oppidum. By doubling its height and incorporating it into the town walls, Augustus demonstrated the new power of the colony of Nîmes over the “City” (in the territorial sense) of the Volcae. When the town’s population abandoned the higher ground, the Tour Magne nevertheless continued to play a military role. It was used to defend against the English during the Hundred Years’ War.



 

Views from the top of the tower

Lucky souvenir coin

 

Nîmes

Nîmes is a Southern city full of palm trees, fancy shops, pedestrian roads and plazas, and lots of history.  Nîmes was located on the Via Domitia, a Roman road constructed in 118 BC which connected Italy to Spain.

Our guide book directed us to a few Roman houses in the main shopping district.

 Nîmes is a popular tourist attraction and I can see why. 

There are crocodiles everywhere in Nîmes.  To understand the origin of the town’s coat of arms one has to travel to Egypt. In 31 BC, Octavius defeated Anthony and Cleopatra’s fleet in the battle of Actium, and ensured Roman control of the Empire. Caesar Augustus was born.
A coin was struck in Nîmes to celebrate the event. On the reverse side was a crocodile chained to a palm tree surmounted by a laurel wreath, symbolizing the conquest of Egypt.
The inscription “Col Nem”, the Colony of Nîmes, suggests that victorious legionaries had been granted land near Nîmes. But in fact Nîmes was simply the place where the coin was minted. Over the centuries, the people of Nîmes became attached to these relatively common coins.
In 1535 they were authorized by king François 1 to adopt the palm tree and the crocodile as the town’s coat of arms. Since then the inhabitants have been extremely proud of their crest.
Redesigned in 1986 by Philippe Starck, it can be found all over the town, even in the bronze studs set in the paving of the old town.

 

One of the gates at the entrance to Jardin des Fountaines in Nîmes.

 Phillip Starck design

 Fierce crocodiles on fountain.  I cut the fiercest crocodile out of the photo by accident; the sun was shining so brightly that I couldn't see the screen of my phone.

 This is a view from the art gallery includes a lovely graffiti crocodile.  We enjoyed our day in Nîmes and learned a lot about its Roman history.

Pont du Gard Museum

We actually began our visit to the Pont du Gard at their new museum.  I don't know when it was built, but it is shiny and state of the art.  We went directly to the kids area.

We learned all about the wildlife that lives in the area.

You could lift up the red dams and reroute the water.

Archimedes' screw used to move water uphill.

 This is a Roman market.

 Roman baths sounded like fabulous community centers.  Many included libraries and places to hang out.  I think the Lindenlea Community Centre should put a Roman bath in on the second floor (that needs to be built).

 Too busy to look at her mother

The main museum told the history of the area and the aqueduct.  It was great, but we did not have too much patience for it because we were hungry and needed to head back to the hotel.  After lunch, we went to Baux de Provence. Things are a little out of order on this blog.

Château des Baux de Provence

After lunch we drove to Châtau des Baux de Provence, a fortified castle built during the 10th century.  As we drove, suddenly some rocky mountains appeared.  These are the Alpilles (little Alps).  This photo is taken from above and makes the mountains look smaller than they really are. 

 Wikipedia says:

Although already inhabited in the Bronze Age, Les Baux-de-Provence did not really start growing until the medieval period. Built in the 10th century, the fortress and the small town it protects were ruled by the lords of Baux for five hundred years, in the thick of the ceaseless conflicts that ravaged Provence.
But it was also at Les Baux that the most famous minstrels and troubadours of the day sang songs of courtly love to the maidens of the House of Les Baux.
In the 15th century, the lords of Baux were superseded by the barons of the Masons des Comtes de Provence. This was a golden age for the Château, before it came under the control of the kings of France.
From the 16th century on, family feuds and wars of religion brought on the decline of the town until the fortress was pulled down in 1633 on the orders of Louis XIII.

 The medieval village is now filled with souvenir shops and restaurants.  It is a steep, charming walk on cobble stoned streets to reach the château.

 When you reach the top of the village and the château, there are beautiful views in every direction. 

 

There is a lot going on at the castle.  We watched part of a jousting match before watching the catapult demonstration.

This area at the foot of the castle was used for servants and workshops.

 While putting Lillian into the stocks, Pierre managed to give her a good clunk on the head.  Even in the stocks and with a bump on her head, she is still smiling.  

We climbed to the top of one of the towers.  The stairs were very worn from the steps of so many over so many years.  It was super windy--as you can see from the flag.

 

There was a fabulous catapult demonstrations.  The demonstrators were in medieval costumes and got the audience involved.  When they needed help cranking down one of the levers, which involved hard labor, they called for volunteers and some eager men got more of a workout than they were expecting.  They catapulted enormous balloons full of water or white powder.  The last and most powerful catapult sent it right over the edge!

Pierre had checked out a coffee table book from our library called Les Plus Beaux Villages de France .  Baux de Provence was among in the book and it was truly lovely.

Lots of beautiful flowers along the side of the road.  Here are some poppies near where we parked.