Pont du Gard

     The Pont du Gard may not be the coolest thing in the world, but it is definitely one of them.  

     The Romans built it 2000 years ago here in Southern France as part of their plan to move water from some special springs to the city of Nimes . . . a distance of about 30 miles.  (They loved water and used three times as much per capita as modern city-dwellers).  Anyway, the Pont du Gard was built to carry this water across a wide canyon with a river (the Gard) at the bottom.  It is the highest aquaduct the Romans built, and one of their highest and most impressive structures anywhere.  It is almost perfectly preserved now, 2000 years later.

     We love to take visitors to the Pont du Gard because it is just so awesome.  Plus, you can swim in the river at the base of the Pont du Gard and have a picnic and walk on the Pont du Gard.  And it's pretty cool to have a picnic in the shade of one of the most impressive Roman structures ever.

     It's been in the 80s here lately, so on Monday (a school holiday) we took Ed's mom to see the Pont du Gard.  And, of course, we had a picnic and swam in the river.  Ed's mom was game for a swim too!  

     Here are some photos:

 

     In this video you can see why visiting the Pont du Gard is so much fun:

     Here's another action scene:

Le General took the leap too.  She's cool.  Just like the Pont du Gard!