Bastille day fireworks came a day early to Nimes to our surprise, as we had asked for a room overlooking the roman amphitheatre which is the centre of the fireworks display. We had absolutely front row seats for the spectacle which Matthew and Oliver loved. This topped off our second night in Nimes which has turned out to be a far more interesting city than Geoff or I had anticipated.

Getting to Nimes on Thursday was a long day of travel, with our first TGV trip, at speeds of up to 300 km/hr, from Geneva to Avignon. Picking up the hire car involved the usual 30 minutes or so adjusting and fitting unfamiliar car seats and then a rather slow trip to Nimes as we never did quite find the motorway (no GPS in this rental car, time will tell if this was a false economy). In Nimes we had to negotiate the one way streets only to find that the street on which our hotel is located was closed due to rehearsals for Bastille Day. Eventually we found a way to get vaguely near the hotel and than our day improved vastly. The hotel, Le Cheval Blanc (The White Horse) is directly across from the Nimes amphitheatre, the most preserved example of a roman amphitheatre in the world. The family room we booked via the internet 2 months ago is huge with soaring ceilings with exposed wooden beams, and polished wooden floors, and some seriously cool modern interior decoration. Last night we wandered through the maze of pedestrian streets in the old town of Nimes and through the night market before settling on a restaurant for dinner. Unlike Chamonix, I am having to rely on my very rusty French here, but we are getting by with lots of laughter.
This morning Oliver and I went in search of fresh croissants for breakfast in the old town. After breakfast we all headed out to explore. We found that the ampitheatre was closed in preparation for the fireworks this evening, so we made our way to the other end of the old town where there is an incredibly preserved Roman Temple built just after the time of Christ. There was a 3D film about Nimes during the time of the Romans to the present day which the boys loved as there was lots of fighting from gladiators in Roman times, through to present day bull fighting. After another wander through the old town and some playing in the fountains, we had a picnic lunch near a lovely playground and then the boys went back with Geoff for some quiet time while I went shopping ( I have quite a few hours of child free time banked from Geoff's 2 days spent bike riding in Albertville!)
This evening before we ate dinner we watched the Army parade for Bastille Day on the Avenue in front of our hotel. We ate out at a restaurant close to the hotel, my French still causing general hilarity among those who are subjected to it. When we came back to our room the boys couldn't wait for the fireworks and they were well worth the wait. The photos don't do them justice.