A Hot July 4th in Transit

We were to vacate our rooms by 9 and we actually left at 8 and went to breakfast. A had a big breakfast including the biggest croissant you ever saw

Large croissant

because she was thinking that in Spain she might have to be on a gluten free diet again. We were to have our bags out this morning and they were collected and then we were to identify them before they were put on the truck to go to Barcelona.

Rhone in Arles

We got on the blue bus.

Arles monument

This was another one of those deals where we should have just been hung from a sky hook until time for the train. We were to get the train at Nimes, so we drove from Arles to Nimes. Our train tickets were apparently one big group ticket, so they gave us "fake tickets" that they had printed up with our car and seat number on them.

Our guide gave us a tour of Nimes (denim is from de Nimes) starting with the colosseum. This is one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatre in the world. It is among the 20 largest roman amphitheatres of the 400 in existence. In roman times, the building could hold 24.000 spectators.

Colosseum

The reason that it was so well preserved our guide told us was that it was filled with medieval housing, when its walls served as ramparts. But they were cleared under Napoleon. It is still used as a bull fighting and concert arena.

Cute bulls on the colosseum

The guide showed us the Nimes crocodile statue and explained that while Nimes does not have crocodiles, that Napoleon gave land to his soldiers in Nimes and those soldiers were the ones that were victorious in Egypt.

Nimes crocodile chained to base of a palm

The palm tree is an old Roman symbol for victory, while the crocodile represents Egypt.

Crocodile and palm logo in the pavement

We went into the City Hall (I had to go in another entrance).

Blue bus Guide in the city hall

The town hall had a stuffed croc suspended from the ceiling and also a map of the old Roman City.

Map in the town hall

Freaks Rock Store

Construction worker

We walked through the streets

Nîmes Cathedral partly Romanesque and partly Gothic in style.

Clock tower- a very tall landmark

And he showed us the way we would have to go to get to where the bus would stop. One of our group walking by the

Maison de la Brandade

Brandade is a local dish which is an emulsion of salt cod and olive oil eaten in winter with bread or potatoes. There are salt cod in the window

Maison Carrée

He called this the Parthenon - it was one of the best preserved temples to be found anywhere in the territory of the former Roman Empire. Its preservation is due to the edifice's conversion to a church in the 4th century. He left us at a big market (Les Halles de Nimes)

Entrance to the market

like Lexington Market in Baltimore with market stalls of local produce.

Inside the market

We were to meet the bus again at 12:20. I went to sit in the park where we were to meet. The bull is the work of the Georgian sculptor Djoti Bjalava. This is a fighting bull 4 meters long and 2 meters high.

Bull statue Toros, on the esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle

A went back into the market to buy some honey and also got herself a baguette. I did not realize that the guide would not be with us at the train station and I failed to have money to tip him. He was a good guide

I was worried about making the train because it only stops for a couple of minutes. And then we had a chinese fire drill at the train station. First we were to be on platform C.

Nimes train station on the wrong platform

We all got up to platform C - then they changed it to platform B. We all had to go down the steps (or in the case of people with walkers, wheelchairs or scooters - elevator which held maybe 4 people), and then find the elevator for platform B and go up that elevator. Dragan said he would come back for us but he was held up by an officious RR lady so we went up the elevator without his reassurance to the B platform. I did not know where A was until I got there, as she had not gone with me.

We did all manage to get on the train which was a double decker. My computer and A's backpack were too big for the overhead compartment so they were stuffed under our seats. We were in seats that were facing other seats and I think we would have had more room for our feet with seats that were single. A went and got me a cheese sandwich for lunch but it was terminally soggy - I hate soggy bread.

Soggy cheese sandwich

Train stopped

We got about a hour into the journey when we were stopped at the Montpellier for about an hour. The train schedule on my phone said we would be 55 minutes late. The A/C was either not running when the train was sitting still, or was extremely anemic. So it was hot.

From the train

Barcelona train station

We got to Barcelona about 6:15 when we should have been there before 5.

A is comparing Barcelona to Paris, and of course Paris was completely redone in the 18th century with wide streets and vistas, and it is unlike most any other European city in that respect. (Also of course coming in at the train station it was not the greatest part of town)

We finally got to the hotel and I realized that other people were getting handicapped rooms, and I was not. I do not know why as they certainly knew I had a scooter. I said I wanted a shower with a seat and twin beds. As before they had no rooms with showers that had twin beds. So they gave us (what is probably a better room) a room which had a double bed with TWO bedside tables

Hotel bed with A's backpack

and they brought in a rollaway.

Bathroom with extra lighting- there is a magnifying mirror which has a blue switch to turn the light on it on

But there was a severe problem figuring out how I could have a seat in the shower. The hotel is too upper class to have such a thing as a plastic chair. They finally gave me one which has a leather seat covering.

We have to use the room key for the lights in the room and also for the elevator. When they showed us this room, they put a room key into the slot by the door, and eventually gave us another key which A took. She has been using her key to do the elevator.

We were too tired to go out to dinner so we ordered room service. I had a Caesar salad and ice cream. My daughter had googled about gluten in the rest of Europe and had texted A that she could probably also eat bread in Spain so she ordered a brownie in addition. She ate a bite of brownie and it was good. So she ate the rest.

My granddaughters brownie from room service

I had wanted to get a shower after we arrived all hot and sticky, but was too tired and was falling asleep, so I waited until morning. I felt much better after. I carefully wipe off the leather chair as I was drying myself.

Our sleep schedule is still completely messed up - A is taking benadryl (she says she is allergic to European cities but I think it is probably just tree pollen) so she is groggy. She slept some on the train yesterday but I didn't. We often (if we don't have an afternoon tour) fall asleep in the afternoon and then we aren't sleepy and stay up late, and then A is hard to wake up in the morning. It is just like with Barbara (my sister) - she always stayed in bed and made me use the bathroom first. But this time it isn't a problem for me as I now like to get in the bathroom first.