now here i am at the pont du gard. i made a detour here on my way to avignon as well. this is an aqueduct built by the roman empire. much like the one i saw in segovia in spain, but this one you can walk on. i walked from the other side of the river there to this one and was able to get this great shot. this is also a great place to be during the hot summer months because people are all over in this river. of course from this high up they kind of look like big ants but it still looked awfully inviting. it was so very hot. people were sun bathing, swimming, diving off the cliffs, kayaking, and having all kinds of good times. i wish i had brought my swim trunks. instead i got some fresh squeezed orange juice from a stand there. and it actually had ice cubes in it. which i find is not something you get often. it was a nice treat.

here i am in les baux. this small town is on between arles and avignon which was my destination. the city is literally carved out of the mountain and you wouldn't even see it from a distance unless it was pointed out to you and you knew what you were looking for. the rock has little fossil shells in it as well which is a mystery since it is way up in the mountains and not even close to the water. they think that during the last ice age or something that the rock from the ocean got pushed way up here and that is why the shells are in the rock. but no one knows for sure. it was really interesting to see.

these were all taken at the roman baths. they are the first to have heated floors. they had these piles of stone that allowed warm air from the burning fires to circulate under the floor and heat the water in the baths above. simply amazing.

another one in the coliseum, but this time i am in the seating area. you can see that there are numbers to show your seat. basically you just sit on a concrete slab. doesn't seem very comfortable.

well now, this is in france. after spain i flew to france and toured around provence, southern france. this is at the bull ring in arles. at one point in history, people of the town moved inside for safety. when they finally moved back outside and tore down the interior town, there were 210 houses and 2 churches in here. i can't believe it! how did they all live literally on top of one another. i would go crazy. now they use it as a tourist destination as well as holding bull fights here regularly.

valladolid has a beach of imported sand next to a very polluted green river. i didn't go swimming but i did soak up some rays next to all the topless women. they all wanted me.

here i am at the fountain at the plaza de espana. there were lots of fountains in valladolid and i like it. this plaza was used as a flower and produce market everyday. i bought a watermelon that was delicious!