Nimes

Between Barcelona and Marseille I stopped in Nimes. I had been looking for ways to break what would otherwise have been quite a long train ride to Marseille, and I decided on Nimes because I wanted to see the Roman Amphitheatre there. It was pretty cool, especially the way it's right in the middle of town. I love the idea of giving directions in Nimes: "Oh yeah, turn right at the bakery, turn left when you see the amphitheatre!" How cool would that be?

There was a nice audioguide which had a lot to say about the way movies have butchered the stories of the gladiators. I now know that most gladiators were not slaves, instead they belonged to schools where they trained in gladiatorial arts (like the Careers in Hunger Games).