Pont du Gard: Outfit 6A

  Dress: Victoria's Secret / Blouse: J Crew / Shoes: Privo / Earrings: AE / Bracelet: J Crew Factory / Watch: Skagen

You've already seen this outfit here, from my post on Nìmes, but our evening at the Pont du Gard was just too amazing not to give it it's own post. You've also already seen what I'm calling Outfit 6A here, where I modified Outfit 6 so that I could jump off a rock into the Gard river with this fab Roman aqueduct in the background. The things I'll do for a photo. Or for a cliff. You see, the Husband and I kind of sort of met jumping off of a waterfall. So if we find something to jump off of these days, we do it. It's in our rule book.

Did you know they have annual fireworks and light shows on this bridge? Can't you just see it?

In fact, that's why I had to jump in my dress. They were setting up for a show that very evening, and once you left the bridge area, you couldn't re-enter without paying the steep ticket price for the show. I even told the guards my sad tale of wanting to join my husband in jumping off the rock just one time because I'll likely never be here again and it's our tradition. And he was doing it!

No dice, though they did look a bit remorseful. So I showed them. I went back, stripped off my knickers and blouse {whilst hiding behind a rock...that takes talent, friends}, tied a knot in my dress to prevent it from flying up, and got up my nerve...

...then took the leap...

...and emerged victorious!

Then I did it two more times :) Repeat the whole nerve building and jumping scenario:

Though I still wish I had the guts to dive like the Husband. It's just so much prettier:

It would've been way neat to see the show, but we've seen the likes before on our last Europe trip in form of a light show on the Château de Chambord, and we really wanted to get to the Med that night and it doesn't get dark in France till almost 11pm so the show didn't even start till 10:30pm. So you'll have to settle for a few shots from Chambord instead.

Amaze-balls, no? I never thought I'd use the phrase amaze-balls. But there was a time I never thought I'd see such fantastic sights, either. There's a time and place for everything, I guess. Even Holly Holiday's weird lingo.

P.S. I got the most scrumptious chevre {goat cheese} crêpe with fresh greens, tomatoes, and tapenade at the café here. I highly recommend it. Goes especially well with some fresh apricot juice. I get apricot juice every chance I get, in case you haven't noticed.

P.P.S. I also recommend the museum at the Pont. It's really astounding to learn about the Roman influence and technology. At one point, this aqueduct stretched for 31 miles and carried 44 million gallons of water to fountains, baths, and homes in Nîmes. Running water in the 1st century AD. That amazes me. It's also the highest Roman aqueduct bridge ever built AND the stone blocks used to build it, some weighing up to 6 ton each, were precisely cut to fit together so perfectly that friction could hold them together without mortar.  

Amaze-balls. 

P.S. Linked up here to the Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday! 

Nîmes: 30x30 Outfit 6

Dress: Victoria's Secret / Blouse: J Crew final sale / Shoes: Privo / Watch: Skagen / Bracelet: J Crew Factory clearance

Bienvenue à Nîmes, a city full of ancient Roman wonders. We stayed pretty close to centre-ville*, on the top floor of a tiny hotel that was one pile of stacked rooms. That's our window at the tippy tip top. Once we maneuvered our car through the tiny, windy streets { Europe was very clearly not designed with the automobile in mind. No wonder they love smart cars...} we unloaded then moved our car to the garage by the town cathedral.

Very few hotels in Europe have elevators or AC, so that was fun. From our hotel, we could walk to all of the major sites, so we woke bright and early, grabbed a delicious apricot pastry and fresh juice from a pâtisserie, and headed to the Roman amphitheater arena. Which I just realized we never photographed from the outside! You really need to see it from the outside to get the awe-factor, so you can look here instead. First the brooches, now this. I'm definitely going to have to plan another Europe trip. In fact, we should just move there ;) We did, however, get plenty of shots from the inside:
  

The amphitheater is from the 1st century AD and is the 2nd largest Roman arena { 2nd to the one in Rome } and best preserved in the world.  Gladiator battles and Roman games took place here back then, and today it's used for concerts, shows, and annual bull fights {of which I am not a fan...} They have a very good audio guide that's included in the entry fee to tell you all about the rich history of this ancient city. Wow, I feel like one of Rick Steve's minions. Wouldn't that be fun? Get paid for touring the world? I'm clearly in the wrong profession.

We next headed over to La Maison Carré, a small but well-preserved Roman temple built in 19 BC. Inside the temple they show a short 3-D film on the history of Nîmes.

Then we walked to the Jardins de la Fontaine, which are gardens built around the ruins of an ancient Roman thermae, or public bath from the springs found here.

The photos up top are also from the garden. While taking them, we realized our hotel parking pass was almost up, so we had to go move our car. The Husband decided to take a nod from the Europeans, skip the pay parking, and park European style on the sidewalk of this tiny street just by the gardens...

...which led us to the Tour Magne, or Great Tower. It is the only watch tower still standing that was part of the ancient wall that Julius Caesar Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, had built around Nîmes. 

The tower offers a spectacular view of the city, and was used to monitor the Via Domitia, the first road that connected Italy to Spain and an important route for the Roman empire.

While looking below us from the top, we found something far more pleasant than any invading Goths, or Huns, or Franks. We found a wedding party! I was fascinated, and the Husband came to my rescue, pretending to take shots of the tower while sneaking photos of the wedding party. I'm pretty sure they noticed. Oh, bonjour! I promise we're not stalkers. Just American gawkers, snapping photos of every bit of quaintness we cross.
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But seriously, how darling is this elegant French bride and her family with their lovely fascinators? Love, love, love. I just love weddings. But somehow they seem even more lovely when in France!

On our way back to the car, we also passed a gladiator re-enactment. Check out these guys. They speak French, too :) This one's for you, friends sans mate.

 
We left Nîmes and headed about 15 miles away to the Pont du Gard. This marvelous Roman aqueduct bridge, the tallest in the world, merits it's own post, so stay tuned for Part Deux of Outfit 6!

P.S. As we traveled through France, I kept watch for a rue Cerisier, completely forgetting to type it into the GPS. Happenstance was not with us and we never came cross one, but now I've found that Nimes has a rue du Cerisier just a few blocks from where we parked to visit the gardens! Quel dommage*!  Anyhow, it turns out that the Frenchies like to have that of before Cherrytree when naming their streets. I could find rue du Cerisier and rue des Cerisiers (plural) but not simply rue Cerisier. Which strikes me as odd because they don't put the of before people names for streets like rue Jean d'Arc. Oh well, rue du Cerisier it is.

P.P.S. Have you ever seen a dog like this? That lady was not short, people.

Neither had I till I visited Nîmes!

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*centre-ville = town center; Quel dommage = What a pity!

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Springtime Confession

Top, Tank, Belt: J Crew final sale / Skirt: H&M / Shoes: Express / Bracelets: France / Earrings: Gabes (Monet)

I've got a bit of an addiction to J. Crew's final sale. Especially when you get to take an extra 40% off. And end up with paisley and matte sequins. That's better than my birthday. Loads better. Which doesn't speak volumes for my birthday, I suppose. Though last year I did get darling flats from my fashion savvy mother-in-law. Perhaps one day I'll get a party, too. Till then, I'm happy with shoes, sales, and free shipping codes.

It's warm again! AND today was the first 3rd Thursday of the year, a fun party our little town hosts on Main Street. The street's closed off to cars, little shops have sales, vendors sell crafts and yummy food, performers sing and dance, and there are art and car exhibits. It provides an excellent date night venue for the Husband, me, and our Hound. The Hound was particularly excited. She hams it up and gets lots of attention at 3rd Thursdays. And ice cream, since there's inevitably some poor kid that's lost his top scoop. An unfortunate child's loss is a lucky hound's gain. Unless she steals it. Like she stole a Twizzler from my friend's 3 year old last winter. Nicked it right out of her hand as she walked by. Then she's just a naughty hound.

 

Who, me? 

Joyeaux Printemps!

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Joyeaux Printemps = Happy Springtime!
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Maxed Out of My Comfort Zone

Maxi, Necklace: Piperlime (Hive & Honey) / Button-Up: J Crew final sale / Belt: Ruche / Earrings: Gabes (Monet) / Bangles: France / Sandals: Piperlime (BC) / Bag: Bunco Prize (BCBG)!

I have to admit, when I saw that the maxi had won for this month's Everybody, Everywear challenge, my heart sank. I've never felt flattered by casual long skirts or dresses. The maxi's a trend I'd yet to even think of trying, and I didn't fancy purchasing an item that would fall straight into Category 3 of items for my closet purge just for a participating post.

In complaining about this to the Husband, he suggested I just get one and give it a try. Ha! I guffawed at him. Little did he know he may be encouraging me to purchase a look he's notorious for disliking- the empire waist. He says they should be reserved for those with child. Cue the eye roll.

I decided to give it a whirl. Since my sewing skills are nil and we live in the middle of nowhere in terms of shopping, I took a look online after Ross failed me. I went straight to Zappos and Piperlime, since they have free shipping and returns. I was convinced I'd be returning. As you can see from the photos, my stubbornness was humbled. This thing is comfort to the maxi {ha ha ha} and I managed to avoid the empire waist.

In fact, I even found several others that piqued my interest, including this lovely from Aqua that's out of my price range, this and this chiffon darling from Express that I'm hoping will go on sale, this nautical nicety from Accidentally in Love, and this cutie from Bebe.

Mince alors!* I like maxi dresses. Even more astonishingly, I think the Husband does too. He took an awful lot of photos from this angle....

P.S. This dress isn't actually green. It became so as I was jealously reading all the blogs out there showing lucky ladies frolicking with bare skin in sunshine and apparent warmth. I, meanwhile, have been pleading to no avail with Mother Nature to share the love in my neck of the woods. It was 40 degrees with a devilishly fierce wind when we took these photos. You'd think I'd have picked a jacket to go with my new maxi. But alas, I let the sunny skies fool me into thinking it wouldn’t be that bad. Brilliant, am I not?

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*Mince alors! = Holy cow! / Blimey!

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