Nimes - The most Roman city outside of Italy
Jul 16, 2023
![The palm tree is an old Roman symbol for victory, while the crocodile represents Egypt. The text, “Col Nem”, means Colonia Nemausus, or settlement of Nîmes. The emblem dates back to 1535](https://images.prismic.io/gunderson-experiences-v2/f104acab-ebf0-42dc-9563-408bf85255ec_IMG_1691.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&rect=0%2C280%2C960%2C720&w=3840&fit=max)
July 16, 2023
As we drove through Southern France to La Ciotat, our next destination, we decided to stop through Nimes and do a Scavenger Hunt. The company Télé Bleue provides you a backpack with hints to your next location. At that location you use other hints to find out the code to open pockets on the backpack that then gives you the next location for the next code and so forth...
It was a great way to see a city that we would have otherwise simply driven past.
Nimes has many old structures including a Roman Amphitheater used today for concerts and bullfights, Temple of Diana, and Roman temple, the "Maison Carrée"
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We met our instructor at the Amphitheater in front of the statue of Nimeno, a famous French Matador. Never know the French would bullfight!
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St Paul Church - Saraya figured out the code here by seeing a pattern amongst the 12 disciples
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Counting toes on a fountain with the alligator, palm embolem
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We all loved the fountain so many photos came from this. Soren helped some with the scavenger hunt, but his favorite part was the fact we retraced our steps a few times. During this time, we would pass a rock shop that was closed. But the rocks in the window were so cool!
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Finding codes at Maison Caree. One of the best preserved Roman temples to survive in the territory of the former Roman Empire.
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Eating ice cream under the Maison Caree
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The ceilings of the Maison Caree were designed crazy cool
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Chapelle Sainte Eugénie.
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They were having mass in the Chapelle Sainte Eugénie. Very old and elaborate church. We saw liturgical censing which is the practice of swinging a censer suspended from chains towards something or someone, typically the Holy Eucharist, an icon or person, so that smoke from the burning incense travels in that direction. Burning incense represents the prayers of the church rising towards Heaven.
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Our final clue. A bit anti-climatic for the kids but after we ate sushi and ice cream so the world was good again.