Romans

Last week I headed south and spent some time in the south, staying in Lyon, Nimes and Marseille.
Lyon had a nice feel - not crazy with tourists. As Lugdunum, Lyon was the capital of Gaul in pre-Roman times and then a major centre once the Romans arrived. I recall Asterix and Obelix visiting Lugdunum a few times - I think that is where they had to go to purchase a new golden sickle for Getafix at one stage. It was really interesting wandering around the ruins of two Roman theatres (one in use for a music festival) and checking out relics and more of the history and pre-history in the nearby Gallo-Roman museum.
I found more Roman ruins when I went further south to Nimes. From Nimes it is a short bus trip to the Pont du Gard, the impressive remains of a Roman aqueduct - much photographed, you've probably seen it sometime. It was a warm day so it was unfortunate that I forgot my togs so I couldn't go swimming in the river below and had to be content with dangling my feet and watching the shenanigans of a bunch of German teenagers splashing around.
In Nimes itself is a very well-preserved amphitheatre, which was also in use for a modern concert. A bunch of us staying in the hostel wandered into town to sit outside the ruins, drink some red wine and listen to Anastacia belting out her hits (actually, I think she may only have one bona fide hit).
While staying in Nimes I took a day trip to Avignon to see more Roman stuff - though Romans of a different colour, the exiled popes. Avignon was another tourist-crazy place - impressive palace, but really, charging people to walk/dance sur le Pont D'Avignon seems a bit opportunistic. Then again, the Church used to sell salvation.