A trip to Provence, near Seguret…let the tales unfold of history and present.
This travelogue will cover: Pont Du Gard, L’Orange, Vaison La Roman, stumbling upon Gregorian monks and the Mistral wind.
We start with the mighty Mistral wind.
Pont Du Gard: We were staying near the town of Seguret, and the Pont Du Guard, the last full intact Roman aqueduct was not that far away. There was so much to see in the area we were in, each day, as we planned the next over dinner in the Medieval town Seguret, the distance made us push it down the list. Finally, we gave in. Having a fascination with UNESCO sites, I had to see it, having studied Roman history for twenty years.
So, we got off early and took the excellent and easy drive to the area.
This was early June, weeks before high season, yet theparking lots at noon were already filled with cars and tourist buses. Walkingthe long but canopied paths to the ticket office was hot, but comfortable.
The first impression is, as you enter the park, is verytouristy; a wide walking plaza where you have to pass a dozen shops andeateries on both sides before actually seeing a sign that said, in French,“This way”. One would be best advisednot to go at high season, because that walk would have been like a gauntlet ofpurchasing and gawkers. It would be a very discouraging entrance to what turnedout to be one of the most magnificent monuments I have even seen.
This is where a picture tells the story better than words.The higher bridge is the 2000-year-old aqueduct. The lower bridge is thewalkway built in the last century to allow visitors to walk in the shadow ofthis stunning engineering achievement.
The walk across the bridge is a gaper – you cannot beanything but stunned by the complexity of how the mixture of engineering andcraftsmanship can be seen in the joining of every stone, every minor detailadding to the grandeur.
As with so many things of such magnificence, I will notbelabor our entire experience. But if you go, I would recommend two things togive it the best depth of experience possible. First, when you walk back acrossthe pedestrian bridge, look for the dirt paths off the main road that go up thehill and seem to follow the Pont into the thick forest of short pines andshrubs. This was a path we saw no one on, but it ran with feet of the Pont andas you proceed, the aqueduct decays and falls apart…but the details of thestones, the ability to see the interior curved to carry the water – and backthen, especially in an arid semi-desert colony like the Romans had in Provence,water = power.
And to truly understand that point, as you prepare to leave,you have to take the time to explore the museum that goes with thearcheological site. This is literally a museum devoted to demonstrating thegenius of the Romans, how they understood that water = power, and the amazingway they used engineering to make water a non-political tool as it used acomplex system to have it flow evenly into the large cisterns of all thesurrounding cities.
After seeing all the wonders of their engineering feats, themassive labor and math and calculations to bring it to life and thus give lifeto the area for the Empire to grow, the reproduction of the Roman toilets werethe best part of all.
The Romans conquered the world as they knew it. But perhapsequally worthy is not just the large edifices and monuments, but the everydaythings that made them not just an Empire but a civilization. Thus the toilets.Marble rows of warmed seats with flowing water underneath. It’s actually hard to describe. But it was hard to resist the urge to climb over the display rope and not take a seat – kind of taking a seat in history.
Outspoken Traveler 
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