Day 10: Paris, France I am thinking this trip has been jinxed. As previously reported, my hearing aid drowned in perspiration in the Heathrow Airport. The next day I lost a contact lens in Paris Gare de Lyon. It was the one for my good eye. I did bring a backup – old prescription, not quite right. So I have been deaf and blind. I arrived in Lyon in the late afternoon, had a good dinner and retired for the night. The next day I visited the Roman Museum and Amphitheater. It was a pleasant day. But the next two days it rained. It did not seem to be a good day for traipsing around Lyon and Vienne. It did clear up one afternoon so I did go visit the main square of Lyon for a while. They had set up a big TV screen there – I gather to cover the Tour de France that was about to begin – in England this year. I didn’t schedule this around the Tour; when the Tour is in England, I’m in France and when it’s in France I will be in England. Then it was off to Nimes. The strange thing about Nimes seems to be that while they have buses and taxis, no one seems to recommend them. Not having any idea where my hotel was, I tried to take a taxi. “No, it’s only 10 minutes that way.” Another day I asked the hotel which bus to take to the Tourist Center where there is a tour train that tours the city, I was told, “No, it’s on1y a 10 minute walk from here. It may be that it is 10 minutes from anywhere to anywhere else in Nice – if you know where you are going. If you don’t it is going to take two to three hours. The main Roman sites in Nimes are the memorial to Gaius and Lucius Caesar – two of the grandsons of Augustus by his daughter Julia and Marcus Agrippa. The memorial is like a temple, but isn’t a temple. There is also a well preserved amphitheater. I didn’t get inside because they were preparing for a rock concert, which probably would have spoiled the visit anyway. The amphitheater in Lyon is for drama and is semicircular. The one in Nimes is for “games” and is oval. Think a small, well preserved version of the great Coliseum in Rome. I noticed that the Place du Justice is directly across the street from the amphitheater making easy to take convicted criminals, Christians and other undesirables to be fed to the lions. But the jinx continued. It rained in Nimes. Plus I came down with some sort of bug – a bit of diarrhea one day, chills and a bit of a fever. It was sprinkling today when I walked the train station. Yes, it is a 10 minute walk if you know where you are going. Then took the train to Paris. Raining in Paris with temperatures in the 60s. This stuff seems to be stocked in both France and England. It does not seem to be going to improve while I am in Paris and London is even worse. I am dreading Haltwhistle – rain and highs in the 50s. And no, those are FARENHEIT, not Celsius. I’m wearing the “warm clothes” intended for Haltwhistle in France. They are not the drip dry sort of things I can wash out in the sink. Meanwhile, Dallas is heading for triple digits. Canicus Modius AKA Kenneth Peck