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 \u2013 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 \u2013 I gather to cover the Tour de France that was about to begin \u2013 in England this year. I didn\u2019t schedule this around the Tour; when the Tour is in England, I\u2019m in France and when it\u2019s 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. \u201cNo, it\u2019s only 10 minutes that way.\u201d 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, \u201cNo, it\u2019s on1y a 10 minute walk from here. It may be that it is 10 minutes from anywhere to anywhere else in Nice \u2013 if you know where you are going. If you don\u2019t it is going to take two to three hours. The main Roman sites in Nimes are the memorial to Gaius and Lucius Caesar \u2013 two of the grandsons of Augustus by his daughter Julia and Marcus Agrippa. The memorial is like a temple, but isn\u2019t a temple. There is also a well preserved amphitheater. I didn\u2019t 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 \u201cgames\u201d 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 \u2013 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 \u2013 rain and highs in the 50s. And no, those are FARENHEIT, not Celsius. I\u2019m wearing the \u201cwarm clothes\u201d 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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 \u2013 old prescription, not … Continue reading Day 10 – Paris<\/span>