Ruins both Roman and Modern

Saturday heralded another day trip with our exchange program. This time, our first stop was at Glanum, the site of a Roman town. It's of a similar age to the Oppidum d'Entremont I mentioned a few weeks ago, but far bigger and more intact.

The town was actually founded by the Ligurians, but was later occupied by the Gauls, ancient Greeks, and eventually Romans. Then the town was buried by soil and rock until it was uncovered early in the 20th century.

Glanum is a fairly sophisticated town, with an irrigation/sewage system, an underground heating system for some buildings, and all sorts of columns and monuments that are still standing today.
Our next stop was Arles, a city famous among many things for bullfighting. Fittingly, we saw the arena built during the first century A.D. that still hosts bullfights, as well as an odd competition with baby cows. Apparently, the organizers tie a length of string between the baby cow's horns, and competitors—including foolhardy tourists—try to grab the string from the enraged baby cow. It doesn't sound like the most cultured of Provencal pursuits, but the events are apparently quite popular.

On the whole, Arles wasn't my favorite town I've seen in France so far. There's nothing wrong with it, but Arles was perhaps not as quaint and Provencal as other places I've been. The Romans, however, certainly left their mark: not only did they build the arena, but they also constructed an ampitheater that's still used for plays and performances. It's obviously falling apart, as would most 2000-year-old buildings, so the city's planning to add on to and renovate the ampitheater. I feel it's a double-edged sword: it's a shame to repair ruins, but it's also better that they be used than completely crumble away.
Finally, we went to Pont du Gard, which is really a thing and not a place. The Pont is a Roman aqueduct that carried water 150 ft above a valley. It made up part of an irrigation system that carried water some 30 miles to a Roman town located where Nimes is today. Remarkably, the Pont du Gard is still intact—although it hasn't carried water for a long time. That the bridge survived so long is impressive given that there is nothing holding the stones together (it's built like a drystone wall) and that the area is prone to earthquakes, albeit extremely mild.

Speaking of ruins, how about one a little more modern? Remember my pictures of La Fac and comments about its state of disrepair? Last Thursday there was a report on TV about the state of university education for French students. Most of it was pretty depressing stuff, like interviews with French students who literally could not afford to eat, or who lived in university dorms with broken windows and unsafe utilities. Toward the end, the report came to Aix to take a tour around La Fac and see the state of problems: crumbling exterior walls, exposed wiring, blocked fire exits (!), and more.

Apparently a government comission looked for run-down universities that needed renovation around the country. They picked six, but Aix's was not included because it wasn't bad enough. How unnerving is that? Those of you who speak French can watch the report here (fast-forward to the 21st minute).

On a cheerier note, the weather in Aix continues to be beautiful; today's high is supposed to be 70ºF. Yesterday was much the same, and I did homework with another student at a café, La Belle Epoque, on the Cours Mirabeau. We got to sit outside in the warmth and sunshine, and were serenaded by a sidewalk jazz band who were actually very talented. Relaxing afternoons like that make me think it'll be hard to return to Michigan. Such is the beauty of living in Provence.