After a week of exploring Paris, Terry and I traveled south to Provence to explore the smaller, and warmer cities. We used Avignon as our home base staying in Lumani, a bed and breakfast inside the ancient Medieval city walls.  One of the owners was a working artist and her studio was at the back of the public courtyard.  One evening it was illuminated and I sneaked in to catch a glimpse of her abstract paintings. Grape vines covered the old stone walls. Nimes was a short ride in our rental car, an automatic Porche, which was a hybrid car that unfortunately lurched whenever the foot was removed from the accelerator. When we got to Nimes, we parked in a shopping district but after examining the street signs, we decided to drive into an underground parking garage.

We walked to this historic Roman Amphitheater, Arenes Colosseum, built in 70AD and remodeled in 1863 to be used for bull fighting.   The ring is used twice annually today for bull fights. Pablo Picasso was inspired to create many bull fighting themed paintings after attending a fight at the Colosseum. The bull fighter in my sketch is a bronze statue and I didn’t catch the name of the artist. One woman approached me asking for a donation for her cause. She would have made a good Public Relations professional. Terry explored the inside of the Colosseum while I sketched the outside. It has seen plenty of wear and tear through the ages, but is just as functional as the day it opened.