It was dark by the time Jen and I checked into our swanky hotel in Nîmes.

Our first priority was finding a restaurant for dinner. The hotel was in the heart of downtown, so we had plenty of options – just no reservations. Luckily, we found a spot with covered outdoor seating and a blanket tucked on the back of each chair. With no more driving for the night, I went for a Gin and Tonic (or Gin Tonics, as they call them). G&Ts are pretty popular, often featuring gin from a local distillery. This one was a pomegranate version, so ya know, it was basically a health potion. In keeping with this trend, I ordered the fish and risotto special, which turned out to be fantastic. No matter how many meals I have in France, I continually marvel over the freshness of the ingredients and the beauty of the presentation.

After dinner, we walked a few extra blocks to get a feel for the town. All the stores were closed, but you can learn quite a bit about the vibe through window shopping! There were narrow streets lined with interesting boutiques but what really caught our eye was the Amphitheater of Nimes, built not long after the Colosseum of Rome. We also stumbled across one of the best-preserved Roman temples still standing –  the Maison Carrée. Since we did almost zero research before embarking on this trip, it felt thrilling to suddenly encounter these ancient landmarks. History is everywhere… 

We’d barely scratched the surface, but it had been a long and exhausting day. Plus, we were impatient to get back to our room for the much-anticipated spa experience!

Jen had first dibs, so she put on a robe and started running the tub. Fifteen minutes later, she poked her head out to say the water wasn’t heating up. And you know how it is, the faucets are different everywhere you go so she wanted to check that she wasn’t screwing it up somehow. Nope! We both tried the shower and the tub and there was no hot water to be had… 

By this time, it was 10 pm and getting late. Hot water is kind of a necessity though, so we called down to the front desk. The night shift lady was apologetic and came up to troubleshoot. She confirmed that we weren’t idiots and went to reset the boiler. The plan was to wait 30 minutes and try again…but alas, nothing! The next day promised to be an early one, so we gave up any hopes of a spa night. Talk about a disappointment…

Now we’d have to wake up even earlier the next morning to resolve the issue. We returned to the desk just as dawn broke and they gave us the key to a new room. I had a hunch that the hot water problem could impact more than one room, so before we unpacked, I tested it to be sure. Sometimes it’s nice to be right – this was not one of those times! 

At long last, we got the keys for a THIRD room in another wing of the hotel – it was a two-story suite and the water was HOT! Two lightning-fast showers later, we were packed up and ready to hit the road. Our unexpected “tour” of the hotel made for a hectic morning – with lots of extra steps, because there was no elevator, either! The hotel staff tried to make it up to us with a massive breakfast spread for our trouble…but truth be told, the best part was all the extra Diptyque toiletries. 😉

We took it in stride and joked that mayhem was bound to ensue once we got together! Little did we know what laid in store…