Pont du Gard

I stretch way, way up to the sky, like a big rainbow made of sunny, warm stones. My home is in a place called France, where the sun loves to shine. My feet splash all day in a cool, green river. If you look up, you will see my arches, like giant smiles stacked one on top of the other. I look like big stepping stones for a giant to cross the water. I am strong and happy. My name is the Pont du Gard, and I have a wonderful story to tell you.

A long, long time ago, in the 1st century, some very clever builders called Romans made me. They stacked my stones so carefully, one by one, like building with giant, sunny blocks. But I was not just a bridge for people to walk on. Oh no, I had a very special, secret job. I was a bridge for water. On my very top level, I carried fresh, splashy water from a spring far away, all the way to a thirsty Roman city called Nîmes. It was like I had a secret river flowing right through the sky. The water would splash and gurgle as it traveled high above the ground. I loved helping all the people and children in the city get a fresh drink. I felt so proud to be a water-carrier, a river in the sky.

After many years, my job of carrying water was done. But I found a new way to help. I became a bridge for friends. People with their happy carts and friendly animals walked across my back. Now, I am a very old and special bridge. Friends from all over the world come to see me. They have picnics in the green grass and splash in the river below my feet. They look up at my big stone arches and say, 'Wow.'. I love seeing their smiling faces. I connect today with the clever builders of yesterday, and I will stand strong and happy for many, many more years.