Nantes

My favourite French city

When I say favourite, at this stage, I’d only visited two French cities — Paris and Nantes and I prefer Nantes. I spent three weeks here a year ago with Stacey and Max, her boyfriend. I absolutely loved it. I’ll write about that visit another time. Nantes is the birthplace of Jules Verne and L’Ile des Animaux (the Island of the Animals) is the most phantasmagorical place I’ve ever seen. I don’t even know if that’s the right word to describe it. (See photos)

We arrived just after 4pm, which was pretty good going all the way from Frayssinet-le-Gélat. I managed to find Stacey and Max’s house — it was a year since I’d visited — and proceeded to download our luggage at the end of the street in the drizzling rain. I walked down the street to their house where I am staying this week. Stacey has organised for Kiryn and Lorelle to share a neighbour’s apartment at the end of the cul-de-sac.

A delicious dinner

After a little settling in, Max presented us with an entrée of ham, salami and olives while we awaited the main course-— little beef rolls, rice and salad followed by a dessert of ice-cream and vodka. I managed to drink quite a quantity of champagne, a glass or two of red with dinner, and accidentally drank a scotch and coke. I have no idea what time it was when we waddled back home, but the three of us stayed up drinking straight scotch and talking until 6 am!

Day trip to Mont St Michel

I woke up at 10 — a very sick little puppy — but had to make a superhuman effort, as I really wanted to go to Mont St Michel up the coast on the border of Bretagne and Normandie. I managed to make it there in one piece and moreover, I climbed to the top of the abbey — 300 stairs apparently — which was well worth the effort as we joined an English tour at 3 pm which was very informative and enjoyable. I have wanted to visit Mont St Michel since I was in primary school, and I finally achieve my dream only to find out there’s another Mount St Michael’s in Cornwall!

Another delicious dinner

After a very long trip back to Nantes in the dark (there was a pile-up on the motorway), we arrived home to a delicious meal of tartiflette , which everyone enjoyed. I only had a very small portion and a lemon squash, as I was still feeling very seedy. Nathan, Max’s son, and Douce, his girlfriend, arrived after I was in my bed attire, and I said a quick bonne nuit before hitting the sack. I slept right through till 10! We were supposed to be on the road to Carnac at 9!

Auray, a very pretty town

After a very lovely drive through Rocher-Saint Bernard and driving across a high suspension bridge, we arrived in the very pretty town of Auray. We wandered through the sloping streets till we reached the river, and stopped for a coffee at a friendly bar/restaurant.

Many establishments were closed, but Auray looked like a great place to spend a summer holiday. I met a real Santa Claus character who had travelled to the Pitcairn Islands and had written a book about his adventures, which of course, he tried to sell me for 10 euro. I only had 5, so I politely excused myself and headed for the boulangerie where I spent my last 5 euro on pain aux raisins, pain au caramel and pain aux noisettes and a chocolate roll!

The dolmans and menhirs — more impressive than Stonehenge

We ventured on to have our lunch of tartiflette sandwiches (even tastier than last night!) on the beach where we saw our first dolman — just amazing, and then on to Locmariaquer to see an incredible array of stones, one more than 21 metres high which had crashed to the ground and split into 4 huge slabs of granite.

Inside the huge dolman were carvings in the rock thought to be more than 6,000 years old! Stacey insisted we see more which we did — a field of menhirs at Locmariaquer and then on to Carnac to see even more of them — all in lines and most of them taller than me! I hope the photos turn out.

Then we went walking through the forest to find a giant rock still standing in the middle of the clearing. Kiryn and I were the slowest — I had slipped twice — so when we finally reached a huge upright rock and were deep in conversation discussing if this one was more than 6 metres high, out from behind the rock jumped Stacey and Lorelle. Kiryn and I both jumped; I screamed, wet my pants and cried — I hate being frightened intentionally! Just this morning, Stacey accidentally scared me by walking into the bathroom while I was showering and I thought no one else was awake; so twice in one day may not be good for the old ticker!

As it was getting dark, we drove across a very narrow isthmus through a lovely seaside village with beautiful houses all with high-pitched roofs, but all shuttered and closed for the winter along La Côte Sauvage (the wild coast) to Quiberon where at least the poissonneries (fish markets) were all open. Another long drive back to Nantes, thankfully encountering no traffic jams tonight.

And another delicious dinner

Max had prepared a delicious entrée of gingerbread cake with a couple of different cheeses melted on top, followed by boeuf bourguignon, rice and salad. Nathan and Douce arrived for a late dinner and we shared a few bottles of champagne. I headed to bed around 1 am and fell asleep immediately. I awoke just after 3 and heard Max and Stacey talking so decided I’d get up for a cuppa. Bad mistake!

We all sat up talking till almost 7 am, so I didn’t wake up till after midday when I toddled down to the boulangerie to buy some baguettes for breakfast — well, lunch actually — before heading off to the beauty salon with Lorelle and Kiryn who had the first appointments. Oh, it was wonderful to be pampered and we even got a hand and nail treatment as well — quite luxurious and our hands really needed it. We’d been on the road for three and a half months.

After missing the bus by a whisker, I waited in the cold until the next one which seemed to take forever, but was in fact, only a few minutes. I stopped off at the local supermarché for a bottle of cider and some juice. The man at the check-out remembered me from last Christmas! I was impressed. Back home, the checkout girls don’t remember me from one day to the next!

Our last dinner with Max and Stacey

Max had prepared roast pork with Brazilian cabbage and the creamiest mashed potatoes in culinary history — so delicious that I had two helpings! Everyone decided to have an early night as we are still all feeling the effects of late nights — some of us are a little more hung-over than the others. It’s just after 10 pm and I am about to snuggle into my warm bed. We have to be up early to catch the 7.30 am train to Paris.