Our Adventures – Nantes 2019

Nantes 4 July Arrival

See everything on one long page here, or choose a day.

Our fine, tiny apartment for the next two weeks

Gerhild and her nice flea-market hat.

The evening view over the river Erdre

Nantes 5 July Jungle

There is a bridge over the river Erdre, but where does it go? No not Japan, l’île de Versaille, Nantes.

Lots of picknicking going on here and whyever not?

The unicorns have found their way here too

They like strange things over the streets here.

The locals describe this as an enigmatic bas relief. Google offers this.

The „jungle“ art installation in the middle of the shopping district.

Nice update to the Sainte Croix church added in 1860, even if Kim was disappointed that the bells rang, but the trumpeters neither trumpeted nor moved an inch.

Nantes 6 July Maker Campus

https://nantesmakercampus.com

What an amazing show, the Nomad Men and their BATT MOBILE. Batter is what French musicians do to drums, nothing to do with flying rodents.

Kim played with a giant cardboard Tamagotchi dancing and cleaning up after it.

African robots

French, wire-operated robot

Le Manège d‘Andréa

Just outside we found this beautiful roundabout http://lesmanegesdandrea.com

LA NUIT DU VAN

Let’s celebrate in the streets for the opening night of the Voyage à Nantes!

How to liven up old bronzes in the Cours Cambronne, an elegant park right next to the opera.

Is she getting on or getting off? Philippe Ramette.

Gerhild next to a theatrical theatre.

What a lot of statues – 750 of them as a selfie park in Place Royal

Nantes 7 July rue Maréchal Joffre

Some shop signs in Nantes, like in the rue de Maréchal Joffre are mechanised! As trend setters they all have tattoos if you look closely.

Fish & chip shop

Ladies clothing

Hamburgers

Bar

All on the way to the amazing Jardin des Plantes.

Which is completely potty!

The little sign says DO NOT FEED THE PLANTS! The cage ensures your safety from this carnivorous collection.

If you pump hard enough on the stand next to the path, the kinetic sculptures rise up out of the water.

This is one cool cat. Despite the heat he just kept snoozing on the lawn.

Nice sequence of 25 Claude Ponti pictures here https://jardins.nantes.fr/N/Accueil/Ponti/Claude-Ponti-Album.asp

Nantes 8 July Pornic

Today we took the train to Pornic which is about 43 km away on the Atlantic coast and was the favourite seaside village of the nice woman in the tourist office.

Cooler than Nantes it was still too hot to be in the sun for long.

And a beautiful view from the garden while we enjoyed our crepes, after a strawberry and rosé wine aperitif. Hence Kim‘s strawberry nose.

La Crêperie de la Fraiserie in Pornic

Nantes 9 July le Nid

Breakfast on the balcony again today. Gerhild feels observed from the other side of the river!

Echoes of the fantastic Jacques Tati and Mon Oncle.

Are we going up there?

Yes we are. You can see our flat from the top.

This is called Nid (nest).

Boat passing just as we arrived home.

Nantes 10 July Musée d’Art

This morning we walked to the Nantes Musée d‘art. Nice buildings but modest art apart from Mircea Cantor who I liked.

In the „cube“

Two Englishmen, Bevis Martin & Charlie Youle, who live in Nantes, made Planet Man. Nice.

Nantes 11 July the Elephant

We went to visit the elephant today.

Children, large or small, love it.

Then we went to the giant carousel des mondes marins.

Nantes 12 July Chateau

Had a look at the Chateau today.

Anne and her royal namesake, the Duchess Anne.

Lunch on board a boat on the Erdre (Pépé Guingette). In the foreground „Amours“ by Karina Bisch.

Nantes 13 July Trentemoult

Strolled along the green line today, after buying a baguette for lunch.

The park opposite is reflected in this pierced facade.

Nice signs for the butcher‘s shop

Cheeky fellow stepping on Gerhild‘s head.

Bookshop sign!

In the evening we took the ferry to Trentemoult.

Where there are some great paintings lurking behind the ivy.

Not to mention this large clock with no hands.

As it got dark, the rings on the île de Nantes lit up (les Anneaux -Daniel Buren)

Which looked good from the ferry on the way home.

Nantes 14 July Erdre walk

Today we went for a pretty walk along the river Erdre, accompanied by Sunday joggers, a few bicycles and people looking for a picnic spot.

Creative use of bits of tree to make a nice picnic area.

One way to paint your boat.

There’s a message in this somewhere.

Kim likes this skeleton tag which we have seen on a few pieces of black street furniture.

Where the path is blocked by posh gardens they built a nice boardwalk.

Nantes 15 July Galerie des Machines

What’s that?

A nicely planted street pissoir – only in France.

On the “Arty” walk. Nantes waiters are so friendly!

What is Gerhild doing in that basket in the galerie des machines?

Waiting for takeoff with Heron airlines.

You’ve never seen a hummingbird like this.

A wooden goose.

Testing the plants for the Heron Tree.

On our happy way home.

Nantes 16 July la vie est belle

It took us a while to discover that this shop sign is of a “Gouty Rat” which was the eccentric name of a shop familiar to the young Jules Verne.

21:30 Choeur Mikrokosmos in front of Museum d‘histoire naturelle. Sat on comfy shop step until we got bored and drifted off to find this nice little rhyme, loosely translated if rhyme-free as “life is beautiful, just like you”.

Which was also used in “les enfants de paradis”… Go on, try out your French comprehension!

Nantes 17 July Saint-Nazaire

We took a boat to Saint-Nazaire today and on the way –

Not a planning disaster but a work of art…

Erwin Wurm having fun

Exclusive place to live.

Mum, please mum, can I take it home!

Nice additions to these buildings, if some head scratching is called for.

Never seen a lock with a bomb-proof roof before

What to do with a useless submarine base

Japanese style garden of the stars with a boys’ and a girls’ tower.

Kim and his keep-kool hat.

Nantes 18 July LU biscuit factory

Today we went to the old LU biscuit factory to see a Richard Mosse exhibition. Funny to travel all the way to Nantes to see a huge infrared picture of Berlin’s old Tempelhof airport.

The video “Incoming” was very impressive.

Then we prepared a picnic, split a nice bottle of French red into two plastic water bottles and found a good spot behind the cathedral for the free concert.