I have decided to go to Nantes because the green guide book gave it 3 stars and Fabrice said that it is a beautiful town. Nicolas had his doubt. When I read the guide, I didn’t find that it is worth 3 stars, the same rating as Le Mont St Michel. Anyway, today I am going to find out about this.
I am supposed to arrive at the train station half an hour before the departure of the train in order to collect my ticket. I did arrived there half an hour earlier, but waited 10 min for the queue. A man came running up to the queue and asked everyone if it was alright for him to go first because his train was departing. We all said yes although some said it grumpily. An old man came and queued up behind me. He was mumbling to himself because the queue was very slow. Then suddenly he just brushed past me and went all the way to the front and became the first of the queue! GNN! Like that also can. Finally it was my turn and while the lady at the counter was serving me, a madam came up with a purse and said she found it somewhere else. After passing the purse, she ran off for her train. I tried to squeeze the purse through the slit to the young lady behind the counter but the purse was too big. So she asked me to go to the back and passed it to her. After so much time wasted, I finally got my tickets and went to the platform.
On the train, I read Nicolas’ paper and made some corrections to his English. It was very well written actually. These guys although couldn’t speak English very well, do put in a lot of effort in getting their written English right. I saw Nicolas a couple of time proof-reading the paper. The train arrived at Redon, a small town from which I had to change to another train. At the platform, an announcement was made saying that the train bound for Nantes would be 25 min late. Kao. A lot of passengers were unhappy because they had to transfer to another train in Nantes and might miss that train. They went up to the controller for help, asking if they could get a refund. I spent that 25 min on Nicolas’ paper. The train came 25 min later and it was a new type of train called Corail which I had never taken before. For 2nd Class seats (which I always take. See no reason to take 1st Class as 2nd Class is already quite comfortable), there were small rooms which could accommodate 8 people. I was in this room with a young lady beside me, 2 men and an old lady facing me. Everyone was doing his own stuff. The young lady was reading a book; the man facing me was listening to music; the black man beside him was sleeping and snoring; the old lady was doing crossword puzzles; and I was reading Nico’s paper.
Eventually I arrived at Nantes and although I was 25 min late, I felt that I had plenty of time. In fact too much time. Today also marked the start of a 2 weeks school vacations and I saw a lot of students with luggage either going for holidays or going home. I left the station and tried to find my way to the Cathedral of St Paul and St Peter (here renamed as SPPC). On the way, I passed by this tower called Tour Lu, which was part of an old building. This tower was built in the 19C and was very striking because it was very colorful. It wasn’t for any military purpose. In fact, the building which the tower was attached to used to be a biscuit factory called “Petit Beurre”. Nantes is famous for its biscuit industry in the past. The twin of this tower no longer exists now. After some walking, I finally found the cathedral and the castle beside it. However, I wasn’t interested in the castle because I had been to enough of them. The cathedral was one of the highlighted attractions in this place.
I am supposed to arrive at the train station half an hour before the departure of the train in order to collect my ticket. I did arrived there half an hour earlier, but waited 10 min for the queue. A man came running up to the queue and asked everyone if it was alright for him to go first because his train was departing. We all said yes although some said it grumpily. An old man came and queued up behind me. He was mumbling to himself because the queue was very slow. Then suddenly he just brushed past me and went all the way to the front and became the first of the queue! GNN! Like that also can. Finally it was my turn and while the lady at the counter was serving me, a madam came up with a purse and said she found it somewhere else. After passing the purse, she ran off for her train. I tried to squeeze the purse through the slit to the young lady behind the counter but the purse was too big. So she asked me to go to the back and passed it to her. After so much time wasted, I finally got my tickets and went to the platform.
On the train, I read Nicolas’ paper and made some corrections to his English. It was very well written actually. These guys although couldn’t speak English very well, do put in a lot of effort in getting their written English right. I saw Nicolas a couple of time proof-reading the paper. The train arrived at Redon, a small town from which I had to change to another train. At the platform, an announcement was made saying that the train bound for Nantes would be 25 min late. Kao. A lot of passengers were unhappy because they had to transfer to another train in Nantes and might miss that train. They went up to the controller for help, asking if they could get a refund. I spent that 25 min on Nicolas’ paper. The train came 25 min later and it was a new type of train called Corail which I had never taken before. For 2nd Class seats (which I always take. See no reason to take 1st Class as 2nd Class is already quite comfortable), there were small rooms which could accommodate 8 people. I was in this room with a young lady beside me, 2 men and an old lady facing me. Everyone was doing his own stuff. The young lady was reading a book; the man facing me was listening to music; the black man beside him was sleeping and snoring; the old lady was doing crossword puzzles; and I was reading Nico’s paper.
Eventually I arrived at Nantes and although I was 25 min late, I felt that I had plenty of time. In fact too much time. Today also marked the start of a 2 weeks school vacations and I saw a lot of students with luggage either going for holidays or going home. I left the station and tried to find my way to the Cathedral of St Paul and St Peter (here renamed as SPPC). On the way, I passed by this tower called Tour Lu, which was part of an old building. This tower was built in the 19C and was very striking because it was very colorful. It wasn’t for any military purpose. In fact, the building which the tower was attached to used to be a biscuit factory called “Petit Beurre”. Nantes is famous for its biscuit industry in the past. The twin of this tower no longer exists now. After some walking, I finally found the cathedral and the castle beside it. However, I wasn’t interested in the castle because I had been to enough of them. The cathedral was one of the highlighted attractions in this place.
From afar, I could already see the huge monstrous looking cathedral. The construction of this imposing building begun in 15C and ended in the 18C. (Normally a cathedral, a castle or a palace takes a few hundred years to build. Not that people were lazy but they just keep adding on to the building until a point where they thought it was enough). However, in 1972, a fire almost burnt down the whole cathedral. Much restoration was done thereafter. The interior of the cathedral was quite similar to those other cathedrals which I had been to but the ceiling was much higher. I tour around the interior in an anti-clockwise direction. I would reach the south transept first in this way. After the Mont St Michel guided tour, I now had a clear idea of the orientation of cathedrals and churches. The entrance would always be west, the choir and altar which are at the other end would be east. At the south transept there was the tomb of Francois II, Duke of Brittany in the 15C and father of Anne of Brittany. This Anne of Brittany is so famous here that everywhere I go I would see her name. She is the Duchess of Brittany in the early 16C and later became Queen of France when she married the king. I once asked Jean-Marie who is this Anne of Brittany. He said she is super famous here; like the Britney Spears of Brittany.
This tomb is really a treasure because it was carved in the 16C by Michel Colombe, famous sculptor in Brittany and commissioned by Anne. And the one displayed in the cathedral is the original piece. During the Revolution, orders were passed down to destroy the tomb (anything that had links with monarchy must be destroyed then) but the architect of the town broke it into small pieces and hid them in his friends’ houses. It was reconstructed in the 19C and placed in SPPC. What interest me most were the statues around the tomb. Francois II lied on top of the tomb with his head resting on a pillow. There were 2 angels lifting the 2 corners of the pillow. This signifies the welcoming of Francois to Heaven. There was a lion at his right foot which meant power; Marguerite’s greyhound (Marguerite was his wife) at his left foot which meant fidelity. Then there were 4 statues at the 4 corners, signifying the 4 Cardinal Virtues.
This tomb is really a treasure because it was carved in the 16C by Michel Colombe, famous sculptor in Brittany and commissioned by Anne. And the one displayed in the cathedral is the original piece. During the Revolution, orders were passed down to destroy the tomb (anything that had links with monarchy must be destroyed then) but the architect of the town broke it into small pieces and hid them in his friends’ houses. It was reconstructed in the 19C and placed in SPPC. What interest me most were the statues around the tomb. Francois II lied on top of the tomb with his head resting on a pillow. There were 2 angels lifting the 2 corners of the pillow. This signifies the welcoming of Francois to Heaven. There was a lion at his right foot which meant power; Marguerite’s greyhound (Marguerite was his wife) at his left foot which meant fidelity. Then there were 4 statues at the 4 corners, signifying the 4 Cardinal Virtues.
1. Justice: crowned and holding a sword in one hand, a scale in another hand
2. Strength: helmeted and one hand holding a castle while the other drags a dragon out of the castle
3. Temperance: holding a bridle, signifying control over passions and holding a clock in the other hand signifying steadiness.
4. Prudence: This is very special. The statue had 2 faces, not side by side but back to back. One face was an old man representing the past. The other was a girl looking into a glass representing the future.
At the bottom of the tomb were 16 small sculptures of the patron saints of Brittany. Below them, each had a black sculpture which was the mourner. But all 16 of the mourners were defaced. I took pictures of all these statues and sculptures and it reminded me of those RPG games I used to play. Every time they would have some statues which are symbolic and I had to guess their meaning and solve the riddle.
I moved on and reached the transept crossing, which was the centre of the cathedral. From there I could see the full height of the building. The ceiling was so high up that I hardly could see the sculpture on it. I went on and reached the north transept where there was another tomb of a general called Lamoriciere who was an African campaigner. He fought the Arabs in the wars in Algeria. This cenotaph was not as old as the previous one. It was built in the 19C. There were 4 statues at the corners also. A soldier that meant Military Courage. A woman with 2 toddlers in her bosoms which symbolizes Charity. A lady clutching her hands and praying to God representing Faith. And lastly an old man deep in thought with one hand on his forehead signifying Meditation. After spending an hour in the cathedral, I went outside and tour around the building. However, I couldn’t find a good position to take a good picture because there was a funfair beside the cathedral. The stall owners were making all sorts of preparation; fixing the lights, setting up the machines, etc. And the roller coaster structure blocked the cathedral partially. Hence I gave up and went to the castle.
To my disappointment, the castle was closed as it was undergoing renovation. I walked round the castle but didn’t take any picture because it was pretty ugly with all the scaffoldings around. Hence I made my way to the tourism office. There were 3 tourism offices in Nantes which is quite rare; normally you have just one for a town. The one I went to was in the city centre and it was very big. There were 4 staffs at the counter which was really excessive. I bought a postcard and asked for a plan of the town. The lady also gave me 2 pamphlets about the town. With just the green guide it wasn’t enough actually. The map had itinerary to follow and is more detail. The city centre was bustling with life and one thing very special was wherever I walked, I could hear music being played. They had speakers installed on almost every lamppost and were broadcasting those country folk kind of music. Sometimes, there would be bagpipes music which is a traditional of music in Brittany because of its Celtic heritage. So it was kind of relaxing with music in the background while I walked the old city centre. And the town had very good tram system. My idea of tram was that kind of old trams which you have to squeeze your way in. But the tram I saw looked very comfortable.
I stopped at this place called “Passage Pommeraye” which was something liked a shopping mall. There was a flight of stairs and at the 2 sides were lamppost with statues below them. And the entire building had a 19C atmosphere with sculptures all over the place. Then at Royal Place, there was a roundabout and at the centre was a fountain. A statue of a lady was at the centre with 4 smaller statues at her feet. She symbolizes Nantes overlooking the 4 tributaries of the Loire River. Then I came to this Natural History Museum which was recommended in the guide. In fact there were a number of museums in Nante but only this and another one (which is the Museum of Fine Arts) were recommended. I didn’t want to go to the Fine Arts Museum because Rennes has a very good one. Also I am more interested in animals than in arts. I went to the counter and was a bit surprised that the receptionist who was wearing a suit, couldn’t speak English. I asked if there is reduction for student and he said yes. I then asked if there are any brochures in English but he said no. In the end I paid just 1.6 euros to enter.
The museum was really a disappointment. First of all, everything was in French. But that was quite ok because by now I am used to it already. But what really was disappointing was that the exhibitions were not at all fantastic. The first section I went to was on crystals. Then I went to this exhibition about Mars. I found out that I would weigh about 20kg on Mars. After that there was this rather big exhibition on various kinds of animals. A section was dedicated to a Nantes naturalist called something Auberon. He was someone like Charles Darwin, who went on a voyage from Nantes to South America and on the way discovered different species of animals. There was a big dinosaur skeleton in the hall and that was the only thing that amazed me. I wanted to ask the staffs if it was real but guessed they couldn’t speak English. There were 4 to 5 staffs walking around the museum and there was one whom I felt was following me. She seemed to be afraid that I might break something. At a point, there were more staffs than visitors. While I was viewing the display on shell animals, I saw the prawn-like creature with pincers which I had for dinner in Jaro’s farewell party. It is called Langoustine. I was utterly disappointed in the end and regretted not choosing the Fine Arts Museum instead. I have planned to go to the Natural Museum in London and hope that it wouldn’t be another disappointment. But somehow I have faith in that one because it is very famous worldwide and it would be in English.
After so much touring, I still have about 3 hrs left. There was this island in the middle of Loire River and was linked to the mainland by a few bridges. There was nothing on this island; just factories and plants. However, there was this dark and dull building which is called Palace of Justice. It was at the end of its construction and would be used as the High Court in Nantes in 2006. The reason why the building was so dark and imposing was because the architect who designed it wanted the building to have some kind of authoritative power. I just find it ugly. Law means Justice but it doesn’t mean Unfeeling. And this reminded me of an Andy Lau’s old film called “Fa Nei Qing” in which he played a lawyer fighting a case for his mother played by veteran actress Ye De Xian. Will try to find that VCD back in SG. Anyway, I walked along the River Loire, took some pictures and headed back to the city centre. I came to this Place du Commerce and it was very crowded; not as crowded as Orchard Road but too crowded for France I feel. I had never seen so many people gathering at a plaza like this one before. There was a man drawing a large picture of a clown on the floor at a corner of the plaza. All he used were crayons. I admire his artistic talent but didn’t feel he deserved a penny from me. There was a band playing some music somewhere else and I filmed about 20 sec of the performance. The band comprised of a girl playing the recorder, a young man blowing a large trumpet, another young man playing the drums and lastly an old man whistling. It was a very good performance and attracted some crowds. As I walked on, a girl stopped me and she seemed to be doing some kind of survey. I said I don’t speak French and she switched to English. Apparently she was asking me for donation for the homeless. She said, “just sign, no problem”. On her paper there were people giving 20 euros. I said no and walked away. For homeless? Does she mean for those who are unemployed?
While waiting at the pedestrian crossing with 2 old ladies, a drunkard just pissed at the corner of the building and his urine flowed down towards us. Fucking hell. I feel like bashing him up. The 2 old ladies grumbled and marched off. I don’t understand what is the problem of these wandering men; always drunk, asking for money, don’t want to find a job, pissing around the place. It really made me mad to see these men, even though in their fifties, not finding a job. They can’t complain that because they are old and hence they couldn’t find a job. My dad was retrenched after the 1997 financial crisis and he went for retraining and got a new job but it was much more tiring; having to work on Sundays sometimes and whole of Saturdays. So what the fuck is the problem of these idiots in France? Moreover, they are getting welfare grants now and then. Even old ladies in SG would pick up cardboxes and sell them to factories. Or they would go around selling tissue papers. These beggars on the streets are really parasites of the society and an eye-sore to this beautiful country.
At 4pm, I decided to go to the Garden of Plants which was very near the train station. No more adventures in catching the train again. I wanted to make sure I don’t have to run around asking people for direction. On the way I passed by the funfair which was opened now. Lots of young people and families were there. And there were quite a number of stalls selling “mian hua tang” for a euro. I didn’t like it because it is too sweet for me. I can’t take stuffs that are too sweet like honeydew for example. If only they sell “mua ji” at the funfair here. Now and then I would hear screams because of those thrilling coaster rides. And there was this gigantic structure with an arm that rotates vertically. It was almost as tall as the cathedral beside it. I took a picture of the funfair with the cathedral in the background as I thought it would a sharp contrast of past and present. After that I rested for an hour in the Garden, enjoying the scenery. Today’s trip was really relaxing, the most relaxing one I ever had. With ample time, I get to tour at my own sweet time. And whenever there is river in the town, there would always be a moment of serenity which really helps to relax my mind, esp. after one week of hectic work. But still I didn’t think Nantes deserved 3 stars. 2 stars would be the most I give her. By now I had been to almost 10 places in Brittany and thought that I might be running out of places and would have to stay in Rennes over the following weekends. But I feel that I should continue traveling because even places with 1 star, they would have something that would interest me. I don’t think I would be able to stand it if I were to spend both Saturday and Sunday in my room. Now the weekend plan is just nice. Saturday I would be completely exhausted by the trip but I have one full Sunday to relax and charge up to prepare myself for work on Monday. It would be better if I had a companion with me for the trip.
I moved on and reached the transept crossing, which was the centre of the cathedral. From there I could see the full height of the building. The ceiling was so high up that I hardly could see the sculpture on it. I went on and reached the north transept where there was another tomb of a general called Lamoriciere who was an African campaigner. He fought the Arabs in the wars in Algeria. This cenotaph was not as old as the previous one. It was built in the 19C. There were 4 statues at the corners also. A soldier that meant Military Courage. A woman with 2 toddlers in her bosoms which symbolizes Charity. A lady clutching her hands and praying to God representing Faith. And lastly an old man deep in thought with one hand on his forehead signifying Meditation. After spending an hour in the cathedral, I went outside and tour around the building. However, I couldn’t find a good position to take a good picture because there was a funfair beside the cathedral. The stall owners were making all sorts of preparation; fixing the lights, setting up the machines, etc. And the roller coaster structure blocked the cathedral partially. Hence I gave up and went to the castle.
To my disappointment, the castle was closed as it was undergoing renovation. I walked round the castle but didn’t take any picture because it was pretty ugly with all the scaffoldings around. Hence I made my way to the tourism office. There were 3 tourism offices in Nantes which is quite rare; normally you have just one for a town. The one I went to was in the city centre and it was very big. There were 4 staffs at the counter which was really excessive. I bought a postcard and asked for a plan of the town. The lady also gave me 2 pamphlets about the town. With just the green guide it wasn’t enough actually. The map had itinerary to follow and is more detail. The city centre was bustling with life and one thing very special was wherever I walked, I could hear music being played. They had speakers installed on almost every lamppost and were broadcasting those country folk kind of music. Sometimes, there would be bagpipes music which is a traditional of music in Brittany because of its Celtic heritage. So it was kind of relaxing with music in the background while I walked the old city centre. And the town had very good tram system. My idea of tram was that kind of old trams which you have to squeeze your way in. But the tram I saw looked very comfortable.
I stopped at this place called “Passage Pommeraye” which was something liked a shopping mall. There was a flight of stairs and at the 2 sides were lamppost with statues below them. And the entire building had a 19C atmosphere with sculptures all over the place. Then at Royal Place, there was a roundabout and at the centre was a fountain. A statue of a lady was at the centre with 4 smaller statues at her feet. She symbolizes Nantes overlooking the 4 tributaries of the Loire River. Then I came to this Natural History Museum which was recommended in the guide. In fact there were a number of museums in Nante but only this and another one (which is the Museum of Fine Arts) were recommended. I didn’t want to go to the Fine Arts Museum because Rennes has a very good one. Also I am more interested in animals than in arts. I went to the counter and was a bit surprised that the receptionist who was wearing a suit, couldn’t speak English. I asked if there is reduction for student and he said yes. I then asked if there are any brochures in English but he said no. In the end I paid just 1.6 euros to enter.
The museum was really a disappointment. First of all, everything was in French. But that was quite ok because by now I am used to it already. But what really was disappointing was that the exhibitions were not at all fantastic. The first section I went to was on crystals. Then I went to this exhibition about Mars. I found out that I would weigh about 20kg on Mars. After that there was this rather big exhibition on various kinds of animals. A section was dedicated to a Nantes naturalist called something Auberon. He was someone like Charles Darwin, who went on a voyage from Nantes to South America and on the way discovered different species of animals. There was a big dinosaur skeleton in the hall and that was the only thing that amazed me. I wanted to ask the staffs if it was real but guessed they couldn’t speak English. There were 4 to 5 staffs walking around the museum and there was one whom I felt was following me. She seemed to be afraid that I might break something. At a point, there were more staffs than visitors. While I was viewing the display on shell animals, I saw the prawn-like creature with pincers which I had for dinner in Jaro’s farewell party. It is called Langoustine. I was utterly disappointed in the end and regretted not choosing the Fine Arts Museum instead. I have planned to go to the Natural Museum in London and hope that it wouldn’t be another disappointment. But somehow I have faith in that one because it is very famous worldwide and it would be in English.
After so much touring, I still have about 3 hrs left. There was this island in the middle of Loire River and was linked to the mainland by a few bridges. There was nothing on this island; just factories and plants. However, there was this dark and dull building which is called Palace of Justice. It was at the end of its construction and would be used as the High Court in Nantes in 2006. The reason why the building was so dark and imposing was because the architect who designed it wanted the building to have some kind of authoritative power. I just find it ugly. Law means Justice but it doesn’t mean Unfeeling. And this reminded me of an Andy Lau’s old film called “Fa Nei Qing” in which he played a lawyer fighting a case for his mother played by veteran actress Ye De Xian. Will try to find that VCD back in SG. Anyway, I walked along the River Loire, took some pictures and headed back to the city centre. I came to this Place du Commerce and it was very crowded; not as crowded as Orchard Road but too crowded for France I feel. I had never seen so many people gathering at a plaza like this one before. There was a man drawing a large picture of a clown on the floor at a corner of the plaza. All he used were crayons. I admire his artistic talent but didn’t feel he deserved a penny from me. There was a band playing some music somewhere else and I filmed about 20 sec of the performance. The band comprised of a girl playing the recorder, a young man blowing a large trumpet, another young man playing the drums and lastly an old man whistling. It was a very good performance and attracted some crowds. As I walked on, a girl stopped me and she seemed to be doing some kind of survey. I said I don’t speak French and she switched to English. Apparently she was asking me for donation for the homeless. She said, “just sign, no problem”. On her paper there were people giving 20 euros. I said no and walked away. For homeless? Does she mean for those who are unemployed?
While waiting at the pedestrian crossing with 2 old ladies, a drunkard just pissed at the corner of the building and his urine flowed down towards us. Fucking hell. I feel like bashing him up. The 2 old ladies grumbled and marched off. I don’t understand what is the problem of these wandering men; always drunk, asking for money, don’t want to find a job, pissing around the place. It really made me mad to see these men, even though in their fifties, not finding a job. They can’t complain that because they are old and hence they couldn’t find a job. My dad was retrenched after the 1997 financial crisis and he went for retraining and got a new job but it was much more tiring; having to work on Sundays sometimes and whole of Saturdays. So what the fuck is the problem of these idiots in France? Moreover, they are getting welfare grants now and then. Even old ladies in SG would pick up cardboxes and sell them to factories. Or they would go around selling tissue papers. These beggars on the streets are really parasites of the society and an eye-sore to this beautiful country.
At 4pm, I decided to go to the Garden of Plants which was very near the train station. No more adventures in catching the train again. I wanted to make sure I don’t have to run around asking people for direction. On the way I passed by the funfair which was opened now. Lots of young people and families were there. And there were quite a number of stalls selling “mian hua tang” for a euro. I didn’t like it because it is too sweet for me. I can’t take stuffs that are too sweet like honeydew for example. If only they sell “mua ji” at the funfair here. Now and then I would hear screams because of those thrilling coaster rides. And there was this gigantic structure with an arm that rotates vertically. It was almost as tall as the cathedral beside it. I took a picture of the funfair with the cathedral in the background as I thought it would a sharp contrast of past and present. After that I rested for an hour in the Garden, enjoying the scenery. Today’s trip was really relaxing, the most relaxing one I ever had. With ample time, I get to tour at my own sweet time. And whenever there is river in the town, there would always be a moment of serenity which really helps to relax my mind, esp. after one week of hectic work. But still I didn’t think Nantes deserved 3 stars. 2 stars would be the most I give her. By now I had been to almost 10 places in Brittany and thought that I might be running out of places and would have to stay in Rennes over the following weekends. But I feel that I should continue traveling because even places with 1 star, they would have something that would interest me. I don’t think I would be able to stand it if I were to spend both Saturday and Sunday in my room. Now the weekend plan is just nice. Saturday I would be completely exhausted by the trip but I have one full Sunday to relax and charge up to prepare myself for work on Monday. It would be better if I had a companion with me for the trip.
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