Day No. 19 - Nantes - Naoned

It rained heavily overnight. What is romantic downstairs in the van seems like a hurricane upstairs. - But the rain eases off towards morning. - We quietly sneak onto the campsite to take a shower and buy two croissants on the way back. Then we have a French breakfast. Breakfast at the Hector.

Then we get our vehicle ready for the journey. But first we want to take the bikes into town. -

Nantes, Naoned in Breton, can be found in almost every travel guide to Brittany. The temporary capital of historic Brittany was split off in 1941 and is therefore not part of the administrative region of Brittany. But we have been told that "anyone who has been to Brittany and not seen Naoned has never been to Brittany." - We'll see...

Our first destination: the Loire, the river is only a few minutes away from the square. After just a few meters, we see the Ile de Versaille, to which a small bridge leads. As another bridge leads back to the bank, we cross over to the island. Not only a beautiful Japanese garden with a miniature waterfall awaits us, but also an exhibition on climate change.

Further along, houseboats and restaurants on old barges line the shore. Here, as expected, we come across the green line for the first time. This leads past the city's most important sights. This way you don't miss anything and save yourself a lot of planning. Just my thing.

We stop for a moment at a fountain, which has been spruced up by a couple of provocateurs with tridents and blindfolds. - We continue past the Mémorial de l'abolition de l'esclavage, a memorial dedicated to all those who have fought or are still fighting against all forms of slavery around the world.

This is followed by the Pommeray passage: simply lovely! - No wonder brands like Hermes have set up shop here. In keeping with their status.

The balconies on the second floor invite you to make out. No, not us, I had to take a photo. - Right next to it, quickly overlooked, is MICR'HOME, hanging over the alley, a three-storey micro home. Unfortunately, we only caught a glimpse of it.

Too chic? - We also love the little things on the roadside. A particularly beautiful corner house, street art or the many figures that line our path. There is more to see than we can process in such a short time.

Les Machines de l'île, an art project by François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice, draws us into the former shipyard site on the island of île de Nantes in the Loire. The imaginary worlds of Jules Verne, the mechanical universe of Leonardo da Vinci and the industrial past of the city of Nantes supposedly meet here. - We are excited and rewarded. Not only, but also the elephant inspires us. But above all, the île de Nantes feels like a meeting of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

We have already covered quite a few kilometers and take advantage of a short rain shower for a late lunch in one of the many restaurants. We happen to run into the "Cantine Du Voyage". Large, untreated wooden tables arranged into large tables, table football and a pétanque court and a colorful climbing area "La Colline" for "the little ones" - sociable certainly describes this place best. Cider and sausage and cheese platters help to lift the mood.

In an old shipyard, you can get an idea of its history from the model templates.

The tires, which appear fascinating and yet colourless here under a grey sky, are the work Les Anneaux by Daniel Buren. In the evening, these tires shine in white, colourful stripes. Unfortunately, we are no longer here. But we'll be back, no question.

Art is always in the eye of the beholder. We really wanted to see Résolution des forces en présence by Vincent Mauger. The spiky sculpture made of long wooden stakes at the end of a jetty looks like a figurehead watching over the old shipbuilding ramps. - But it doesn't give us anything, just philistines.

Our last stop is the Cathedral de Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul. Cologne residents associate "Peter and Paul" above all with the most momentous of all air raids on the city for the Allies. More than 4,500 people died after the attacks by British bombers on the night of June 28-29, 1943 - the day of the Catholic feast of Peter and Paul in honour of the two apostles. - But peace reigned here. Like many French churches, the church appears inviting and friendly. Perhaps this is due to the white stone façade? Although Torgit suspects that the "ground staff" are better in France! - I'd rather stay out of it.

The cathedral has something else in common with Cologne and Cologne Cathedral: its long construction period. The foundation stone was laid in 1443 and the cathedral was completed in 1891 (no one is talking about completion). At just 448 years, however, it takes the lead over our cathedral with 632 years. Who is still upset about Berlin Airport?

When we arrive at the campsite at around 6 p.m., we want to get out of the city and take a deep breath. We spontaneously decide to set off for La Bernerie-en-Retz. About 40 minutes later, we find ourselves on the Atlantic and get a taste of the winds that await us in the fall. But the view of the sea rewards us for the short drive...

Thanks to Aga and Dennis for bringing us here. - Thank you!

Insight of the day: Walking in someone else's footsteps can also be liberating at times.