Thursday, April 27th, 2006 sunrise-06:57 sunset-09:11 low/high temp:12-17C (53.5-62.5F)
This morning, we departed Sucé sur Erdre early to get a good start on the city of Nantes. Our goal was to see all the Chateaus and Chalets on the river and still have time to enjoy the sights of the city. The maps we had reviewed indicated there were a significant number of great buildings to see. On several occasions, I cut power to the engine and we drifted a 'bit' outside the buoys to get a better shot. It was a gorgeous morning with bright sunshine and a light breeze that kept us in wind-breakers or heavy shirts.
I have found some of the names of the chateaus we passed along the way, but unfortunately not all of them. If I locate more information, I will certainly update the site! If anyone sees a château they know the name of in the pictures below that is not identified, please e-mail me here!
Château de Port-Hubert
Le Château de la Gâscherie,
definitely beautiful as well as impressive, with an amazing view of the river Erdre!
This is a 15th century château rebuilt in the 19th
century.
Château de la Chantrerie
Château de la Poterie
We never got a good view of
this church. I was tempted to
moor on the bank for this one!
Château du Bignon
While not a château, certainly nice.
Château de la Desnerie
Awesome, but no idea of the name.
Good shots of a group of young rowers practicing. They were quite fun to
watch practice.
They're directly under the bridge or the Erdre (Pont
de l'Erdre).
A train of children learn to
Someone tried to turn too hard Danielle takes in all the
sail their little boats.
and needed help to upright
sights.
They're being pulled by the the craft.
instructor motor boat. He
dashed between the boats shouting
instructions and tips constantly.
It was quite a bit of work for him!
On approach to Nantes.
Napoleonic bridge, still looking
The Japanese garden of the port.
for the name.
Cool boat house, now a bar!
Nice port restaurant where we A new addition to the garden.
La Route du Rhum! Named
moored to find the harbor
after the local boat race.
Captain (Capitainerie).
This is a university town as well Boat launch, along with VERY
Very small craft mooring bridge.
as an active port city.
modern surface transit.
Exiting the port moorings.
We were absolutely overwhelmed with the aroma of these
trees once we stepped clear of the harbor.
Yep, you guessed it, more Danielle nature photos. I'm glad she
The girls on a mission!
took them, as I focused more on the activity of the towns.
Shopping ahead!!!
We saw the steeple from a distance, and decided to head toward it on our way to
the main church of the city.
The lighted effect behind as well as above the main altar was amazing.
The pulpit, and carvings on it, were spectacular.
Cindy liked the stained glass
refraction near the pulpit.
The architecture was amazing! Scott & Kate explore.
Cindy (G) & Danielle soak in all
the history and magnificence.
Another view of the windows View of the altar from behind
Kate lights a candle in memory
and icons.
aft altar screen.
of her mom, Mona. We all
sure miss her!
The stained glass throughout was awesome, and I particularly liked
the effect over the aft doors.
I found an internet café here that allowed us to connect our own machines for €1/hour fee.
I was surprised at how few internet cafés there are in France. The very common in the U.K. Scott and I checked e-mail on our portables and Cindy (G) & Danielle checked theirs
for a €2/hour fee. They had a little trouble with the foreign keyboard layout...
Nice fish there, Lauren!
I love the new SMART
Roadster Finale above and also that awesome
yellow/black deux chevaux below!
Can you believe they're stopping productionon the Roadster!? Bring it to the States,
Mercedes!
Above, the plaza prior to reaching the Cathedral.
It was absolutely empty, but later filled with students after their protest.
Below, town square monument to XXXXX.
The town plaza.
Plaza statue with Saint Pierre We're checking out the ancient
behind.
original foundation!
See the church in the background. We're looking down from the stone
railing at the ruins.
Rectory arch to the right.
I liked the flowers with the Great design and architecture!
cathedral in the background.
They're in the midst of restoring I love old churches, but I
do Town tourist train, cute...
the church, see scaffold on the get tired of the
beggars.
left side.
She's squatting at the entrance.
Just some shots to give an idea of the absolute grand scale of this amazing
cathedral.
Great pulpit!
Two impressive sets of doors!
Whoever is in this crypt was obviously quite important.
I have the church info somewhere...
The memorial for Francoise de Dinan, Dame of Chateau Briant, who died in 1499.
The lovely lady in the center photo also has the ancient man on the backside of
her head, very odd.
Still looking for more info on this. I also noticed the snake at her feet.
Two organs! the main over the entry doors, as usual, but also a
Altar estuary waiting for
smaller off to one side. Very unique. The above left is the
restoration.
main organ, and the center is the chancel organ.
Three very different, and lovely, stained glass windows.
The chandeliers were quite lovely, and the symmetry from the window was a nice
shot.
Great job, Scott!
The altars, artwork, and engravings were amazing. There was barely a spot
anywhere without some form of worship, commemoration or adoration in this
cathedral.
Finally restored, and glowing. Looking up at the
cathedral An odd crypt-like memorial off to
the
from behind the altar.
right of the main altar.
I haven't found any info on this, yet...
Wandering from the Church to the Chateau, we noticed this medieval shop.
The prices were pretty reasonable.
A full suit of armour for about €400 on sale! Lots of weapons, armour and
other accessories.
It was tough getting Cindy (G) and Danielle out of this shop!
The Chateau of the Dukes of Brittany
(Le Chateau des ducs de Bretagne)
Across the cobbles from the shop is this amazing Chateau.
Currently under complete restoration, this is the one time home of many Kings of
France.
The spires in the distance
Well, they are REALLY restoring this chateau! They're sparing no
through the streets added to expense, and the
amount of work is truly amazing.
the anticipation!
She really is an amazing structure, and when complete, I really want to return
and see the final product!
It's easy to see where they've finished and where they have This was
apparently crated for
yet to touch.
restoration.
Lunch, and Danielle actually The WWII monument for Nantes.
The street on the quay...
ate something other than
pain au chocolate ...
At this point, the girls decided it was time to REALLY exercise their shopping muscles, and Scott and I needed ot go back to the harbor and check on our temporary slip location. The boat scheduled to leave our appointed spot was still in harbor, so the Capitainerie had us remain where we were for the rest of the day since we were leaving the next day. After that, Scott and I were ready to explore the sites a bit before sitting back, relaxing, enjoying a pint (or more), and just soaking in the atmosphere. We told the girls where to locate us whenever they finished their shopping for the day, at a little square area with 3 bars and lots of people walking by.
We watched these demonstrators march and chant all the way into this government
building.
At first we thought this might be some sporting club celebration, but later I
changed my mind.
No one around knew what the event was, but an elderly gentleman didn't like when
I indicated that
the French are very good at demonstrations. When he disagreed and tried to
'scold' me, an older, wizened
French woman, quickly stepped into the conversation and absolutely berated him
into submission, obviously
proud of her nations citizenry being willing to be active and vocal in their
government.
The exterior of this church is amazing. Great images, clean and very
ornate!
I liked the warmth and inviting feel of this church.
The altar was not lit up.
The wall lighting was really beautiful.
A nice tribute corridor.
The baptismal font.
The other corridor tribute.
Ooops, Scott and I found the minorly seedy part of town, too...
This church is in the middle of restorations. The front half is
immaculate! Notice the glowing white stone of the steeple as opposed to
the not finished walls! The aft area is in the midst of being restored and
renovated.
The interior is also under restoration, with some areas were off limits for
safety reasons.
This was an interesting memorial inside the church.
I particularly liked the style of
the Stations of the Cross on
the pillars here.
For some reason, the windows here didn't come out as nice as usual. The
tribute to Mother Theresa was very nice.
This part of the church is clearly restored. The effort and time put into
this was quite evident.
The organ was recently restored as well, and the second time we went in, it was
being played.
A couple shots of the garden before dinner.
We found a nice little bar with a blues band warming up and practicing near the boat. We enjoyed the abilities of the two guitar players, and asked the owner what time they start. They told us and we asked if we could reserve a table. The owner said 'sure, no problem.' When we returned, after finding a nice little pizza joint near the boat, he then told us there was a €10 per person fee. He neglected to inform us of this cover charge before, so we decided to go back to the boat as a group instead.
Girls excursion
As I said earlier, the girls went shopping, and here are some of their
photos.
I have very little info on them so far...
Danielle and her dogs in the city of Nantes.
Erdre River
Nantes
Saint Clement
Saint Pierre
Chateau of the Dukes of
Brittany
Saint Croix
Saint Nicolas
