Nantes and La Rochelle

After the Loire Valley it was off to Nantes which is on the banks of the Loire.  We went to stay with Sophie and Craig at Sophie's parents' home at Nort-sur-Erdre which is about 30km north of Nantes.  It was great to catch up with them and have them show us Nantes.  That evening we went into Nantes for dinner and a walk around and the next day went in for a good tour of the city.  It was easy to see why they like to spend their time back here, it is a beautiful place with a lovely and vibrant centre.  Before WWII Nantes used to be in Brittany so we could not wait to taste the much talked about (back in Munich) crepes.  

We walked around the grounds of the château, the cathedral and the ornate shopping arcade, Passage Pommeraye.  After lunch we headed to Les Machines de I'ile de Nantes.   Out the front was an amazing carousel based on many creatures from Jules Verne novels (Verne was from Nantes).  Inside the gallery you can view mechanical sea creatures which are to be used for a triple decker, 25 metre high, 80 person (adults and children) Jules Verne inspired carousel.  The pieces created so far were amazing and we will be back to ride the carousel when it is complete.  There was also a 12m high mechanical elephant which plods around the plaza.  

The next day we went to the west coast for a trip to the beach!  We got to walk around Piriac-sur-Mer and went for a swim in the Atlantic Ocean, our first ocean swim since leaving Perth.  We then drove back through salt farms and stopped in at Guerande on the way back.

The next day we headed to La Rochelle to visit Malcolm's friend, Marc who he had not seen for 15 years.  I went for a wander through the very beautiful and busy town whilst Malcolm caught up with his good friend, discussing boats, work, life, boats etc...  We met Marc's lovely wife Dominique who made us very welcome.  We had dinner with them and stayed the night before heading off the next day back towards Colmar.

More photos.