A Day in Nantes

June 25, 2019

Les Machines de l'Île!

The day promised to be hot later, but it was cool when I left the hostel after a somewhat disappointing breakfast. Yes, you can find bad coffee in France! Funny, I remember very good coffee at the Auberges de Jeunesse I stayed in in 1981.

I wanted to see Les Machines de l'Île since it's something unique to Nantes, as far as I know. I took the tram and asked a fellow passenger at which stop I should get off, because Google Maps wasn't giving directions and there was no indication on the list of stops on board. Funny, since it's one of the big tourist attractions in the city. In any case, I took her suggestion and found myself at the Pont de la Duchesse Anne, right at the intersection I'd been at when I searched for the hostel yesterday--and both Garmin and Google Maps sent me on convoluted routes, when following the almost straight tram line would have taken me to within a block of my destination.

I crossed the bridge and found the place. There was a queue already, even though it didn't open for another 15 minutes. Eventually, a staff person came along to direct the French cyclist ahead of me (I could tell by his handlebar bag), me, and the Australian family behind me to a different line to buy tickets. We were behind a large school group that was prebooked.

Unfortunately, the school groups (there were several) dominated everything and made it difficult for others to see the demonstrations. There were staff members giving commentary and demonstrating the machines with participants from the audience, but all in French, and with the crowd, it was impossible for me to follow. I wasn't the only one frustrated! But the machines were very cool. Take the weird and wonderful inventions of the late 19th century and add modern controls...

The film in the next area was interesting and presented the vision for the site and the history of the development to date. It had been a decrepit industrial area and was renovated to provide a home for the envisioned projects.

The first was Le Grand Éléphant. It was undergoing maintenance this week so visitors didn't get to see it walk nor take a ride. (I'd hoped for this reason that there wouldn't be too many kids, but maybe there were fewer than usual...)

The Grand Éléphant is undergoing maintenance

Its head and body shells are carved in wood but the ears are leather. Each ear required the leather from 8 or so cows.

The second project was Le Carrousel des Mondes Marin, a separate site and ticket. I decided to check that out later.

The third is L'Arbre aux Hérons, which will be a giant artificial tree with various machines: herons that fly, a caterpillar that inches along, an ant, a spider, a sloth... It's the built elements of this grand project that are what you see demonstrated during the visit. There's also a prototype branch of the tree. This project is expected to open in 2022.

A scale model of a small part of l'Arbre aux Hérons. That's the side of le Grand Éléphant in the background.

This drawing gives you an idea of which part has been modelled and how big the entire project will be.

The caterpillar which inches along the rail. Here it's being operated by a visitor, one of the many students.

The heron. Whether this is one of the proposed two flying herons I don't know... Here it's being operated by two staff members and some visitors. It's supported by the travelling crane above.

The prototype branch of l'Arbre aux Hérons.

A fourth project that was only visible in a few posters and mentioned in the film was a dragon that went to the Beijing Olympics. I would have liked to see that one...

I walked over to the Carrousel but, because today is a French school day, one could only visit in "discovery mode." No rides, essentially a guided tour in French, presumably with a gazillion school kids. I decided to skip it and find somewhere for lunch.

Le Carrousel des Mondes Marin. Just after I took this picture, a large group arrived and filled the ticket queue. I didn't visit.

There was a barge moored nearby with a restaurant that wasn't too expensive so I went there for lunch. I didn't rush; it was nice to sit in the shade. I regretted bringing my sweater because the day was getting hotter. I'd only brought it because it was hard to tell this morning what the day would be like.

What else to see? I decided on the Château des Ducs de Bretagne. It's the home of the Musée d’Histoire de Nantes and I hoped it would be reasonably cool inside.

It looks cool on the outside, in the shade...

There was a model of 16th Century Nantes.

Behind the model was this large tapestry commemorating Brittany becoming part of France. The fleur-de-lis represents France and the (admittedly stylistic) black ermine or stoat represents Brittany.

The LU "lighthouse tower" was created for the Paris Exhibition of 1900. The LU pavilion was erected across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower and was 36 metres high, crowned with an enormous biscuit box and this.

I went up to the ramparts after visiting the museum (the grounds and ramparts are free). It was still hot, but the moat looks cool and refreshing. Not that I'd swim in it!

I like gargoyles. This one looks like a drooling lab.

The neighbourhood near the Château seemed a good option for dinner, so I decided to return there after going back to the hostel for another shower and to pack as much as possible to be ready to leave early tomorrow.

The top of the tower of the cathedral glows in the evening light

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