TGV
One
of the things that I really enjoy about Europe is public transportation.
In the US the train is expensive, uncomfortable and inconvenient. In Europe
everyone takes the train. The train is relatively inexpensive and once
you get to the city where you are going you can usually take a bus or
a metro around the city. I was actually expecting the TGV to be a bit
more comfortable than it was, but Daniel told me that the TGV from Paris
to Nantes was old and needed to be updated. While taking the train I noticed
that my French was getting better, especially numbers. While in the train
station I could recognize announcements for my train by its number and
could understand things such as "5 minute delay". On the way
back a woman thought that I was sitting in her seat. She told me her seat
number, which was the same as mine, but I was was able to tell her that
she need to go to car 18, not car 19.
Cathedral
Daniel
picked up Randy and me at the train station and took us to his house where
we had lunch. Then he and his wife and Randy and I went out to see the
city of Nantes. Our first stop was the Cathedral which was very nice.
It was undergoing renovations and it should look great when the renovations
are complete. The Cathedrale de Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul is a Gothic
Cathedral which was built between 1432 and 1892
Château
Our
next stop was the Château, which looks great on the side the you
see on the picture to the left, but ordinary looking on the opposite side.
The Château des Ducs de Bretagne is located between the cathedral
and the Loire. The chateau is famous as the place where the Edict of Nantes
was signed, granting Protestants religious freedom. The Château
dates from the 14th century, although parts of it are as recent as the
18th century
Nantes
Nantes
was once the capital of Brittany, but is no longer officially part of
that region and today belongs to the Pays de la Loire region. The city
is situated at the head of the Loire River 35 miles from the sea and 239
miles west of Paris. The day we visited Nantes it was raining slightly.
After checking out the Chateau and the Cathedral we walked around the
city and did a bit of shopping. We were in Nantes at the end of January
so you would think that there wouldn't be many shoppers out on the street,
but you would be wrong. There are only two times in the year when there
are sales in France and one of those is the month of January. Everyone
seemed to be out searching for a bargain and the stores and streets where
jammed with people