It was pretty long slog from Spain into the Dordogne. It was, in fact, made longer by a little snafu with the GPS. Michael input the name of our gite, La Cipierre and was pleased to see that the GPS recognized it right away so off we went. When we almost arrived, we decided to stop for some groceries. At that point, a gigantic thunderstorm rolled in compounding the difficulty of, well, everything. Having fetched groceries, we proceeded to what we thought would be the gite. Regrettably the La Cipierre that we found was not our gite. In fact, it was 75 km from the “real“ destination. Eventually, weary, and a little worse for wear, and with a bit of guidance from Jeroen, our host, we made it to our lodging. By this point, we’ve been on the road for about five or six weeks and we were in need of some relaxation and a catch up on some housekeeping details. So we spent the next four days leisurely investigating a few small villages that we had not seen before, eating good Dordogne food and doing heaps of laundry. On a couple of evenings, we shared some wine and, on another, a delicious dinner made by Corrine at their house. It’s a joy to travel and meet such interesting and thoughtful people, and we’re always grateful for these opportunities. After a stay, we felt somewhat rejuvenated and headed off to Nantes on our way to Brittany.
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| Despite having spent two full weeks in the Dordogne three years ago, there is always more to see and explore. This walled village.... |
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| with its stone tunnel... |
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| and ancient church was a great place to spend a morning (without any crowds). |
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| This church, like many of the other churches in France, had a statue of the Virgin Mary with the Christ child. The fresh flowers added an interesting an unusual touch not seen in the other churches. |
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| The vaulted ceiling with the stained glass windows behind the altar, with the light from the stained glass coloring one side of the altar and the floor in front made for a stunning visual. |
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| The baptismal font had a copper lid and these fresh calla lilies in front. |
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| The village had a very large open square surrounded by buildings on all sides. |
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| You can see from the wood, this was a very old open air market for the village. The "market days" are on of the delightful things about France that still exist to this day. |
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| The front of this cafe says something about the age of the village. |
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| We really enjoyed seeing all the spring flowers as we traveled to different villages. |
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| The narrow door with the windows in this village house probably indicated it was once an establishment that sold provender (bread, cheese, wine or meat) to the villagers. |
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| Another magnificent spring flower, a red hot poker aka, torch lily. |
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| This view of the Vezere River was taken from the third village we visited. |
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| This was the sign for the local glassblower. |
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| Spring also makes for some very dramatic skies. |
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| This little bird was a denizen of a restaurant where we had lunch one day. |
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| As we found out, the bird was totally tame and the owners took the bird home at night and brought it back to the restaurant every day. The bird would hang out in various places and occasionally fly from one perch to another in the restaurant. |
I decided we should stop at Nantes because the straight drive to Brittany was going to be very long. When I took a look at the town, I realized this should be more than just a way station. Nantes, a town of about 150,000 people, is a young and vibrant place. It is not only a university town, but a hub of industry for the area. It rests about 50 km from the ocean where the Loire continues on to the sea, and because of that, has been an important port through the centuries. It turns out that one of the initial industries fueling Nante's growth was, regretfully, the slave trade being one point in the triangle trade that persisted into the 19th century. On a lighter note, it was the birthplace of Jules Verne and is quite near Leonardo da Vinci‘s retirement home, which was furnished to him by the king of France.
Of all the interesting facets of Nantes and the one that most captured my imagination was the existence of a giant, metallic, mechanical elephant. This behemoth, on which 50 people can ride, ambles through a park on an island in the center of Nantes. But he is not alone. There is an entire museum filled with these imaginative and complicated mechanical animals. I knew that Michael and I needed to see an experience like this.
As I looked at the pictures of the beast, it appeared to me that they look like creations from perhaps the 19th century. I was surprised to learn that they were created as part of a renovation of the section of the island in the center of Nantes around the year 2003. Their creators were François de la Rosa and Pierre or Afeez, two obviously imaginative and talented engineers.
We bought our tickets and showed up not exactly sure of what to expect in terms of riding on the elephant. We were pointed to a staircase which led up to a staging area About 20 or 25 feet off the ground. From there a platform was lowered connecting the staging area into the belly of the elephant. You could then select to go further up a winding staircase to be a top of the elephant or, for those more meek, you could remain on balconies, extending from the side of the elephant. We chose to go up.
I expected the ride to be bumpy because the feet move and one would think there would be a rocking movement. However, the elephant is propelled by a contraption that looks kind of like a steam engine, and the feet roll rather than lift and descend.
As the elephant moved out of the large shed in which he is housed and into the park, there were crowds of people who had gathered to witness this spectacle. A few security people escorted the elephant to ensure no one was trampled. As we slowly moved towards the carousel (more on that), the elephant let out a bellow and through its trunk sprayed water in the direction of the crowd. Children laughed and ran as the elephant bellowed and sprayed. The ride lasted almost 20 minutes, perhaps a bit longer, and ended at a three story carousel.
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| The mechanical elephant with the three story carrousel in the background. |
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| A side view of the elephant, which is 21 meters long... |
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| which is propelled by a new hybrid motor with electrical traction and a battery. |
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| The elephant is made up of 48.4 metric tons of steel and wood (poplar tulip and basswood), and is 12 meters high and 8 meters wide. |
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| A view of the hybrid motor and water tank for spraying water. |
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| As the elephant moves at a speed of from 1 to 3 kilometers an hour, signs mark the route and minders make sure no one is "trampled" by the elephant. |
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| The drive sits up front in a cab under the elephants head. The elephant requires 2, 500 liters of hydraulic oil to operate smoothly and lift its ears and trunk. |
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| This photo of a mother and child give you an idea of the enormous size of the elephants leg. |
Michael and I exited the elephant and headed back to the sheds which house the museum of mechanical animals. This area was for many years a major ship building center and port. The shipyard closed in the late 1950s and the area became ripe for renovation of which the animal museum was a central part. The sheds were huge and gave you a sense of the size of the ships that must’ve been built in the yard.
Much like the elephant, we weren’t really sure what the museum would hold. I think we thought it would offer static displays of how the elephant and similar animals were constructed. But it turned out to be a much more lively experience.
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| The whole area was once use as a shipyard on the Île de Nantes. It has been repurposed to house the elephant and La Galerie des Nantes contains the mechanical animals you will see below. |
Within the museum, there were probably approximately 10 or 12 mechanical animals or devices all of which were demonstrated by museum staff. Michael's photos and captions will give you a better sense of how intricate these machines, (if you could call them that), are.
One of the nicest aspects of the museum was how the staff engaged the children who were present in operating, or appearing to operate, the animals. There were a few, like the giant spider, that were a little too risky to put in the hands of an eight-year-old. But on the majority of the animals, there was always a role for several children to perform. I’m sure Michael will include a photo or two showing the rapturous gazes of the youngsters.
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| The hummingbird,... |
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| the caterpillar,... |
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| the gian spider,... |
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| the chamaleon,.. |
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| and the sloth were among some of the mechanical animals in the museum. |
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| The children were enraptured by all of the various animals, as in this photo where the guide is explaining "The European Flight Test Center". |
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| The adults were also intrigued with all of the delightful animals. |
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| This wind tunnel flight simulator has one of the machinists with helmet and goggles at the controls of a flying flea reaching (simulated) speeds of 100 kilometers and hour. |
To see some of these amazing creations in action, you can click on the links below.
We spent about an hour or so in the museum and then it was time for a lunch break. After chowing, we returned to the park area and made our way to the carousel. As I mentioned, the carousel consisted of three levels. On the day we arrived the second level was closed for maintenance But levels one and three were operational. The carousel is based on an aquatic theme and features and assortment of sea creatures reminiscent of Jules Verne's descriptions, and a couple of boats which you can choose to ride on. With multiple levels all in operation it is a dizzy experience. We decided that perhaps we were a bit too old to be riding the carousel so we gifted our ticket to a young fellow who looked like he could use another ride.
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| Here some children are riding the giant crab on the carrousel... |
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| while these children are on the giant squid on the Carrousel des Monde Marins. |
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| This skeleton fish is festooned with the Jolly Roger pirate flag. In 2014 the carrousel was awarded the Thea award for Unique Art Installation. |
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| The creativity of the carrousel creatures is shown with this giant sea snake. The three story carrousel is 25 meters high and 22 meters in diameter. |
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| These children are enjoying their ride on the giant seahorses,... |
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| while this child is riding the flying fish,... |
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| and these children have chosen the tugboat rather than one of the strange aquatic creatures. |
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| This child felt more comfortable in the womb-like conch shell. |
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| The carrousel even had a fire breathing dragon. |
We only had a day and a half at Nantes, and both of us felt that we could’ve very happily spent several more days there exploring. What we were finding is that we have the best times in somewhat lesser known areas away from the crowds, tourists and traffic. That was true in Champagne, the Dordogne, Nantes, and as we would find out soon, Brittany. While we loved Bruges and Ghent, they were both very crowded with tourists. We think that may have been because it was the height of tulip season, and there were many river cruises that included Ghent and Bruges on their itineraries, in addition to the tulips of Holland.
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| Even some of the buildings, like this one shaped like a boat,... |
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| or this one, La Fabrique, which is a music facility designed for contemporary and emerging music. |
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| The building has 2 performing show halls, 16 recording & training studios, space for digital experimentation and offices and public spaces. |
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| Nantes also has interesting street art... |
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| This building with its unique tower, now termed Le Lieu Unique, was built in 1895 as the headquarters of the Lu Biscuit company. It fell into disrepair, but was renovated and reopened in 2000 as a center for contemporary culture. |
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| Le Passage Pommeraye was opened on July 4, 1843, as a shopping arcade built between two buildings on a steep slope. |
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| These stairs lead up to the upper story of the arcade. |
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The two statues on either side of the clock are above the Galerie de L'Horloge.
(The Gallery of the Clock) |
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| The detail in the arcade from the lamps to the carved stonework and the statues are a testament to the quality of this very early arcade, as can be seen in the photos below. |
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| The arcade even has a shop dealing with the Wonderful Wizarding World of Harry Potter. |
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| The back of the arcade has these lit stairs leading up and out. |
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| The sculpture called a "Reader with Camaries" was set up on the balcony of the Librairie Coiffard in 2019 in honor of its 100th year. The artwork has a meaningful message, reading liberates. |
Now we are headed into the homestretch. We have rented a house for a week in Locrannon, Brittany. From there, we will spend a couple of days in Saint-Malo (also in Brittany), a final night near Charles de Gaulle airport and then we’ll be flying back to LA for a visit with our sons before returning to Ajijic.
