Bonjour the France!

There is no way to ease these early-morning departures; I didn’t even try to get a full night’s sleep. What do I need to be rested and alert for, anyway?

Half of Nantes' small businesses are closed for the entire month of August (les vacances!) and the summer sales period is over, anyway.

Here is another install­ment of the “things found in Nantes” series, with the lat­est pictures! Today, an old grocery store, "paradise", wine and a bad word play.

I always tell Feng he is lucky that I'm from a sizable city and not Trifouillis-les-Oies (a French euphemism for "out in the sticks").

The walls aren’t on holidays. Sometime graffiti and political stickers make sense… and sometime, they don’t!

Here is another install­ment of the “things found in Nantes” series, with the lat­est pictures! Today, broken glass, Bécassine, souvenirs and a funny street name.

It takes my eyes a second or two to get used to the darkness. Inside the bakery, the blinds are closed and I’ve just walked the two-kilometre-long road along the beach under the midday sun.

All along the coast of Brittany, the difference between low tide and high tide is pretty amazing.

In addition to locals and tourists, there are roughly four kinds of people who hang out in the streets of Nantes: homeless people, street artists, beggars from Eastern Europe and “guys with dogs”.

It started to rain last Sunday and it lasted for three days. Three long days during which we got soaked from head to toes.

“You’ve never visited the Courthouse?” “I didn’t even know you could go inside!” “Feng and I have been there a few times. They let you in as long as you don’t linger. They probably don’t want tons of...

This year, the first time we walked by the carousel, Mark asked for a ride. “Are you sure?” I asked. “I’m not going with you, I’m standing on the side.” “Not scared.”

Train tracks just outside the city offer a gritty scenery—giant scars punctuated by wires and posts with huge metal monsters going full speed.

Here is another install­ment of the “things found in Nantes” series, with the lat­est pictures! Today, toilet paper, macarons, bowls and grocery receipts.

Some days are sunny, some days are cloudy and some days are—gasp!—rainy. I grew up in Nantes, I can take rain. In Canada, when rain is forecast, people don’t even go out. In Nantes, it’s business as...

At the end of the evening, I gave in and decided to “treat” Mark to a church visit. It was that or candies and yes, this kid is weird.

Is he talking about my ass? Probably. The street is empty, it’s past 8 p.m. and it’s a quiet Monday night. There are no other asses around.

After Bastille Day, the atmosphere changed in Nantes. Many Nantais are now on holiday, they have been replaced by tourists from all over France and Europe, lost in small alleys with their maps.

Here is another installment of the “things found in Nantes” series, with the latest pictures! Today, Breizh Cola, shutters, spelling errors and street art.