Here is another installment of the “things found in Nantes” series, with the latest pictures!
French streets aren’t very clean. The stereotype of people stepping in dog poop isn’t just a stereotype—et merde…—but at least, the mess is easily washed off by the rain and honestly, a few streets are merde-free. No, really. In Nantes, glass is a bigger issue. Many brands of beer don’t come in aluminum cans but in glass bottles, and so do most kinds of wine and hard liquor. French drink a lot and since getting drunk in the street is not strictly and explicitly banned (and remains a popular pastime regardless), many bottles end up smashed against the pavement, leaving behind hundreds of glass shards. Watch where you step…
Street names are an endless source of entertainment in France. They can be named after famous people—politicians, artists, leaders, etc.—or be descriptive, for example, the rue des Pins. And then, you have the “what the hell?” street names, like this one, named just that: “hell street”. There isn’t anything special here, it’s just a small alley, no devil in sight.
Around touristic places, like the big cathedral, several stores sell regional specialties and souvenirs from Nantes and Brittany in general. Food is always a best seller, including caramels au beurre salé (sea-salted butter caramel candies and local wines, like Muscadet.
Bécassine is one of the symbols of Brittany. The 1905 comic strip character is a young Breton housemaid, usually depicted wearing a green dress mocking traditional Breton peasant costume. She was originally seen as a stereotype and remnant of the contempt with which the Bretons were long considered, especially by classy parisiens, but she is now a classic character used on many souvenirs.
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I hate broken glass! I wear sandals all summer so it’s super dangerous not to mention for my poor dog! Someone broke a bottle in front of our residence this past weekend, and I kept forgetting and almost walking in it.
Last summer, I even cut my foot on a piece of glass – right outside where I work on private property. If it happened to someone in the US, they probably would have sued.
Poor you! I have never thought of dogs but I can see why it’s dangerous to them too!
broken bottles! hmm, it’s a bit of a hazard. On Indian streets you might not find so much of broken bottles, you see, we are a frugal bunch, no matter how drunk we are, we still would save them bottles to sell to scrap dealer 🙂 You just feel less guilty for the binge.
Street names is fun 🙂
How clean are the streets in India? In the West, we always picture them as filthy (sorry!) but it may just be a stereotype.
LOL
Well you know that saying “All generalisations are incorrect, including this one” 🙂 It is unfortunately true; most of the Indian streets are filthy. You will find clean streets, but it is a rare sight.
Well… you will like it here!