tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6219646897587177986.post1904503958018023319..comments2024-03-06T04:50:47.440+01:00Comments on More than just wine: Down the Loire to NantesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15635428184895066582noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6219646897587177986.post-84308943971052747552012-01-30T22:32:06.408+01:002012-01-30T22:32:06.408+01:00Nantes is one of the greenest cities in Europe, an...Nantes is one of the greenest cities in Europe, and has a very good tramway transport system. The Loire branching out in two makes the city very open (the former industrial estates on the island are being transformed into open spaces, pedestrian areas and concert venues). Landing in Nantes by plane, if you are lucky to pass over the city, you'll get a great view from above.Nantes photoshttp://viaterra.net/photopages/bzh/nantes.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6219646897587177986.post-6282089908192186902011-01-17T20:31:02.370+01:002011-01-17T20:31:02.370+01:00One can but try.One can but try.David Cobboldhttp://morethanjustwine.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6219646897587177986.post-30432306561813072522011-01-16T20:43:43.737+01:002011-01-16T20:43:43.737+01:00So, it is true after all, that you have “ a room i...So, it is true after all, that you have “ a room in every port ”.Luc Charliernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6219646897587177986.post-11889214237210668652011-01-11T22:42:59.736+01:002011-01-11T22:42:59.736+01:00I remember the Pavillon le Quéré, and a meal, incl...I remember the Pavillon le Quéré, and a meal, including game (but not grouse) in which all dishes were matched with various ports. Worked very well but I was glad to have a room there afterwards.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15635428184895066582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6219646897587177986.post-73689340063204183592011-01-11T22:00:48.797+01:002011-01-11T22:00:48.797+01:00You are absolutely right about Angers. Still, it’s...You are absolutely right about Angers. Still, it’s the first French town, outside Paris where they have always been endemic, where I ran accross “clochards” in the early nineties. A shock! It is also a very vivid memory: we (= my parents’ money) had hired a small flat- keeled boat (should a keel be flat?, dunno) for a week on the Mayenne and the Sarthe ... only to finish (my mistake) in the middle of the Loire under the walls of Château du Roi René, with the fluvial police escorting us to shore and yelling at the fools we were. I’m a very very poor skipper! Still, enjoying a meal at “Pavillon Le Quéré” (doesn’t exist any more, I’m afraid), or a dish of pike-perch on one of the minutes islands in the middle of the stream was a real treat. One final word: la “Tapisserie de l’Apocalypse” makes also a halt in Angers worthwhile.<br />As of Rules, I had ... only LUNCH there once (if my memory serves me well), courtesy of Prof Ruben Grüneberg (University College Hospital), and did not spill any wine ... as far as I know. But grouse it was. Mind you, not the “Famous Grouse” – don’t like grain whisky ! <br />Finally, I pity you and your mishap. Only, I think you had the colours mixed up!Luc Charliernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6219646897587177986.post-8923509367943555592011-01-11T21:03:48.834+01:002011-01-11T21:03:48.834+01:00With regards to Luc's first comment, if I reme...With regards to Luc's first comment, if I remember rightly, it was in "La forme d'une ville" that Julian Gracq (aka Louis Poirier) wrote some fairly harsh things about the town he came from (and where he was also to die): Angers.<br />He found it small, petty and provincial, as sentiment with which I tend to agree. We both preferred Nantes.<br />As to his second comment, I can only say that I can see no limit to his fertile imagination. I would LOVE to ride an MV Agusta one day. I can remember my first serious date with a young lady and it was indeed in Rules restaurant. I ruined my chances by spilling red wine all down her satin dress (don't tell me Dr. Sigmund!).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15635428184895066582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6219646897587177986.post-51713263132808474872011-01-11T12:49:44.570+01:002011-01-11T12:49:44.570+01:00I took a second look at the pictures: “Nantes, mo...I took a second look at the pictures: “Nantes, mon oeil! ». This David Cobbold almost got me. The picture of the shopping mall he offers us is in fact ... Burlington Arcade. Look (magnified) at the label above the front window of the shop at the far end of the gallery. It clearly says: OPTICIAN! And I know from sources that can be trusted he had been spotted at Fortnum & Mason’s drinking tea (with a cloud of milk), then collecting an impeccable suit in Savile Row, buying some shaving soap in Jermyn Street, having is very own Beretta 32 looked after and greased by an ex-KGB collaborator somewhere in Piccadilly (address withheld), only to later have dinner at Rules, on a red grouse from Teesdale’s moors. Rumour has it Jancis Robinson, Serena Suttcliffe and, yes, even Chantal Lecouty shared his table. Lucky him!<br />One question remains: after the meal, which one of these creatures rode pillion on his custom made MVAgusta, the first lucky one ever – besides him – to test-ride the new pair of Kevlar-made Marzocchi he had just fitted ?Luc Charliernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6219646897587177986.post-47800291044973587902011-01-11T11:15:34.734+01:002011-01-11T11:15:34.734+01:00Lovely « Plaidoyer pour Nantes », this one, Mr. Co...Lovely « Plaidoyer pour Nantes », this one, Mr. Cobbold. It seems you have a gift to find nice things to do, wherever you go. It’s probably because you look for them. Maybe you could add two items of information. First, the famous “Edit de Nantes” by which Henri IV (of France) allows protestants to worship as they please was actually designed in ... Angers (in the Couvent des Jacobins). Looking at the respective qualities of the wines of both regions, one can understand why the Council elected to stay there. Second, one should not forget the fabulous anthem :<br />“De Nantes à Montaigu, la digue, la digue<br />De Nantes à Montaigu, la digue du cul ... »<br />Yes, true, I’m hopeless.Luc Charliernoreply@blogger.com