An Englishman in Nantes (Part 1)

Wow, what a weekend! Rémy and Jennifer had their wedding on Saturday at Nantes Cathedral. What a beautiful setting for the occasion. The bride and groom didn't look bad, either!

We drove up to Nantes airport on Friday to fetch Peep who flew in from London Gatwick - so easy for him now he is at Uni in London. It was great to see him after about six weeks, I think. It was dark by the time we got into Nantes and had to find our Chambre d'Hôtes, a tricky task with the tramways and one-way systems. Thanks to a very kind young man and the magic of mobile phones we eventually found the B&B just round the corner from the cathedral and the chateau. We were keen to explore and were very impressed by the atmosphere in the area: lots of bistros, bars and restaurants with hordes of people wandering around enjoying the mild evening. We feasted on a lovely pizza (pasta for Tine) and headed back 'home'.

Next morning, after a breakfast delivered to our room (no, not egg & bacon, but French breads of various kinds with orange/coffee/tea/chocolate to suit all tastes) we ventured out into the streets of the 'Heart of the Town' before returning to get changed into our fineries in readiness for the wedding. We were also very excited to meet Loulou, Sylvie, Caro & Rémi who had arrived the night before all the way from Figeac. We all went for lunch which was a filled crêpe accompanied by a bowl of cider, a Brittany tradition (and very nice too!), then onto the Mairie for the legal wedding.

It was great to catch up with lots of the family, some of whom we haven't seen in a long time. The town gave the happy couple free membership of the library as a wedding present. Someone behind me said they could have given free parking too!! Next a short walk to the cathedral where more people met, making it a real holiday atmosphere. The service was a little long but the priest kept us amused as he looked like Gandalf and was almost as quirky! Unhappy with the crowd's very timid response to one of the prayers, he asked us all to say 'Amen' louder - and we performed obediently!!

Some time later we walked along to a lovely venue for our first champagne of the day (le vin d'honneur, or was it 'un cocktail'??), served with wonderful canopés and had yet more time to catch up with members of the family (and meet some new ones). I got to chat with young cousin Loïc and meet his lovely girlfriend Cécile who we had not met before.

By now we were beginning to flag a little but we still had to find our hotel for the night and the venue for the reception. We left in convoy with Loulou but soon ended up back where we started! Luckily our next attempts were more successful and we had checked in at our hotel in Ancenis (about 30 km from Nantes) and left for the Chateau de la Guere just outside the town. Keep checking for the next thrilling instalment!

Merci pour ton commentaire, La Vincennoise. Tu deviens trop forte en Anglais!!