The Things… Nantes

Having been in Nantes just under a month I've already said a lot. Despite all that happened my loyalty lies with Nantes. It always will. There I learned the most about life and people. Nantes is where I learned the most about myself. I'm sure some will believe this learning process came from disappointment. Maybe others will believe it came from some sort of French "enlightenment". I actually learned the most from just being there. From sitting on the trams and looking out the windows. From going into the bakery and watching what the children got. From walking around the grocery store looking for Splenda which doesn't exist. From sitting out on my hotel balcony listening to Kanye West's "I'm In It". Nantes was a period of isolation, self-realization … and awakening. 

City Highlight: Nantes

Let me spring back to my stay in Nantes. Having stayed there just short of a month I had plenty of time to explore and learn about the city. First of all, Nantes is pronounced nahnt. The city is an amazing mix of Medieval old world, Britagne rule and French moderne. I've mentioned how Nantes appeared to be a mini Paris and in actuality it is far from it. Surely, Paris has neighborhoods, historical landmarks and cultural spots but it isn't moving like Nantes. Nantes is bustling yet small. The city is constantly working to NOT be Paris. Nantes boasts an epic public transportation system, a city-wide green campaign and a supportive arts community. The outcome is a city on the brink of next all the while keeping it extremely real and very old French. 

Things I Left In Nantes - Rewinding Back To w/e June 29th, 2013

That last week in Nantes was an evaluation. I'm strumming through my things and packing up a myriad of mementos. I'm checking all the drawers in the room, finally strumming through tourist books and hoping I haven't missed anything - be it a stray sock or an art installation. Meanwhile my friend and I are going in opposite directions. I found myself in that apparthotel a lot. The weather was seriously the worst. It was always raining, with a nasty overcast and ending with a bitter cold. Pretty much the good days were over. Fete de Musique was last weekend. The BBQ was that Sunday so all goodbyes were had with the dancers. I'd also sat most of that night playing Candy Crush Saga. I did this while everyone was enamored with watching a tour video. That night I think her friend was finally over me. She gave me several looks of death during this BBQ now turned viewing party. Seriously, I didn't understand why someone would enjoy watching themselves unedited for nearly two hours. I was rather full, extremely tired and it was better for me to play a game on silent mode then fall asleep. For that I think I was punished. My friend claimed that she needed to bond with them. Then she had several dates lined up with him. So I was left to my own devices which were always flukes.

One day I walked to the Paradis mall hoping for wi-fi. It had no air conditioning and a wi-fi network that lasted about twelve feet. While walking back her friend claimed she saw me as she was driving past. I guess I was walking too fast for her to bother offering a ride. Another day I took the tram as far as it would go. I then walked an overgrown park looking for this rose garden the one dancer had told us about. Instead, I found several old bag ladies and graffiti. I wanted to get my last croissant amande and the bakery I liked most was closed over two days straight. I finally decided we could both go see the chateau. She asked could we wait for warmer weather so that took a few more days. When it was finally sunny I was asked to meet her over their house to do our last loads of laundry and bring over the "not taking" bag. Since her friend had the luxury of owning both a washer and dryer we could go castle hunting that same day. Their silly washer took nearly two hours to wash and the dryer an additional two hours to "steam dry". I figured we could easily do a load and be back by the Electrolux chime. So I got all dressed up and did my hair and makeup. I then schlepped all the way to her friends house with both my laundry and my bag of unnecessaries. 

When I arrived she wasn't even dressed. Yet I was wearing some statement necklace and had did my nails. I started our clothes while she looked at my huge duffle. Then she went to take a shower and upon her return I realized my whites were pink. They were pink from an orange scarf she had gifted me. Well not gifted me - she donated to me. She loved to donate things she didn't care for anymore. I typically re-gifted to my roommates and whatever they didn't want I officially donated without telling her. So I began to wonder could I go get bleach and get back in time for us to do anything at all. However, somewhere in between her judgement and my mistake she had mentioned that she wasn't going with me anywhere. That was the same night as her dinner and sleep over. So now I was dressed up with nowhere to go and being asked if I could hurry with my laundry so she could get to her date. I rode all the way to the store and got bleach and a sandwich. I ate my jambon & butter on the tram back because lunch and the chateau were now out of the question. Once back she left me to the laundry and I pretty much sat there for the next four hours. My clothes never got back completely white in the wash, so I put the clothes to soak in the sink and there in the kitchen I found a bottle of perfectly fine bleach in the cabinet. Once done with my laundry I put what I wasn't taking with the other stuff, packed the keepers in my new reusable bag from my unduly bleach trip and left the key under the mat for her friends. I then schlepped all the way back but now waiting for one of the last trams while cold in a sleeveless dress. 

The next day I met her in front of the chateau. We went to see some other temporary exhibits and then entered the castle itself. We then left abruptly and later I realized we'd missed half of the chateau due to some haste on her part. She had already woken up at his place. Then she accompanied him on his way to work. Now she was with me and could not stop talking about him. I asked could we have lunch and she informed me she was meeting him for lunch. Then when he said he couldn't meet her we went to a burger spot. However, now she was asking me should she get him something. When he declined that too she seemed pissed off. He said he was going home to eat and I think it bothered her that he wasn't willing to come out or take her hand outs. So we left the burger spot abruptly so she could catch him at home. We were leaving in the morning and in my eyes there was still so much to do. I'd forgot certain things at the hotel that should have been in my leave bag. She was also now responsible for money I had transferred to her and I needed some cash. So we're walking down the street and she's scolding me. Why did I need money? Why was I trying to add stuff to the bag? She then handed me a 20 from her wallet and proceeded to walk away from me. Her last words were "is that enough?" I think I walked the streets for all of an hour before going back to my hotel. I didn't even have enough change to take the tram legally. So I wound up dodging controle for a bit. Then it occurred to me to break the 20 in a nearby kebab shop. So two French Coke liters later I was schlepping again.

Once back at the hotel I realized I hadn't left much out. I just had some multi buy things like these Christian LaCroix tins and French Tic-Tac boxes I didn't necessarily need in Paris. I also had makeup I'd bought and I just didn't want to travel with loose pigment in glass jars. Besides all the major stuff like my Tous cross body purse, all my H & M skirts and long sleeved things were at her friends. Those were all things I wouldn't need. I didn't bother to double check. Besides she made sure to tell me how she'd already went through everything and merged it into her stuff. She didn't want to burden her friends with a lot since their flat was small and quite messy. All I got was an image of everything stuffed into my backpack which was originally inside of my duffel. So I ignored her for the remainder of the night, got drunk on French Coke and attempted to eat everything in my kitchenette. Anything left over including eggs and ramen noodles were placed in a donation bag for her friends. On the way to the train station I reminded her friend several times to make sure she got it out the backseat. In the back of my mind I imagined her stopping just outside of the train station and catapulting it all into trash. One could hope she'd forgotten and found garlic salad dressing and rotten eggs well after we'd gotten into Spain. I'll never know. 

Traveling The World In A Day Part II

I headed down the platform and remembered all the things my friend had told me. She asked that I not talk to anyone and maintain all my luggage. She told me to hurry down the platform and exit north or Nord as they call it. When I went down the stairs my friend was there with balloons and a cabbie sign. She attempted to give the balloons to some children but they just ran from the gesture. I didn't even have an opportunity to breathe before I was on yet on another train. We passed gardens, a castle, bustling streets. I had planned to just throw down my stuff and go celebrate being 32 in France. She had an orientation at school in the morning and I was delirious. So we wound up at a small cafe near the train stop. There I had my first beer in France and a little dessert cake. I looked out, it was 9 PM and perfectly still daylight. I pinched myself and took a few pictures while she presented me with a birthday card. We then walked a daunting twenty minutes with all my luggage to her friends house. There I wound up finally connecting to wi-fi, taking a shower and passing out for the night. I hadn't been sleep before midnight in ages and then I had to be forced to wake to go to my hotel. 

I was terribly jet lagged. I didn't know what day it was, the time or anything. We walked a good hour total sharing the luggage load to my hotel. It was well off the beaten path. It actuality there was no real path to it, several trams and miles later it was down a hill, around a corner and a complete block down even further. When we walked in there was a thick feeling of no ac in the lobby. Then I get in the room and find no view and no electricity it was all primitive. We figured out that electricity was controlled by the room key and wouldn't stay on no more than five minutes with the key after room entry. Later I found out that wasn't some green or European thing but quite familiar to avid travelers even in the states. Out of the window there was a suburb view on one side and a major highway on the other. I was minutes away from a McDonald's. I had traveled over 10,000 miles in one day for that - a pre-fab fast food restaurant as a view. Later that evening I realized my room had a hidden kitchen which was a big plus considering McDonalds was my only dinner option. My room was so remote I had live chickens as neighbors. I noticed that wi-fi didn't work in my room or anywhere but the first floor lobby area. This was the point where I realized communication was going to be a nightmare. In order to use my phone as intended I had to go downstairs to all common areas for wi-fi. There was an ethernet in my room but only at the desk. The time change was extreme. I couldn't speak with anyone in the states until after midnight and most friends worked or attended school until 9 or 10 at night. So most nights, I would get dressed and go downstairs between 3 and 5 am to text. Oddly, there was a roaming troupe of security guards and someone at front desk at those hours. One night I stayed down there so long I witnessed the baker bringing in bread for that days breakfast. Sitting in the lobby there was no ac but open doors and windows. At night the temperature varied from 40 to 50 degrees. So I sat in this brisk air on a leather chair in lounge clothes. I had no real pajamas assuming I would be in my room on wifi or using my phone. Of course within 48 hours I was sick.

The illness was no virus or bug. It was simply a combination of jetlag, climate change and loss of equilibrium. I spent most alone time not sleeping but barking up a lung and using every tissue in sight. I then gave the bug to my friend and we both lived off citrus, cough drops and donated tissue from local friends. My little kitchen was loaded with market faire - oranges, grapefruit, yogurt etc. It took me a total of six days to get back to normal. I pretty much flushed the sickness with Evian and slept the rest of it away. In that time, I did experience a few outings, met some people and stayed in a traditional French flat. I did all of that quite sick and mentally off because of the time change. If it weren't for advice about sleeping after travel I'd still be on permanent vampire time. I'd just sleep all day and rise at night completely wired. Instead I had to adapt by staying up and busy to sleep at midnight or later and wake when ready. This was also confusing because Europe has a tendency to stay light out past twilight hours. It was always daylight until 10pm so even appropriate sleep for locals seemed impossible. Most people dined at 8 or 9pm and socialized until 2 or 4am on a weekday. 

The best advice I could give is never to travel like I did. Never. Ever.

I would have chosen a more elaborate hotel my first few days. You need something luxurious if only for one day. Allow yourself a traditional setting where you can communicate, get comfortable and sleep well. I should have had in-room wifi since I didn't have a carrier sim for my phone. I should have had access to things around me like restaurants, a pharmacy etc. I should have arrived days ahead of meeting anyone and given myself a proper sleep schedule. Of course there was no way to predict my travel trauma but there was ways I could have prevented it. I didn't properly research my first hotel stays. I didn't realize how long I'd have to lug all my bags to those said hotels. I pretty much thought I was invincible to jetlag and all of the above. Three countries and multiple time zone changes later I now know the consequences. I would also say get a seasonal forecast before buying clothes and or packing. I thought Summer was everywhere at the same time but it just hadn't come where I was going. I was so unprepared for the weather and overstocked on things I wouldn't use for over a month. Six vampire days later I was good to go. Sadly, my first days in France were recovery from my first days in France. My dream turned nightmare and I wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy.

Not Nantes - Written April 12th 2013

Today was the first time my travel companion mentioned her destination. Today is also the first day I had some funds to actually discuss travel arrangements. This entire time I've been focused on discussing this a month from now so it was a pleasant surprise to be able to talk about and afford accommodations. She has began to slow up on her own plans and is now encouraging me to accompany her on her weekends off. She won't be done with her French language courses until the end of June. She will be in an accessible city not some remote place as expected. She will be staying in Nantes and the plan is to stay and or visit as often as possible. However it is remote in relationship to France and any other bordering country that is. And Nantes sounds like the word not.