Nantes
Sunday May 7, 2017
Nantes is a cute little town in the west side of France. It's got a very relaxed vibe, and a great cafe culture. As I often do, I wander around with Pokemon Go active and the Pokestops point me to things I wouldn't normally see; in Nantes, many of the Pokestops are video game street mosaics like Mario, Luigi, Kirby, Pacman and Space Invaders. I love it.
The most famous attraction in Nantes is the Isle of Machines. What started as an ambitious project of art and culture is now a hub of mechanical marvels exploring movement and wonder. I think it's fitting, given Nantes is where Jules Verne was born in 1828. There are three aspects to the Isle of Machines; the marine merry-go-round, full of boats and sea creatures with movable parts on a carousel, the giant elephant, capable of transporting a few dozen people and shooting water from its trunk, and finally the gallery, where exhibits are showcased before being added to the current project.
These aren't sculptures or models; they are machines that move and come to life. Inside the gallery, we were treated to movement demonstrations of the spider, caterpillar and heron, each capable of carrying people. They are destined for the Heron Tree, a project set to finish in 2021. The Heron Tree is a massive structure with branches spanning up to 20m from the central trunk and 35m into the sky. There is a prototype branch sitting above the cafe at the entrance, filled with plants and reinforced with steel - the perfect intersection of man-made and nature.
I only stayed in Nantes for a night; there wasn't much of interest to me apart from the Isle of Machines. I managed to finally find a piano not being hogged by anyone at the Gare de Nantes, and my little spiel earned me a bit of applause and a few "merci", so I'm happy!
Posted by Jeremy at 10:23am on Sunday May 7, 2017 :: 0 comments :: 