France 128 - Nantes - the bestiary of machines/the machine gallery/ lost in translation/ the spider/the ant/the caterpillar and the heron


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Europe » France » Pays-de-la-Loire » Nantes
April 22nd 2018
Published: April 24th 2018
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What can you say about the elephant? What can follow him? He is a hard act to follow. We did what we normally do and went for a drink and some dinner. After dinner we planned to go into the Gallery of Machines to see what was called the Bestiary of Machines. We had read up beforehand and had a good idea or so we thought of what to expect. We paid up our 8 euros 50 each and the lady on the ticket desk explained we had one hour to see the machines after which we could go upstairs to see the workshops where they were working on the Arbre des Herons. This however was lost in translation as we were soon to find out once we entered the gallery. Sometimes you just get it wrong and have to accept that.

A large crowd had gathered around the spider. A huge metal beast sleeping in his nest. The guide spoke and spoke and continued explaining the workings of the beast and what it would do . Sadly in rapid fire French that only a fluent Frenchman could possibly understand. This dialogue with much clapping and pointing went on for ten minutes without a break to draw breath. We got slightly fed up as you do when you cannot understand a word that is being spoken. We were waiting for the guide to start telling us what was happening in another language . He did not so we moved on to look at the caterpillar. A huge yellow beast with a curved middle running on metal track. He would work his way along the track. His back arching just like the real thing. You could almost imagine the caterpillar in your garden munching his way through your cabbages. Almost 15 minutes had passed and still the Frenchman was talking. Still we were oblivious of what he was saying.

We moved on the yellow ant which was being moved from its location to the back rooms from where it would crawl out of once the guide had told the audience about the ant. I admire ants but dislike them in equal measure.

Moving on from the ant we came to the Heron with its 8 m wingspan. It was set up on metal frames and would eventually fly across the room before landing on a flower. Eventually he would be joined by other herons in the arbour.

From here we went into the hot house where Jules Verne creations meet hot house plants.

At this point the commentary ended and two young female machinists climbed up into the front of the spider. A third young lady climbed into its abdomen. They started the motor and carefully woke up the spider. Each lady worked the machinery which placed its spindly metal legs on the ground. One took him up into the roof and he worked his way along a canopy of wires before coming down to earth and his nest again. A cheer rang out and the guide moved on to the caterpillar and went through telling the audience how that worked . One lucky boy got to sit on its back as it wriggled its way across the patch of grass. I bet he had a story to tell when he got back to school. What did you do this holiday? " I rode on a caterpillar." Do you think they would believe him?

After the visit to the beasts we said our good bye to the elephant and walked up to the castle which had an entry fee of 10 euros each. It was long walk where we had to battel with pedestrians , cars and trams. Sometimes we decide to give a castle a miss and this was one of them. From the outside in parts it looked like any castle we had seen over the last week. It invited us in over its moat and drawbridge however once inside it was turned into a 18th century ordinary building. We walked round the outside but were glad we saved our money for something else. There is always a cake to buy or a meal out.

The elephant had been the star of the show and we sat up long into the night talking about our day out. We scoured our minds for something that compared and really struggled. Perhaps for sheer engineering brilliance the St Louis Arch in Missouri but nothing else could hold a candle to the elephant . We keep thinking of Sinead O'Connor singing Nothing compares . How true . Nothing comes anywhere close to our day on the Big Boy.

Nantes exceeded all our expectations. The weather, the campsite, the tram system and the Ile des Machines. Everything gets a 5* rating. We had no neighbours overnight to chat to. Our next door neighbour turned up on his Indian bike. Across the way were chalets rented out to companies for their workers to stay in. Better than an impersonal hotel.

We went to bed talking about the elephant and his friends the spider, the ant, the heron and the hummingbird. We slept and I probably dreamt about them. Nantes was a place that will linger long in our memory banks for all the right reasons.

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