OBSERVATIONS OF NANTES, FRANCE

Since April of 2015 to now, January 2016, I have been in a different country at some point in time every month. I’ve travelled for a long time, but the amount of traveling I’ve gotten up to in the last 10 months is incredible even by my standards. For a non religious person I dare say I have to use the word, blessed. I’ve been blessed to see what I have in the last months. I was able to revisit some old places and visit a few new places. One of those new places was Nantes, France.

Now, I actually lived in France for awhile over 10 years ago. Time is literally on a rocket ship because it feels like it was yesterday. I lived close to Toulouse and Lyon. Loved both cities dearly. If I hadn’t been so intimidated by the French language, I could easily have seen myself living in France much longer than I did. I was totally unprepared by how much I enjoyed France and all it had to offer. So, when I found out I was being surprised with a birthday trip to Nantes I obviously was excited! First thing I had to do was Google it because I had no idea where it was. Second thing is I had to learn how to pronounce the city correctly because my American tongue kept wanting to call it NAN-tez. How else could it be pronounced any other way?? Germans say it like, Naud which totally confused me as I couldn’t figure out where they got the ‘d’. In French it’s like, ‘Naunt’. Yeah, so my first observation was the city name is difficult for my American tongue to pronounce properly.

As I knew nothing of nothing about this city before arriving I quickly realized it’s a young city. For me, I would compare the vibe to Boston. There are over 150,000 college students in the greater Boston area and all of that youthful energy leaves its mark. I felt that same vitality in Nantes. I loved attending university in Boston because of this feeling so I really enjoyed that about Nantes. Going out in the evening there were throngs of young people out in the streets wandering around and hanging out with friends. What I also noticed is, they mostly congregated in the center of the city. This was cool because a tourist didn’t have to travel to distant parts of an unknown city and everything is in walking distance. Often when there are a lot of young people gathered with alcohol present young guys often let their testosterone get the better of them. Not in Nantes. Saw many groups of young men and never felt like I was being sized up or saw them making women feel uncomfortable. Hats off to the young men of Nantes, France!

Another thing I liked about Nantes, and very aware only medium-sized cities could get away with this, they have painted a line that runs through the entire city to take tourists past important landmarks, sites and shopping areas. How smart is that!?! It was like having a deaf and mute tour guide. Wait, I hope that’s not offensive.. then again, I’m not forcing anyone to read this. Not like I could ask questions about things I saw, but I could walk as slow or fast as I wanted, take as many coffee breaks as I wanted, skip parts, retrace my steps. I loved it! I travel a lot and this is one of the few cities I felt like I saw almost everything there was to see while I was there. Now I didn’t experience everything I possibly could, but as far as the major sites I saw it all.

Photo not taken by me

Another observation I had with Nantes, and I noticed it at the exact same time I noticed the youthful energy, I kept picking up a strange vibe from the place. I couldn’t quite put my figure on it. In theory, Nantes had everything in a city I should love, history, good food, nice local population, no overt sense of racism and reasonably priced. But I just kept on thinking, eh, something is off. Then walking along the harbor I came across it. There is a huge memorial dedicated to the abolition of slavery. It’s a very powerful and well done memorial. I lingered there for at least an hour reading everything and taking it all in. One question I had walking through the memorial was answered at the end. “Why would a European city have a memorial dedicated to slavery?” kept going through my head. I understand Germany having museums dedicated to terror and tyranny. Additionally, the monuments dedicated to the holocaust makes perfect sense. But Nantes, France? Abolition of slavery monument? Strange.. The city has another tribute to slavery that answered the question in such a striking manner that as cliché as it sounds, left me at a loss for words. The tribute is, all the slave ships that left Nantes, their names and date of departure and are laid out on a pathway represented with small bronze bricks. Nantes, France was the epicenter of the European slave trade during the 15th and 19^th centuries. My history teachers definitely left that out of our history lessons. The number of bricks was literally sickening. What I thought was a small path turned into a boardwalk along the harbor. Every single step on a brick represented hundreds of innocent human beings being bundled and packed into horrible conditions like farm animals being shipped off to the slaughter house. For a super logical Virgo it was emotionally overwhelming for me. If I had known the history of the city would I have visited? I can’t answer that. But it was good that the city had decided to create these monuments to own up to it’s history. Unless I’m mistaken, the United States, a very willing participant in the Mid-Atlantic Slave Trade, has no slave memorial of any type at all.

Did my previous vibe about the city have something to do with it’s history? I don’t know, but once I knew about the history of the city that weird energy I felt before didn’t go away, but it made more sense. And as I said, the city wasn’t shying away from it’s history. I felt like that until I went to the Museum of History of Nantes. It’s located at the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany. It has about 7 chambers that go into detail about the history of Nantes. I LOVE history so a museum set in an actual castle?? Awesome! Not only do they have historical artifacts, but they have touch screens throughout the museum that give stories connecting the use of certain artifacts or eras through the eyes of the people who lived during those times. A great use of technology! It bought the history to life! I was feeling it! Then I got to the hall on slavery. It had a lot of artifacts and stories about Nantes during that time. They showed the wealth the city made during that time, architecture constructed as a result of the wealth, certain artifacts associated with the slave industry and other things. Can’t say anything connected to the misery of millions of people to make it more human, but it was informative. The one thing though that totally threw me off and completely changed my view of Nantes was the story they decided to use in the slavery chamber. They chose the story of a young white resident of Nantes who was the son of a powerful merchant. To learn the trade of the family, which was the purchase and sales of African slaves, he set out on a slave ship to get an education from the bottom up. This young boy kept a journal so the story is based on his actual words. It spoke in great detail about his trip, all the actual quantifiable facts; what date they set out from Nantes, how they were delayed by weather, negotiating for the slaves, loading them in the ship’s hold, the trip across the Atlantic Ocean, the unloading in the Caribbean of a portion of the “cargo”, what goods they received in return, then continuing to the New World to sell the rest then the return trip, etc, etc. That’s it. That’s all the story included. The story ended with the young man deciding never to go on one of those trips again. Because he had a change of heart and realized human beings shouldn’t be treated like bales of cotton or material? No. He felt he had learned enough, went into the family business of slave trading, made even more money than his father did in the business and became a much respected member of the Nantes elite society. Wait.. What??!! Of all the stories a museum could dedicate to it’s history of slave trading you choose one with a happy ending for the slave trading merchant?? WTF city of Nantes!? In a modern city, with a disgusting history that laid the foundation for it’s wealth, no one understood how it might come across having a story about a titan in the slave trading industry be the story you present in the slave trading chamber?? And the story had a happy ending for the man you use as well?? Disgusted. That’s how I felt when I finished that chamber. Totally and completely disgusted. The amount of pain and anguish and death associated with Nantes to this day is still present in the very fabric of the city. Even my uber logical analytical self picked up on it immediately upon arriving. So given the opportunity to use a story from the perspective of those affected by your actions which could add a very real sense of humanity to this period of your history, you choose the perspective of the slave merchant. Yeah, I’d called that a big fat fail.

Typically, I don’t write observations like this. But it’s obvious the museum left a very bad taste in my mouth. Bad enough that I wrote to the museum.. but I didn’t receive a reply. I will blame it on the fact I wrote in English to a French museum which is entirely possible. Hey, Nantes is a really nice city. There are some amazing things to see, the people are super friendly, and their memorials to slavery are powerful and a must see. Personally, I’d never go back to the place. Ever. I won’t ever have the inkling to rediscover its streets or explore uncharted areas of the city. It’s the first city I would say that about. And it is sad since it is such a beautiful city and region of France.

OBSERVATIONS OF SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN

It is the start of 2016 and only now am I posting about a trip I took in August. Shameful. Part of the delay is due to work, but a significant part is I lost the desire to write. I even fell off in my journal! Considering the amount of traveling I did in 2015 I have a lot of catching up to do. What better start than one of my most favorite cities in the world to visit, San Sebastian, Spain!

Now, I wrote observations about turning 40, but I didn’t really talk about in detail where I celebrated my birthday. As far as I know, San Sebastian isn’t as well known as a Spanish tourist destination like Barcelona or Madrid or Southern Spain, but lord have mercy it should be! These are some things I notice every time I visit this city, because I try to visit as often as possible.

If you believe in horoscopes I’m a Virgo. A TRUE Virgo so I’m told. I’m super rational and logical and detest when people try to change my opinion based on emotionally backed arguments. So astrology and crystal energy and past lives is lost on me. Totally 100% lost on me. Or used to be, until I visited San Sebastian... Now, let me explain. The first time I visited San Sebastian was in 2004 with a group of co-workers for a short weekend getaway. We were living in France close to the Spanish border and had heard it was worth checking out. The second we arrived. I’m talking about SECOND I had this overwhelming sense of déjà vu. I was convinced I’d been there before and felt like I was coming home. Crazy right!? It was my first time there, and this was before Trip Advisor and Instagram. I seemed to always know where to go without asking people or having a map. Talk about out of body experience! Some years later, a very good friend of mine convinced me to speak to a psychic. Why? I can’t remember. For sure I had a smirk on my face from the start of the “session” cause I don’t believe in that mumbo jumbo one bit! So blah blah blah the woman is talking and suddenly starts talking about an ex-girlfriend of mine. My friend must have told her about this ex and this scam art..uumm.. psychic is trying to play on my emotions. Long story short she goes on to say my ex and I shared a big love somewhere in the very Northeast corner of Spain and that I have a really strong connection to the region. Now, as I’m so analytical I immediately assumed she’d gleaned this information from my friend, but I’d never told ANYONE how I felt when I was in San Sebastian. Not a single person because it was so unexplainable for a person who is always so focused on how to explain logically. And I hadn’t even started blogging at that point for someone to google me and read up on my travels. WEIRD! But in a way, it did explain my connection with this city. I said all of that to say San Sebastian is in my heart. I always feel as if I’ve come home when I visit. It’s like pure magic when I roam those streets. Those strong feelings I always have when I visit obviously might cloud my observations. And that’s my disclaimer.

First thing I observed about San Sebastian is that it’s like the greatest hits album of your favorite band, but for a country. Seriously. It takes all the things that make Spain great as a whole and packs them all into one city! It has the typical things one would expect from Spain, nice weather, friendly open people, relaxed culture. But then it has other things I’ve never experienced anywhere else in Spain. Part of the reason could be the French at different times controlled the region which adds to the unique culture of the city. I don’t know, but whatever the reason San Sebastian is a city that will always be on repeat for me.    

It has beaches right in the middle of the city. I mean seriously, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY! Not on the outskirts, but directly in the city center. You don’t run to the beach for your morning or evening jog, you start it at the bench as you come out of your apartment. How bada$$ is that?? I’m from Florida and let me tell you, not too many places have the beach in their city center. And for all you non Miami people that say South Beach SHUUD UP! South Beach is NOT Miami. It’s a vey small section of Miami that tourists visit and then say they know Miami. I’m sure there are other cities that have this, but I only know of San Sebastian.  Also, San Sebastian is a great destination for wind surfers. AND if you are a surfer, there is a public bus which takes you to top surfing spots in nearby France. A PUBLIC BUS that takes you to surfing spots in another country!?!? Beat that California!! So if relaxing on the beach isn’t enough for you, you take a scenic bus that costs less than $6 to get to another country to go surfing? Actually, I’m not sure why I’m so excited by that because I don’t lay out on the beach or go surfing or wind surfing. I guess I got excited for all of my white friends for a second. But the thought is beautiful though!

 Then there’s the food. San Sebastian has the second highest concentration of Michelin starred restaurants in the world. The EARTH people! Not the country, but the whole entire planet!! The tapas in San Sebastian are way beyond the simple ham and potatoes variety you find in many Spanish cities. Fresh fish and seafood every day of the week, and chefs who aren’t afraid to throw down in the kitchen?? What?? This city does not play with food. In general Spain is cheap when it comes to dining out, but in San Sebastian you’re definitely going to pay more, but you get more for your money also.

Another thing for me that was very apparent in San Sebastian is there style. I don’t know if it’s due to the French influence or what. But people in San Sebastian are smoooooth. I would put this city up against any other city in Europe for the best dressed. It’s this really nice mix of classy, but not too conservative; stylish, but not too pretentious. It’s a good mix they pull off collectively very well. Which in turn means shopping in San Sebastian is dangerous. Going shopping there is like going out to a bar with that one friend that is borderline alcoholic. You wake up the next morning doing the, “Where’s all my money?” game. You’re walking down the street window shopping and next thing you know you feel the weight of shopping bags holding you down and you have no idea how it happened. Leave your bank cards in the hotel room and only take a minimum amount of cash while you city explore. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

PLUS, the people are welcoming. Ok, I’ve lived in Berlin for the last 9 years so someone from Southern Spain might argue they aren’t. Well these are my observations so deal with it. For me, they are very nice and very welcoming. My first time in San Sebastian over 10 years ago I never once felt like my color was even on the list of things people recognized. I can’t say the same about Madrid my first time there. Now, it’s extremely possible that the history of the Basque Region where San Sebastian is located has something to do with that. It’s almost like they go out of there way to be nice to anyone not from the Madrid region of Spain just to piss off the people of Madrid. A lot. Again, it could just be because of my feelings for this place and I have selective memory. All I’m saying is I feel totally unguarded when I’m walking the streets.

My last observation of San Sebastian.. They have the beach which I mentioned, AND directly overlooking the city they have mountains. I know that's not SO unique, but how many cities have build a theme park at the top of the mountain!?! I sh*t you not people! They have a theme park at the top of a mountain with a view of the entire city!! It's called Monte Igueldo. It's not Disney World but who cares! You're on top of a mountain! I admit, I was a little scared riding the coaster, but I'm glad I did! Me no punk b*tch! I even videoed it here! 

Man, I could go on and on about San Sebastian, but then it would start to sound like a love letter and not independent observations of the city. Which might explain the magic I spoke about earlier. I love this city. If it were a woman it would be the one that got away, but as I get older I’m being drawn back to it with the promise of a reconciliation. No words to really explain it properly, and that’s why you need to visit yourself and experience it first hand.