I'm positive the song "We all live in a Yellow Submarine" was not inspired by Saint Nazaire

WWII German Submarine Base

Lookout Tower, German Submarine Base

The attempt to make the best of my few remaining weeks in France led to an interesting day trip Wednesday to Saint Nazaire, France. The last of the European cities to be liberated during WWII, what this city lacks in aesthetic beauty it makes up for with interesting history. Completely destroyed by bombs, the city rebuilt itself in practical, modern architecture… and uses the sole part of its past to survive the bombs, the German submarine base, as a central focal point. The tourist is bombarded with this giant concrete base from afar, but upon closer examination can find inside the tourism office, a few souvenir shops, some restaurants, and an interesting concert/events venue. We also saw plans for some shared public gardening space atop the base. You can enter the submarine base to explore these shops, or stroll across the roof to experience what was once the Germans’ birds-eye view of the port. Ironically at this point we heard a siren (much like the tornado sirens in Ohio) and upon returning to the tourism office learned that this is a test siren that happens on the first Wednesday of every month ever since the war. 

Submarines up close are not that photogenic

Directly across from the German submarine base sits a real once-active French submarine, open for tours. Tell me that isn’t awesome non?

Saint Nazaire was one of those places that I’m glad I saw, because I live 30 minutes away from it. But you leave the city feeling a little off.  I just couldn’t get a grasp on how I felt after the day of exploring. The city itself is not your typical, charming, beautiful old buildings kind of French city, which I have come to take for granted over here. I admire their efforts to truly attempt to “mélange” the city’s darker history with an image of growth and development from that history but I can’t tell if they’ve successfully done it. 

 

View of the port from the lookout tower

Confetti Partout. Still finding it.

Life has been, as usual, wonderfully hectic lately. Full of only the greatest of things- nice weather, entire evenings spent with friends, short day trips, rewarding classroom experiences… and all the bittersweet emotions that come with the realization that there rests only 5 weeks to “profiter” from this experience.

And so, on profite. 

Braderie at Place Commerce

Nantes seemed to spring to life this past weekend, with a one-day event “Braderie” that was essentially a giant city-wide market. All the local stores created stands outside their normal locations and cheaply cleaned out their stock. As if the government mandated semi-annual “soldes” wasn’t enough… but I’m not complaining. I got a pair of velcro strap sandals for 10euro (no one really likes buckles in the summer huh) and a rockin pair of red jeans. Which I will wear for both 4^th of July and Bastille Day this July. 

Fire burning on the dance floor

That evening, despite our attempts to have a calm, casual right out at La Reserve, we found ourselves making the trek to the infamous TexMex. A wonderful and filthy dancy bar tucked up into the second floor of a shopping center, this place is a gem. The whole “18 year olds are allowed in bars” issue unfortunately came up again when I noticed some of my students… as I was twirling around fist-pumping with two glowsticks in each hand. However, come Monday my students were far more concerned with the news that TexMex caught on fire and burned down Sunday afternoon. I’m proud to say I was there for that beautiful establishment’s last night.

Nantes became a very colorful city Sunday

 

 I know, you want to hear about the Confetti mentioned in the title of this post. Nantes celebrated Carnaval on Sunday afternoon and hese celebrations included: stands of tasty treats like Chi-Chi & waffles, sales of “confetti bombes” to shamelessly litter the streets with, children dressed up like this was their version of Halloween, and a giant parade of massive mechanical floats. I’m not really sure what the official purpose of Carnaval is, except maybe just to show everyone how AWESOME Nantes can be. These photos are the best I can do, as words do not do it justice.

A weekend involving massive shopping experiences, dance parties, glowsticks, and confetti? Life as a Nantaise is quite magical, n’est pas?

I seem to rarely blog about my work life, but this past week of school was the last before yet another 2 week vacation (during which I will have a visitor to share this magical city with, as well as a travel buddy to the Champagne region of France, and then onto Croatia and Slovenia). I reminded my students that we only have one class left together after the holiday. My favorite class of terminales (seniors), who specialize in English and are silly, creative, and eager to learn, informed me “Non! We will catch you and keep you”. Insert melting heart here. 

Lots of colorful confetti love, 

Steph