Visiting France: Nantes, I Love You
Every time I visit my family back in France, I make a point of spending at least one day in Nantes if I am there for at least a few days. I have family members who live in Nantes so it is each time the occasion to see them and have a bit of lunch together. I also studied in Nantes for five years before I moved to Ireland (I studied English and Law at the Nantes University) so this city brings back a lot of memories. It truly is one of my favourite cities in the world. The old buildings, the cathedral and the Château des Duc de Bretagne right in the centre of the city really display some amazing French architecture. The arts and culture are very prominent. There are lots of pretty streets where you can shop and a huge choice of places where to eat. And best of all, it is only one short flight away from Dublin. How great!
The day after our visit of the Challans market and the lovely pastry shop nearby, we took an early train en direction de Nantes. The program was a beautiful breakfast, buying books (I had to refrain from getting a lot of cookbooks...), lunch with my cousin and her husband, some sightseeing, and a few chocolates and refreshments with my lovely aunt.
The sun was shining and everyone was in a great mood, what more could you ask!
As we got off the train, E. and I were absolutely starving. We had skipped breakfast back in Challans as we knew full well where we would end up having it in Nantes: at the world famous brasserie La Cigale!
After getting a tramway towards Place du Commerce, we walked through Place Royale, walked up rue Crébillon and found ourselves on Place Graslin. The big roundabout has now disappeared and the place is being entirely refurbished. The two main things that always attract my attention in this area are the beautiful Théâtre Graslin and of course the unmissable brasserie La Cigale (4, Place Graslin).
It has become a little tradition for E. and I to have breakfast at La Cigale whenever we visit Nantes. And how could you not want to have breakfast there?!
The brasserie was inaugurated in 1895 and has retained all its art nouveau decor designed by the ceramist architect Emile Libaudière. Every time I go there, I spend a few minutes staring at the beautiful paintings on the ceiling and observing the details of the ceramic art on the walls. You nearly feel like you are in another world. I often find myself daydreaming and forgetting I am not on my own when stopping there for a meal.
As we had arrived early, the brasserie was nearly empty (actually, the streets of Nantes were also empty so it was great for taking photos and enjoying the views of the beautiful buildings before the streets were crowded). We were sat at a table with a lovely view of the Cours Cambronne. We did not need a lot of time to order as we already knew we wanted le petit-déjeuner complet (full breakfast).
Some freshly squeezed orange juice was first served on the table, quickly followed by a basket of delicious toasted bread and slices of homemade brioche. It was accompanied by a piece of creamery salted butter and some homemade spreads: organic apple puree, organic seasonal jam and a bit of salted caramel sauce.
Our hot drinks arrived quite promptly as we were starting to eat our toasts. E. went for a grand café and the chocolate lover in me chose a Valrhona Celaya hot chocolate. The quality of the chocolate was really exquisite and I nearly ordered a second one until I saw the plate of mini croissants and pains au chocolat being served on our table. I very obviously had to leave some room for those!
We left the brasserie quite happy after our fabuleux petit-déjeuner and were ready to spend the day walking around Nantes.
Having breakfast at La Cigale really is a wonderful experience. If one day you get to visit Nantes, spare some time to eat there. You will definitely have a very French breakfast or lunch moment to bring back with you as a souvenir!
L'Herbaudière is a little harbour town in the northern part of the island. You can find some lovely restaurants there, including the famous two Michelin stars restaurant La Marine . However, our plan for the day did not include Michelin star dining. Instead, I spotted a crepes restaurant I was already familiar with: le Crêp' Chignon. My memory of having eaten some delicious galettes (savoury buckwheat crepes) and crepes there as a child did not fail me.
I started with a very tasty galette covered with a fondue of leeks and perfectly cooked scallops. As my mother's plate was really close to my hand and fork, I felt the need to help her finish the lovely galette she had chosen... ahem. Just to get an idea of the choice you can get there you know. Yes, any excuse really!
Hers was called a Noirmouflette. Now, imagine a tartiflette made with local ingredients, then stuffed in a galette. You do understand why it was essential for me to taste it, right?
And what is the point of a meal at a crêperie if you do not have a crepe for dessert! The crepe with banana slices and hot dark chocolate sauce was definitely a big favourite at our table, and E.'s choice of a crepe with rich salted caramel sauce was really good too.
We took a little walk along the harbour afterwards to digest a bit and then headed out inland to visit one of Noirmoutier's famous salt marshes. And this visit will be the subject of a next story on the blog!