Nantes, March 7

Today the group and I took a train to Nantes, where we roamed the streets admiring the different monuments. First, we visited a slave memorial by the river. There were lights embedded on the concrete sidewalk, with the names of different slave ships written on them. We then walked downstairs to the main memorial cite, where we found a map with dates of when the slave trade and slavery were abolished in different countries. There was also a hallway with quotes from leaders, artists, slaves, and political documents about freedom and equality. Seeing the memorial was a powerful experience.

We continued walking and stumbled upon a mall, hidden in the center of a couple buildings. We sat down to eat, and ordered food from a nearby café. As we walked around, we saw a strange man in an orange shirt who was dancing. He was dancing in front of a group of people who were posing for a picture, and would not leave them be. Everyone thought he was crazy. As we began to walk away, the man followed us around the mall, dancing and rolling after us for a few minutes. Later, we learned that it was a publicity stunt and that he was being followed by a camera man to record people’s reactions.

We visited a store in the mall dedicated to camping supplies and nature products. Angela and I got to eat bugs. The funniest part of today was seeing Maya’s reaction when she realized that what she was eating wasn’t weird foreign chips, but insects. Upon realization, her eyes widened and she ran out the store, horrified.

After the mall, we went to the Nantes’ Museum of Arts. The art was very interesting, and I got to see some of Pablo Picasso’s artwork. The building was also very beautiful.

Luckily, the museum was close to the train station. So as soon as we were done at the museum, we rushed to the station and caught the train to Angers.

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