There is no place like home

Chestnuts. There are chestnuts all over the ground. Not the beautiful, brown, smooth kernels that are pleasant in the hand, but the green prickly vegetation hedgehogs that surround the brown kernels.
On the bike, I tried to ride in circles around them at first for fear of a flat tyre, but now I'm looking for a place to pitch my tent. I clear an area of about 4 square metres for about 10 minutes to avoid holes in the tent floor and go for it.

For the night I found a special sleeping niche: in a strip of green between two fields. It is about 10 metres wide and lined on the outside by a row of trees, which is complemented by opaque bushes. No one will find me here, even from a distance of two metres from the strip my tent is not visible. I go to sleep while it starts to rain again outside.

The next day I want to have a look at Nantes. I am too lazy to take down the tent and decide that the spot is so good that I will leave all my sleeping things here in the tent. As I drive towards the city, I can rely on my faithful Breton companion, the drizzle.

I head for the island in the Loire and visit the fantastic mechanical animals there, which are based on ideas by Jules Verne (born in Nantes) and Leonardo da Vinci. The main attraction is the huge elephant that stomps across the square of the former factory site and spits water to the delight of the kids.

I roll through the city for a while and get a very positive impression. The city is alive, it has large, wide and bright streets, pedestrian zones and squares. Everywhere you see people, here and there are art sculptures.

It starts to drizzle again and I make my way to the place I call home tonight. I'm looking forward to the finished, served meal, the warm fireplace, the made bed. What a lovely thought. 😊Read more