I have just returned from a week in Nantes, a city lodged between the Loire valley and Brittany, which is twinned with my home town of Cardiff. It was the return leg of a linguistic exchange for adults from the two cities, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The exchange is organised annually by ACNE (the Association for the Cardiff-Nantes Exchange) in Cardiff, and ELANC (Échanges Linguistiques pour Adultes entre Nantes et Cardiff) in Nantes. I hosted a lovely French lady in April, and spent the week helping her to practice and improve her English and accompanying her on visits in the area which gave some insights into Welsh life and culture. In return, I have just spent the week with her doing the exact reverse – a week of immersion in the French language, with a programme of visits organised by the French.
I should really not have been nervous about a week in France, speaking French. After all, I have a French degree (albeit that I graduated in 1988!), was a secondary school French teacher for 13 years, and I have read and written French in a number of jobs since. However, the prospect of immersion, being required to recall all the necessary vocabulary and to produce coherent sequences of speech for an entire week was mildly terrifying! On my return, I can report that I needn’t have worried – my host was amazingly patient and helpful; I followed all of the guided visits in French; and by the end of the week, I was chattering away quite comfortably… even to the point that I’ve caught myself muttering French under my breath since I’ve been back home!!
The Welsh contingent was made up of people from a wide range of backgrounds, with varying levels of French. There were other ex French teachers, retirees who had taken up learning French fairly recently, people who had done the exchange numerous times (including one who had been on the very first adult language exchange 60 years ago) or had done the school version of the exchange, and people who, like me, were relative novices to the exchange. Without exception, the entire Welsh and French parties could not have been more friendly and welcoming, and to a (wo)man were totally invested in practising the language, getting to know the region better and generally improving Franco-Welsh relations.
The programme of visits was really excellent. The first day (Sunday), was a relaxed affair, allowing me to acquaint myself with the ‘quartier’ and find my feet in the language. The only organised event was a social bring-and-eat garden party in the evening – my favourite part of which was the chance to sample some local desserts, such as the ‘gateau nantais’ and ‘far breton’. On the Monday, we had a full day visit to the city of Rennes, which included a guided tour of the Odorico mosaics in the town. That was quite fascinating, especially since some of the best examples of the mosaics are in public buildings such as the swimming baths, a creperie, and even a couple of shops! Our guide was excellent and I learned loads.
On Tuesday, we went to the main Nantes public transport hub to learn about their tram system. What might have sounded a little… unenthralling… turned out to be quite engaging, and the French members of the group really enjoyed finding out more about the transport they take for granted on a daily basis. In the afternoon, my host took me on a walking tour of the city. My favourite part was without a doubt the ‘Ile de Nantes’ with its amazing machines. I also liked exploring the maze of small streets in the centre of town, and stopping for a cuppa at La Cigale, an ‘art nouveau’ styled café and brasserie, established in 1895 and classified as a historic monument in 1964. In the evening, we had a formal reception at La Mairie (town hall) and dinner in a traditional crêperie. By the time we returned home on the bus, I had clocked up over 22,000 steps that day!
On Wednesday, we headed to the coast. Our first stop was the famous salt marshes of Guérande, where we had a talk about the methods of collecting and producing different types of salt. Our guide was quite a character – think young, French, David Bellamy – and we learned a lot. I bought a small bag of salt for my mill, and some of the top grade ‘fleur du sel’ which is uniquely for sprinkling at table. From there we headed to Le Croisic, a small, traditional Breton port which used to be a major centre for sardine fishing. After a picnic lunch (and for me, never one to miss an opportunity, a quick sea dip), we had a tour of the medieval town centre in glorious sunshine. An excellent day and after all that sea air, I slept like a log!
On Thursday, we did a day trip to the town of Clisson. Another guided tour in French which was very well done, full of interesting information and delivered in a very non-native-speaker-friendly way. We had plenty of free time to explore afterwards – I went to an Italianate villa and gardens (La Garenne Lemot) on the outskirts of the town, had coffee and cake in the town centre, and did a whistle-stop tour of the château. In the evening, we had a formal dinner to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the exchange, held at a restaurant in a country house on the outskirts of Nantes.
Our final full day was Friday. We had a free morning, on which my host and I went to the Château de Nantes and visited the ramparts and the museum of the history of Nantes. I was particularly interested in the city’s historical links to the slave trade, and to the enormous LU biscuit factory that was so important to the commercial growth of the city. In the afternoon, we had the highly anticipated visit to a local Muscadet vineyard and wine producer for a tasting and a chance to buy direct. Having to carry the purchases back to Cardiff, I restricted myself to just a couple of bottles! On the final evening, I took my host out for dinner to a little bistro in the quartier – a lovely end to a lovely week.
Saturday was our travel day home – an early start and a long day, including the 8 hour crossing from Saint-Malo to Portsmouth, which seemed so much shorter on the way out when we did it overnight! Back in Cardiff in time for bed.
This was my first time participating in the exchange, and I have to say that I loved every minute of it… (well maybe apart from the parts of the return crossing that were somewhat ‘turbulent’!). I will definitely be taking part again and can thoroughly recommend to any Francophiles, whether your level of French is of maybe rusty GCSE level or beyond. You can be assured of a warm welcome, with much support to improve your spoken French. If you’d like to know more, there is a website https://cardiff-nantes.org/ or a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1535749863313476/ where you can find out more information.
50shadesofbrave 