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Our field trip to Nantes is all set, again; this time with a group of undergraduates who are studying on one of the many modules in French language studies.  Crossing the Channel in January was perhaps rather ambitious of me, so this journey is set for 4 th May 2016.  We travel to Southampton by train from Plymouth on the Tuesday, staying overnight in the Premier Inn on the airport and then fly FlyBe direct to NTE on Wednesday.  Bénédicte and Xavier at Le Voyage à Nantes have been very patient after my first research visit was postponed, and they have stepped in to help us to find venues and attractions for our students of French.  For example, they have found this wine bar to host our WSET training afternoon (Wine & Spirit Education Trust): La Comédie des Vins.  I am looking forward to reporting back from there on this blog: Travel Writers Online Our French lesson for this post is taken from our lunchtime series of teaching quality talks at the university today, since it fit

Le Voyage à Nantes Stendhal stayed in Nantes and documents it in his travel book, Memoires of a Tourist (1838).  A friend and colleague at the CNRS in Paris, Darwin, had recommended I read Stendhal’s travel writing many years ago but I first had to complete Le Rouge et le Noir (1830). Stendhal’s opening section on his first entry for Nantes in June 1837 serves as a good reminder for the flying passenger today; while the other travellers scramble for their suitcases Stendhal, with just his night-bag under his arm, strolls off the landing board and, thus, is one of the first to set foot on the paving stones of the great city.  Where does he go?  What advice would you give? What is the very first place to visit on any trip to Nantes? ... please add your Comment below... LVAN Le Voyage à Nantes