The dates for next year’s Exchange have now been agreed with our Nantais’ partners, ÉLANC.
Please do add these dates to your diaries so that you can plan other events around them.
On Monday morning we set off from Nantes at 09:15 for a day in Rennes. We arrived late morning and after lunch there was a guided visit around the centre of Rennes to see examples of the mosaics of the Odorico family. They were a family of artists working in mosaics from the end of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century. There were 2 generations with 2 brothers in each generation, named Isidore and Vincent. The older generation’s work resembles “Art Nouveau”, the younger generation’s is more akin to “Art Deco”, very popular during the interwar period.
We all met up in the Place Ste Anne and were split into two groups – one with a French-speaking and one with an English-speaking guide. I chose the French language group and this is how it went.
Though the stars of the show were the mosaics of the Odorico family, the biggest star of all was the guide, a young woman who was phased by nothing and knew the subject thoroughly. She had a wonderful speaking voice which reminded me how great French is to listen to, not just to try to speak correctly. She moved from site to site with people milling around, bicycles going behind her, as she gave us information on the various mosaics. There were people everywhere and it even started raining at one point but she pressed on regardless, staying completely focused.
The mosaics were fascinating, sometimes they were on the walls in shops, or on the floors, which we looked at through the windows from the street. Many of the shops no longer sell what they did when the mosaics were put there. For example, a fishmonger’s motif is now in a clothes shop and a pharmacy from the 1930’s now has a totally different function.
For me the Art Deco interwar mosaics were the most interesting artistically, with roundels and waves, bright colours and the use of gold coloured mosaic pieces. We were told of the way mosaics could be manufactured away from the site and then placed in their final home later. The best example for me was the St George swimming pool. Built in 1925 it is still a swimming pool and is covered in Art Deco mosaics. We were allowed in and the wave pattern mosaics and blue colouring really set the place off. There are also large buildings with external mosaics which we saw on our travels around the centre of Rennes.
It was a marvellous experience walking the streets of a modern, bustling city and seeing so many examples of such fine mosaics, especially those from the interwar period. Unforgettable!
An article by Maggie Smales
Toute notre visite à Nantes en juin était un don pour lequel nous sommes très reconnaissants.
Arrivant dimanche le 8 juin nous étions accueillis par nos hôtes qui nous ont reçus chaleureusement chez eux.
Ce soir-là Marie- Christine et Jean- Marc ont organisé une soirée. Dans leur jardin fleuri et parfumé de jasmin nous nous sommes réunis sur la pelouse et nous nous sommes amusés à bavarder avec des amis nantais – anciens et nouveaux.
En peu de temps nous voilà avec des assiettes débordantes de spécialités régionales délicieuses.
Après cette fête une surprise nous attendait. Jean-Marc et Bernard nous ont offert des cadeaux- un collage de photos représentant notre Échange Nantes-Cardiff.
Le mien au mur dans ma maison à Barry me rappellera pour toujours ces joyeuses visites réciproques.
En plus un bol breton, avec les mots imprimés au bord « Amitiés Nantes Cardiff », sera un autre souvenir mémorable de cette occasion.
Mardi le 11 juin au cours de la Réception à la Mairie on nous a offert un goût de Nantes sous forme du miel dont la provenance était les fleurs cultivées par les Nantais- soit dans les parcs, le Jardin des Plantes, les ronds-points, les jardins particuliers ou sur les rebords des fenêtres.
N’oublions pas les savoureux biscuits de Nantes.
Et chacun est reparti de la Mairie avec un sac cabas animé avec des images de Nantes et le guide touristique officiel de Nantes, plein d’ informations.
Nous étions vraiment gâtés!
Notre dernière excursion était au Vignoble : Château de la Jousselinière St Julien de Concelles où on nous a invités à goûter une sélection de vins de ce vignoble auguste.
Je suis sûre que je n’étais pas la seule parmi notre groupe gallois à rapporter chez nous plusieurs bouteilles de vin de ce domaine et à partager cette merveille de la France avec nos familles et nos amis.
Ces cadeaux matériels n’étaient pas les seuls cadeaux que nous avons rapportés au Pays de Galles. Il faut y compter des souvenirs merveilleux des visites, des conversations, des promenades, des repas partagés…
Un grand “Hourrah” pour l’Echange Nantes-Cardiff et un grand merci à tous les participants nantais.
A member of the exchange association, who visited Nantes in June this year, shares their experiences of the trip.
Click the following title to read their interesting blog.
A piece by Maggie Smales, Exchange President
A recent ITV news feature about the Cardiff Nantes exchange can be seen by clicking on the following link.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12oeiWKTx2NGK8z5kjggw9PbTc20obPLa/view
Welcome to the Cardiff Nantes Exchange website.
To find out more about the exchange visits, look at the information page links above.
