Tour des Parcs #1 - Parc du Grand Blottereau

For the next week I have vacation for 'Toussaint' or 'Day of the Dead.' This provides me with quite a bit of free time on my hands, which I don't like having. So, in an attempt to keep myself busy, I told myself that I would visit one or two of Nantes beautiful parks everyday and let you join in on the experience! I started off with my little map of Nantes (it's in an area I never fully explored before) and headed to the park. Got off the tram and headed off in what I thought was the right direction. An hour later and still not having found the park, which was supposedly 10 minutes from the tram stop, I turned around and headed back to the tram. I decided to take little back roads just to make the walk more interesting. I might as well explore while being lost! A few minutes later, I saw a woman looking at me quite strangely - I looked and her and immediately recognized her as one of the English teachers at my school! A very strange coincidence. And she was right to look at me oddly since I was wearing glasses, had my hair pulled back, and was wearing jeans - the exact opposite of my school attire. Anyway, she invited me to her apartment for coffee and biscuits which, it ends up, is very close to my future apartment (she offered to drive me to the HS when our schedules meet up too)! She then drove me to the park so that I didn't get lost again....Unfortunately, I fit the stereotype perfectly of being a girl with a terrible sense of direction....

'Parc du Grand Blottereau' is a hop, skip, and jump away from my future apartment (I get the keys Friday!). I have never been to this park before. I did not realize how much of a treat I was in for. The entire park was re-done 3-4 years ago by a South Korean landscaper, with each area of the park made to represent different climates in the country. In exchange a French landscaper re-did a park in S. Korea in the French style. This park was huge and full of surprises - from a green tea garden to rows of green houses that supply the rest of Nantes with beautiful flowers year round.



A banana 'forest' in one part of the park.


Totem poles and a pagoda surrounded by water.


One of the beautiful lakes in the middle of the park. There were little green frogs jumping around too!


This park is very family friendly. There is this banana tree inspired jungle gym, tennis courts surrounded by tropical plants, and a few soccer fields on the edge of the park. I saw lots of families enjoying the beautiful weather we were blessed with today.

The 'tropical' area of the S. Korean themed park, with a statue in the background. The picture doesn't do it justice.

I am so excited that I am going to live so close to this park. I plan on visiting it again in the very near future.

Tomorrow, I am off to the most well known park in Nantes! Hope you enjoyed today's tour :).

P.S. Don't forget that you can click on the pictures to make them bigger. It's worth it, I promise!