It was great to visit France again after such a long break away. My journey via Lille to Nantes was made all the better by travelling Leisure First. We were served breakfast as we entered the tunnel. No champagne, but a glass of orange juice, cup of coffee and continental pastries were nicely presented. The 'Tunnel Trivia' section of the Eurostar magazine informs us that the tunnel is 195 metres at its deepest point under the Channel.

The train arrived into Lille 15 minutes late, so I had to run for my Nantes connection. It's somewhat tricky catching this connection because the train is split for two end destinations, one to Nantes and the other to Rennes. There are electronic plans of the train alongside the platform, but my carriage 'number two' wasn't detailed correctly. I found an attendant in the nick of time. He said the carriages were marked up incorrectly. After hurriedly jumping on board we headed South via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Le Mans and finally into Nantes station at around 6pm. My friend Katie picked me up from the Sortie Sud side of the station. It's five years since my last visit so we had a lot to catch up on. Her kids are in the varying stages of teenhood now, so chatting to them over supper was interesting. The fifteen year old, unlike in the UK doesn't have key exams for a couple of years, but has to make his subject choice for the Baccalaureat - either opting for general subjects or more technical. We had delicious savoury crepes and champagne for supper. We are in France after all!

Katie took time out on Friday which was an unexpected bonus, so we spent the day being tourists in her home town. We headed for the regenerated area of the Île de Nantes where a massive mechanical elephant is housed under a glass top roof which I believe was part of the former ship yard. It's quite awe inspiring, even though it's currently being serviced, you get a feel for the sheer scale of it. Apparently the mechanical elephant is 12 meters high and 8 meters wide and made from 45 tons of wood and steel, taking up to 50 people for rides! Even with parts broken off for repair, the elephant is quite life like with amazing detail such as the long eye lashes. We stopped for lunch at Stereolux, a trendy industrial style restaurant that was packed with workers from the local area. I had a cheese platter made up of various cheeses including Brie, Roquefort and a goats cheese all washed down with a glass of Kir. Katie opted for a local brewed beer and burger French-style. I'm not a pudding person but the mini-selection plate of chocolate mousse, small gateau and noisette coffee was perfect. We were so lucky with the weather, a sunny day amongst constant rain, so we were able to walk around the Island seeing some of the ultra modern buildings (including one with cladding that chimes, called L'Air). Next to this building is an art piece by Deborah Bullock called 'the zebra crossing', an actual zebra crossing that you see in many UK towns! We walked across a footbridge over the Loire and visited the Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery. A subtle, but none the less important nod to Nantes historic role in the trade. We walked down some steep concrete steps to water level where the names of all the ships are displayed on this almost underground walk. We then walked back over the River via another bridge coming full circle back to the elephant.

I love stationery and had mentioned to Katie my wish to visit a stationery store. I really like the square cards and paper that you find on the continent. Apparently the French are rather partial to lined paper as it's not the norm for them. We visited Helio which has moved locations since my last visit. It's become more focused on arts and crafts so I didn't find the various business items I was looking for. Luckily Katie knew of another store where I had success. I bought far too much (weight wise) as I have to carry it back to the UK and on my onward travels, but it inspires me and I just couldn't resist!

Our day didn't end there. Katie had arranged for us to visit Domaine Gilda's Commerais, a 'Cave' South of Nantes for a wine tasting. It was tricky to find even with SatNav but well worth it once we'd driven around virtually every street in the village in search of the property. We tasted three wines all made with the Muscadet grape, a sparkling, an oaked wine and an unoaked. I enjoyed sampling all three, but my favourite was the unoaked Muscadet Sevre et Maine sur Lie. The husband and wife owners produced some biscuits to accompany the wines. Apparently these were created by a baker to enhance the flavour. I would love to have bought a case but it's just not possible when traveling on trains!