After Munich, Joseph and I split up. While Joseph went around Eastern Europe, I caught a train west to Nantes, France to meet up with my friend Lola.
After an entire day of nervous travel -- I was traveling alone and had no way to communicate with Lola -- I arrived in Nantes and was relieved to be... 1) greeted by Lola at the train station 2) able to drop my bags and lay in a bed that wasn't in hostel for once.
With what felt like a normal night's rest again, I went out the next day to explore Nantes.
I found some chill spots with awesome views. Apparently, these guys thought the views were cool, too.
Lola had told me about Les Machines de l'île (Machines of the Isle of Nantes), but I wasn't quite ready for it when I turned the corner of some random building and there was a hulking elephant machine walking towards me.
Towards the end of my time in Nantes, I visited Château des ducs de Bretagne. Wandering around the castle walls with other tourists, I found some quiet corners.
I also got the chance to meet some of Lola's friends. While I don't speak French and didn't understand anything at dinner, I left France with an unexpected desire to learn at least a little bit of the language.
Huge thanks to Lola and friends to hosting me! Nantes was beautiful -- can't wait to see you guys again!