Our fourth day featured another day trip! This time is was off to Nantes to do some shopping at Hermes. I know! So chi-chi. It’s not a brand I knew a lot about but once I started reading about it, I felt like it was everywhere. Of course, the social media algo is part of it but even in my day-to-day, there are a lot of stylish ladies I know who shop the brand.
The trip came about through a family friend, who is friends with an American woman who was lived in France for the last 10 years. She is a Hermès VIP. It was interesting to hear about her quota bag collection and what is currently on her super wish list (Birkin 40 black crocodile, which sounds so luxe and elegant).
Anyway, she shared her shopping experience with us and it was pretty amazing. The leathers and silk are such exceptional quality- the feel and color in particular. The Sales Associate was really nice. At the end, we smelled several perfumes that were really nice. The herbal 24, which I’d like to try agin; the basillic; and the rose.
The Hermes store in Nantes is in a beautiful historic building, Paysage Pommeraye. The high arched greenhouse like ceilings are centered over a wrought-iron staircase with wooden planks for the steps.
We spent a bit of time in the store, followed by a walk-through in the local pharmacy. In contrast to this day of luxury, it was a day of student protests throughout France, including Nantes. We had seen a small group by the train station and walked towards the center of town, paralleling their group. It seemed small, but then they joined a much bigger group. We took a different street because of the crowds. Even though I didn’t feel unsafe, I didn’t love not knowing what people were saying in a tense situation.
Anyway, back to the pharmacy. During that time, some protestors had come through. There was pepper spray in the air- enough to feel it in the throat but not enough to cause coughing or tearing.
We went to a cafe for a quick pick-up followed by walking back to the train station since the trams were still closed.
It was a long day and, although interesting and fun, sapped most of my shopping energy for the rest of the trip. But it was something different for me and I enjoyed it (uh-oh).
Kubri
That night, we went to Kubri, a highly-rated contemporary Lebanese restaurant. I found it through a Substack screengrab and I’m glad I came across it. We shared several dishes. The highlights (tie) were a cauliflower fattoush and grilled Hisbi cabbage dish. The textures and tastes were varied and perfectly combined. The other two dishes weren’t as tasty to me (Halloumi kataif and Kubri Hummus), but still very skilled in preparation so really, no losers! For dessert, we got a kulfi shortbread crust cake that was a bit more savory than we expected, but could be sweetened by accompanying simple syrup. We couldn’t finish it because it was quite heavy, but definitely unique and a worthwhile order.
Then, it was back to the hotel via walking and another late night!