Just last weekend, we took a school organized trip throughout Brittany and we visited Finistère and Morbihan, which are departments adjacent Ille-et-Vilaine. Coming off of our first full week of school, my enthusiasm was nearly nonexistent and my expectations low. You can't really expect too much excitement from school trips, but school trips in France definitely have an edge on the others. While a lot of it was historic and educational, there was still a good chunk of which interested me. After a few stops spent analyzing some gothic cathedrals, we stopped at the Château de Kerguéhennec, which you can see in the fifth picture. It was so grand and elaborate- we all could't help but joke that it was our summer house, haha. There was also a surrounding park with sculptures and a mini lake which added to the wanderlust. Eventually, we were back on the road again en route to Douarnenez, which is a town outfitted with boats and fishing galore. We took a stroll around the area and surveyed the different boats, then resorted to some comfy chairs in the museum lobby. Our next day, Saturday, was spent mostly in the town of Quimper. After a quick walk around and inside the under construction Gothic Cathedral of Quimper, we had a guided tour around the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper, where we learned about different artistic techniques and intentions for painting. One of my favorite parts of the trip was probably the free time we were given in Quimper. I would describe it as a quainter and cuter version of Rennes. For lunch, my friends and I found a cafe at the center of the town, which was buzzing with people. We originally went to this cafe to avoid an extremely loud traveling musical group, but then they found there way to us, trumpets and all. I indulged in a galette with egg, cheese, and chorizo, and then we all split a wonderful lava cake brownie. Some of our teachers recommended Les Macarons de Philomene, which had some of the best macaroons I've ever eaten. Plus, the dark chocolate coco one was painted with a galaxy like overlay, which was a firm selling point for me. The day was finished with a visit to the Pointe Du Raz, which is the closest spot in France to the USA. When our teachers informed us of that, I was a little bummed to be "so close to home", but at the same time it was a really coolidea to think about. After just a few steps on the vast area, my friends and I had decided that this incredibly picturesque place was straight out of a Patagonia ad or even the movie National Treasure. We could hear the violently crashing waves without difficulty as we all descended down the rocky mountain. Many students were more brave than others and climbed different mini rock mountains, while my friends Marisa, Carolyn, Olivia, Heather, and I stayed on flat terrain and had a photo shoot. On our long return home, we made a stop at the museum of Jean Dubuffet, which was filled with over 200 of his works of art. It was a bit of an eerie museum, but I did quite enjoy his 3D sculptures from his Coucou Bazaar collection. As with all of our bus rides to each stop, we all then gave into sleep and woke up finally back in good ole' Rennes.
P.S. We had an assignment to shoot different symbols of Bretagne, which includes the triskell (featured on the shoe basket) and the unofficial flag of Brittany. We learned about the symbols and flags in great detail as well, so it was interesting to see the images come to life.
Hope you enjoyed this post! Things have been a little crazy here and it feels like school picked up the pace in a matter of a day, leaving everyone a little scattered/distressed. I've just been trying to get things figured out, especially the fact that I'm almost 1/9th done with my school year abroad. Insanity! Next weekend, we will be crossing the Mont Saint-Michel with our host siblings, and I honestly thought it was much further away- I guess the month just went quickly. Time is definitely flying by and I just hope I am not regretful of not using this year to the fullest. Just some Saturday afternoon thoughts. Have a wonderful day! xoxo
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