Brittany Tourism: Quimper, Concarneau, and Crepes

Onwards, then!

Somehow John’s parents have this beautiful web of people that they know throughout France. Enter: Hubert and Agnes (pronounced Hu-bear & Ahn-yes—way prettier, huh?), who unsurprisingly enjoyed David & Sukie (John’s parents) enough to trust that their son, whom they hadn’t seen since he was one-year-old, would be enjoyable, too.

Agnes, who may or may not be a private eye in her spare time

The Quimper hydrangea. I can has?

They were taking more of a risk on me.

So, after a 25 year hiatus from the Amorys, the Guillets very graciously allowed us stay with them in Quimper, France—not weeding, not planting, and not fence-building—for four days! It was relaxing. It was soothing. It was très, très, bien.

Quimper is a small town in Brittany (northwest France) that you should probably visit. Especially if you like shopping. I was impressed by all the upscale stores that they had fit into the narrow, ancient, cobblestoned streets, so I showed my appreciation by purchasing and eating an artisan ice cream bar.

If I were this lady, I probably would have used that spatula to slap the camera out of the crazy tourist's hands

John’s shopping consisted of buying his very first Brittany-style crepe. This is a big deal, because crepes originated in Brittany. Maybe they wanted a food to resemble the umbrellas that seemingly always have to be used. The crepes here are huge and thin, and you will probably want to be rolled right up inside one as you watch it being made. John went for savory-style with ham, cheese, egg, and onion confit. It was lovely, but it was no nutella.

We took a day trip to the Guillet’s beach home in Concarneau, and I’d be doing it a disservice to call it just beautiful. I don’t want to make you all too envious by describing it. So let’s just look at some pictures.

Doing crazy things with Hubert like climbing
atop old war ramparts

Braving the brisk ocean water in the Guillet's backyard

Concarneau is built around a fortified walled city, the Ville Close, constructed sometime around the 15th century. Now a tourist hotspot, this inner-city of unbelievably rich history is now also known for its unbelievably rich ice cream shops.
The two leftmost pictures are from just outside the walled city, and the two on the right are from within.

The Savings: John and I used Covoiturage, a carpooling website, to get from Bordeaux to Quimper, a 4-hour journey than cost us only $30 each (we could have hitchhiked, but prefer not to on long treks). We packed plenty of food for the journey to avoid gas station prices (and flavors). For more suggestions on cheap France travel, click here.

Tonight, John and I take over the Guillet's kitchen!