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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2015 11:00:26 GMT
Quimper is at the western tip of Brittany in the département of Finistère (Land's End) in an area known as Cornouaille (Cornwall), which just goes to show that this part of France and the other side of the English Channel are cultural mirror images of each other. Of course, then there is the language thing. When I first moved to France, the Breton language was almost invisible. But then the Breton Liberation Front arrived on the scene starting in 1966, more or less inspired by the IRA and also ideologically connected to the ETA in the Basque region. Like many such movements, it split into two rival factions, the Armée républicaine bretonne and the Armée révolutionnaire bretonne, which then proceeded to try to outdo each other, so quite a few things got blown up, including part of the château of Versailles in 1978. Quite a few people went to prison, and things have calmed down over the years, but one thing that persisted for a long time were groups blacking out the road signs of the region because they were in French. People like me would arrive at an intersection and try to figure out the proper direction by how long the trace of black paint was to figure out which way was Brest and which way was Concarneau. Frankly, it was not too difficult to find a way to satisfy everyone, although all of the signs had to be replaced over the years. So, here we are in Quimper (Kemper) which seemed to me to be the world capital of hydrangeas. They were absolutely everywhere. Three rivers run through the city and meet before they reach the ocean. Quimper is actually 15km from the coast. This is the Odet. The bridges were impressively decorated.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2015 12:02:31 GMT
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Post by mickthecactus on Sept 9, 2015 12:14:47 GMT
It looks a really lovely place. Excellent report K2.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2015 12:21:40 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2015 12:28:27 GMT
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Post by mickthecactus on Sept 9, 2015 12:34:34 GMT
How do you pronounce Quimper? Camper?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2015 13:08:30 GMT
Camp-Air
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Post by nycgirl on Sept 9, 2015 13:47:19 GMT
Interesting bit of history. I didn't know the Bretons had their own unique language.
The Odet and its plant-bedecked bridges are incredibly lovely. The town is very quaint, right down to its vintage-looking carousel. I like the little peasant caryatids and telemones that you spotted, as well as the beautiful stained glass cathedral windows.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2015 14:12:22 GMT
The moment I saw the hideous covered market, I immediately thought "the old place must have burned down in the 1970's to be replaced by something so awful." I finally found the plaque which informed me that the original building was constructed in 1847 but it burned down in 1976. This building was built in 1979. On the bright side, a complete renovation is planned for 2019.
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Post by mickthecactus on Sept 9, 2015 14:36:06 GMT
Must a good place to be a gardener. The colour of those banana plants is wonderful.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2015 14:44:48 GMT
The plaque was on the house of René Madec, one of the most famous people of Quimper. He was born in Quimper in 1736 and left as a sailor at age 9 for the first time, working on a wine ship based in Bordeaux for four months. And then he left at age 11 on a slave ship to Senegal. On the way back, the ship stopped in Brazil for two months. But he was obsessed with India and wanted to go there as soon as possible. At age 14 he was off to Pondicherry but wanted to change from merchant vessels to military ships. At age 22, he was a sergeant and attacked the British at Madras, but the siege of Madras failed after lasting for 45 days. For the next several years, he was a soldier of fortune but finally was captured by the British and made prisoner. He didn't like being in prison, so he joined the British army and was stationed in Calcutta for a year, where he learned all of the local languages. But after all sorts of rebellions and mutinies, he joined the army of the Nabab of Bengal and after some dealings with the Grand Mogul and a vizir or two, he was at the head of his own private army of 1500 at age 28. He became immensely rich and had his own palaces in India. After serving the Mogul Emperor, he was named Nabab, just under the Grand Vizir, with command over 6000 soldiers. Believe it or not, he also had time to get married and have children. Anyway, he finally had a reverse of fortune and returned to Quimper in 1779 (age 43). He lived in the manor where this plaque is located, and the street bears his name. He fell off his horse in 1784 and died. Oops.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 9, 2015 15:33:30 GMT
Wonderful report, Kerouac -- looks like a great destination. (Well, except there are people wearing jackets.) The perceived cold doesn't seem to faze all the wonderful plantings around there.
I see you gave short shrift to the one single thing that I know about Quimper, unless that's coming up later & you hauled tons of the stuff home.
It's an extremely pretty place and the beautifully preserved different architectural styles are interesting and attractive. I see what you mean about the cathedral, which is so elaborately beautiful outside that you'd think it would be a riot of religious accumulation within. In the picture of that corner you said you could not figure out --it looks as though someone long ago decided to incorporate some nice bits of looted masonry into his house. Possibly they were in better condition when put there. Speaking of building, the market looks as though it's meant to mimic a medieval thatched structure. Probably looked good on the drawing board. What's the deal on the Union Jacks(?) hanging over the street?
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Post by htmb on Sept 9, 2015 15:47:37 GMT
I visited Quimper in 2009, on the way to and from Pont-Aven, so many of the scenes in your photos, this far, have been familiar. I remember going in the cathedral but, as you say, there really was not much of interest on the inside. I believe Quimper is just about the only place I've ridden one of those little tourist trains. Since we were short on time, it seemed the fastest way to at least see some of the city rather than just the immediate area in the pedestrian zone. Purchasing souvenir items on trips is something I rarely ever do, but I still have a small piece of pottery purchased from a store near that featured in your photo of the large plates.
Though I'm sure much had to do with the circumstances of my trip, and despite its interesting history, I found Quimper to be exceptionally boring. It's one of those cities to which I've never cared to return, though I've always wanted to go back to nearby Pont-Aven for the isolated wildness of the place. I'm hoping, with your knack for ferreting out places of interest and your ability to tell a fine story, you will prove me wrong, Kerouac.
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Post by fumobici on Sept 9, 2015 19:23:08 GMT
Nice little report thus far, looks like it has some interesting architecture in the old town. I'd happily spend a long afternoon there given the chance.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 5:08:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 5:35:08 GMT
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Post by htmb on Sept 10, 2015 6:02:11 GMT
I'm surprised at the number of banana plants, but I do think they make lovely ornamentals. Beautiful hydrangeas in various colors are the flowers I remember most.
That last seagull looks just like he was posing for you. Nice capture.
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Post by bjd on Sept 10, 2015 6:46:08 GMT
It looks like a pleasant place to spend a few hours. Another of the many areas of France where I have never been! I like the flower plantations that add colour to the otherwise pale gray backgrounds.
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Post by mickthecactus on Sept 10, 2015 7:47:17 GMT
Great report, great pictures, lovely gardens. Thanks!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 11:57:24 GMT
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Post by htmb on Sept 10, 2015 14:10:44 GMT
Your picture of the empty plaza area really allows for a nice view of the local architecture.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 10, 2015 17:03:45 GMT
Just beautiful! The inspired photographs are a true delight. I love that first shot of the cathedral in #14 and the one of it further down the post taken from the banks of the river. You did a wonderful job of capturing all the landscaping and whoever is responsible for it is a wizard at color combinations. The full sunlight photos in #19 are gorgeous. I really like all the shots of the medieval figures on buildings and column capitals. That shot of the deserted square, were it sans the big parasols, would be a perfect movie set. The pottery shots are interesting in that I only associate Quimper with those (to me quite boring) plates with humans or roosters in profile. But the plain objects meant for household use seem extremely nice. As for the snail fountain, etc. -- like Lladró, it's amazing to think that so much skill and effort is expended on something so totally kitschy.
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Post by mossie on Sept 10, 2015 18:37:11 GMT
Interesting in that the old name is similar to our Cornwall, called by the locals Kernow. There also was a Cornish language allied to Breton, which died out about 100 years ago but has recently been revived and is recognised as a regional language.
The Union Jacks strung across the street puzzle me, especially in this time when we are not flavour of the month in the EU. I also note that the Irish Pub gets everywhere.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 19:44:55 GMT
Apparently all of the Celtic languages have plenty of similarities which enable them to sort of understand each other when they come together for cultural events. In Lorient, which is near Quimper and where I almost went instead, there is a huge " Festival Interceltique" every year in August. This year was in honour of British Cornwall and the Isle of Man. Next year's festival will showcase Australia. www.festival-interceltique.bzh/
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 19:53:11 GMT
Anyway, the next morning I had a rental car and a destination to visit, but that will be the subject of a separate report. Neverthless, I saw a few other things, including the town of Audierne ( Gwaien), which is a fishing port. I would have liked to see a bit more of it, but I am always in a hurry. A few years ago I saw a film called Cornouaille that was filmed in Audierne, and it was enough to make one want to go there.
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Post by htmb on Sept 10, 2015 20:45:30 GMT
Super pictures of Audierne. I really like how these coastal/river towns in south western Brittany are built on slopes, with layers and layers of buildings reaching from the shore up to the top of the hillside.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 21:06:52 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2015 11:56:17 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2015 12:21:21 GMT
Verdict: I have still not fallen in love with Brittany, but I will continue to try from time to time.
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Post by tod2 on Sept 11, 2015 14:33:13 GMT
Absolutely fabulous Kerouac! So many comments which encompass my sentiments entirely. Beautiful photography and I think Quimper is wonderful.
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