Équipe Brest 2017: Week 4

Friday morning it was up fairly early for our final excursion before we leave Brest. We visited the Medieval village of Locronon. There is a patisserie/boulangerie that makes the amazing Breton delight, the kouig amann (which is not pronounced much like it is spelled). This amazing pastry is made from 500 grams of dough, 250 grams of butter and 250 grams of sugar. When warm, the butter literally drips from the pastry.

We received a demonstration of how it is made. We divided into two groups because their industrial kitchen is packed with equipment. The chef asked for volunteers to help. Ash helped from the first group and Mari from the second. It was pretty cool to watch them pound down 250 grams of butter into a pad. The chef blew us away with his demonstration, then we got to eat kouign amann! I didn’t take any pictures of them eating, because I got one too!

Here's a video of the process: https://youtu.be/eL023bDOQwQ

After Locronon, it was on to Quimper. Quimper is a smaller city then Brest that was untouched by WWII bombing, so its building are really old. It is built over a series of small rivers and creeks. It’s very quaint with flower boxes at many windows. There’s an impressive cathedral as well as a couple of interesting museums.

After our picnic lunch and a visit to the cathedral, the students spent a few hours exploring the city. There was shopping and museum visits and a few ice creams. It was a beautiful warm, sunny day. I think everyone just enjoyed a fun afternoon in a cool place.

Saturday was busy with optional activities. In the morning, I did senior portraits with Alec, Hadley, Carly, Nick, Ash, Lauren, Lexi and Sydney. I think it is safe to say, none of their peers are going to have similar senior portraits. It was really fun. The kids really got an opportunity to let their personalities shine in these images.

In the afternoon, many of us went to Océanapolis, the combination aquarium/biome here in Brest. I started in the opposite direction than most of the students, thinking I would encounter them in passing. But somehow, I missed most of them. It’s a big place. Thanks to Évie who followed the students. Most of the Océanapolis photos are hers.

So, it’s been a short weekend for many of us, with our most intense week ahead because of the family spectacle. The students really want to show their families the culmination of their efforts. At the same time, they have submitted (for the most part) entries for the program magazine, a display of their written and visual work during the program. It all comes together Thursday night!