We’ve safely arrived at our charming guest house accommodations in Le Conquet and are settling into our rhythm. The family serves dishes based on familial recipes with locally sourced ingredients. When they aren’t making Top Chef-quality dishes, they are tending to the farm. The beach is so close that the family’s hound, Clarion, sometimes spends her evenings there if we don’t bring her back with us.

A quick bike ride from L’auberge brought us to a fantastic view of the Atlantic from the top of the largest blockhaus in Brittany. This same blockhaus is now the Musee des memoirs run by two brothers who’ve spent decades collecting memorabilia and testimonies of people living in occupied Brest during the Second World War. Le Musee boasts an impressive room of speakers, coordinated lights, and recordings that simulate the experience of a bomb shelter during the air raids.  

The internships in Le Conquet have been going well. A shop owner selling fashionable clothing has made sure to tell all her clientele that they even “have a visitor from New York, which is, by the way, quite known for its culture of high fashion.” Others have been working with the local celebrity farmer, who appeared on a French dating television show aimed at pairing French farmers. But when the cameras aren’t rolling, the cows must be milked, and the cheeses must be made. We’ve even been accompanying residents of the local retirement home through the farmers’ market to help get their groceries.

However, it’s not just a work, work, work life chez Putney. Yesterday we cruised around the local archipelago to see dolphins and seals in the famous French Zodiac boats. We also saw the westernmost lighthouse in all of Europe, which also shines on the first lighthouse built in Brittany dating back to 1283.  

A bientot!

— Jessamine & Michael