About Eskapades
In charge of this website, Claudia, a history and art enthusiast who's passionate about helping everyone discover the beauty of Brittany. I moved in Quimper 8 years ago now, to study history of art, and fell in love with the town. Today, after working in Quimper, Pont-Aven and Concarneau and as a holder of the national guide card and a master's degree in architectural, artistic and cultural heritage management, I'll be delighted to share with you the secrets of our towns' stonework!
The history of Eskapades
Why does someone decide to become a freelance tour guide? Well, in my case it's simply because I like to understand the world around me, and spreading cool facts. I happily studied geology and paleontology, but to my liking there was not enough direct sharing to people outside the field, so I decided to go back to school to study something I knew nothing about, history of art. Don't worry, now I know a thing or two! Working in several museums, I appreciated the way meeting visitors of all backgrounds constantly developed my interest in new directions... It's like benefitting of everyone's curiosity, an incredible luck if you ask me. And then it's the tracking of information, spending hours in old sources to find a tiny morsel of knowledge hidden like some gem dust... What's not to enjoy here?
I also really want to experiment. Combining a tour and linocut? Yes. A tour and cyanotypes? Soon! Visiting a town by night with a candle? Lit! Weird humorous tours, wearing a disguise with a bit of roleplay, or in traditional clothes, very quick or very in-depth, with experiments around medieval dyes or food? I want to try everything, and this website will grow as I'm able to offer new concepts. Welcome to my world !
Where does my info come from?
One of the clichés about my line of work is that tour guides simply regurgitate the Wikipedia page of the town... Rest assured that none of the guides I personally know does this! How do we find info? Obviously I cannot list all my sources here, but in the name of transparency I wanted to explain my methods a little bit.
Very simply put, the first step is to visit a place and take note of its general organization, everything that stands out, that looks old, important, or beautiful. I estimate dates by sight or notice similarities with other places, which is helpful for further researches. The Historical Monument database, as well as old maps, are really helpful.
On top of peer-reviewed articles on general or historical themes (such as the Ligue wars or the organic-looking armed concrete architecture of the1910s), which I find directly on databases such as Cairn, Isidore or Google Scholar, I use classical reference materials, including but absolutely not limited to:
- The history of Quimper Corentin and its county, by Louis Le Guennec, 1984
- Quimper, by Serge Duigou and Jean-Michel Le Boulanger, 2006
- The religious heritage of Kerfeunteun, by Pierre Loaec, 1984
- Diocese of Quimper and Léon, new inventory of churches and chapels, by René Couffon and Alfred Le Bars, 1988
- The Grace of a Cathedral, Quimper, by Joseph Doré, 2013
- Concarneau, history of a town, by Louis-Pierre Le Maître, 2003
- Mademoiselle Julia (1848-1927), by Fernande Rivet-Daoudal
- Gauguin and the Pont-Aven school, by André Cariou, 2015
- The golden legend, by Jacques de Voragine, 1261-1266
I also frequently visit the Departmental Archives of Finistère, and to correlate old texts with the current topology of towns, I use the Travel back in time service of the IGN.
Suggestions?
Would you like a tour on a specific subject, or have you come up with an idea for an animation that you'd like to see happen? Contact me to talk about it! I love a good challenge.