Le Mont St. Michel

The last week of February I sat in the back garden in the sun with Noreen.  That pleasant week made the cold wind and rain that descended on the first of March that much more of a shock to the system.  The day we planned to visit Mont St. Michel there wasn't much rain, but the wind was fierce.  Have you ever ridden a bike in the wind?  It's a lot like running I suppose:  when it's at your back you feel like you could fly, but when you're pushing into it, it is hard-going.  

There was a fair amount of singing, "When you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything!" as we rode in a group down this path to the mont you can just see in the distance.

Seeing Mont St. Michel from a distance makes you feel like you've entered into the enchanted world of fairy tales.  It's so other-worldly.  

The stone streets at the bottom are filled with restaurants and shops to purchase memorabilia as well as swords and shields and books about the history of the abbey at the top of the mount.  Once you enter through the gate you keep climbing slowly up and up, gaining an ever-more-impressive view of the sand and water below you.

There are dangerous sections of sinking sand amidst these coastal flats.  

The smell of salt water is strong in the air, and if you want to visit the abbey be prepared to climb a lot of steps.

The church is really beautiful.

K.J. and I most enjoyed the cloister this time.  Maybe it's the bright patch of green in the middle that seems to be begging for a tree.

I loved all the white stones used in the path, and the colors of the sea reflected in the window glass.  There are many huge rooms to walk through, and it's always tempting to go stand in one of the enormous open fireplaces.

The size and scope of this room seemed the perfect place for a skirmish between the fellowship and orcs.

Outside the abbey, the Japanese cherry blossoms were just beginning to appear all pink and white on the trees.

I recently read a book published in 1942 that partly takes place at Mont Saint Michel.  When I read the author's description I thought, Yes!  That is exactly what it feels like.

Franco Fridays: Mont-Saint Michel, part 2

We walked inside the Abbey through these tall doors, and it immediately felt colder inside the stone walls.

There were beautiful windows and doors and massive stone columns.

I was working on pictures last night, and when I got to this door I couldn't help but think of these words:

The arched ceilings are beautiful, as is this door.

We made our way to the cloister.

 

This former dining room of the monks, located right beside the cloister, is incredibly lovely.  The light on these beautiful wooden tables are my favorite pictures from Mont-Saint Michel.  I think part of the reason I found it so lovely was all the natural light pouring through the windows.  Most other rooms are enclosed with very little light.

We were listening to a history of each room as we walked, and it made me feel sad when I heard the monks were required to eat here together in silence.  I couldn't help but think of Jesus and all the meals He shared with the disciples and the way the Bible talks about the marriage supper of the Lamb, all of the happiness and rejoicing.  

We make life so much harder on ourselves with our rules that we think will somehow make us more acceptable to God than we already are in Jesus.

As I have mentioned before, I am NOT a historian, so for the most accurate and detailed explanations you'll have to do your own research.  But as I understand it, the story as to why a church was originally built on this site is that the archangel Michael appeared to a bishop instructing him to build here, and when his instructions were ignored, he burned a hole in the bishop's skull to make him comply.  Nice story.

We made it out into the light again, where we bought the kids souvenirs.  James got a sword and shield, and Ella got one of her favorite sticker books in French.

 Farewell, medieval city.

As we walked back to our car I just kept taking pictures from different angles because, you know...that's what I do.

And of course the sheep had to be photographed.

We left Mont-Saint Michel in search of petrol where we then made our way to the most peaceful place I've ever been in my life. 

Franco Fridays: Mont-Saint Michel, part one

Ah, Mont-Saint Michel, I was very excited to visit you.

As Anne Shirley would say, this place had a lot of "scope for the imagination."  It made it easy for your imagination to step back in time.  We stayed at a little hotel and restaurant just down the road from Mont-Saint Michel; it was a perfect location, and the food we ate at the restaurant that night...words fail me, but it was definitely one of the best meals we ever had.  It also ranks up there as one of the most expensive, but I think it was worth it.

I really couldn't praise this place enough; we made it there with only about 30 minutes to spare before the restaurant closed.  We were so hungry and determined to resist the temptation to go through another one of these:

KJ is a pretty extensive world traveler, and he explained to me that his love for McDonald's grew from how much he appreciated it and its familiarity when he was in a place where no food was "normal."  Now, food in France is delicious, but when you're on the road with a driving schedule to keep it really is hard to resist the "easy" thing of pulling in at those golden arches, where the food is the same, and there is always free WI-FI.  The free WI-FI is the best.  But I was determined to eat a good meal this night, so we pulled in hungry, and thankfully the head waiter was very kind, and he gave the absolute best service I've ever experienced in a restaurant.

I could still gush about that soup with cream, duckling, mashed cauliflower, and apple crumble with salted caramel ice cream, but I'll get on with it.

Still feeling a bit full from the previous night's dinner, we chose to walk as far as we could before taking the required bus to the front gates.

Rain showers can spring up quickly in Normandy, and it started raining as we were walking in the gates of Mont-Saint Michel.  I find that I'm really self-conscious when traveling in Europe, afraid to be seen as an uncouth American.  One of our favorite things about walking through Mont-Saint Michel was observing the tourists from Japan and other Asian countries, who were completely unafraid of standing out as tourists.  They were totally enjoying themselves and having a great time.  As we were making our way inside, the wind turned my flimsy travel umbrella inside-out, and a lady with a group of Asian tourists just pointed at me and laughed with great gusto.  I just laughed with her because she was enjoying my predicament so much.

The lower levels are crowded with shops and restaurants.  It reminded KJ of Diagon Alley.

Mont-Saint Michel has a very long and interesting history that I would not even try to write about here, because I'm sure I would get it all wrong.  We made our way to the top where we could look at the view from the top and visit the Abbey.

They were building a new causeway while we were there.  You can see all of the wet sand; Mont-Saint Michel is completely surrounded by water once a month.

I love traveling with him.  I couldn't be more surprised at the opportunities we've had to make memories together over the past couple of years.

I'm sure I could fill up another print of door pictures from France.

I climbed more stairs during the two weeks I spent in France than I've climbed the rest of my life put together, I feel pretty sure.

These pictures were taken at the entrance to the Abbey, which is where I'll need to stop for today.