We drove south from Ver sur Mer, through Caen, down through the Brittany countryside and out to the coast-about an hour and a half drive. Ever since I was a little girl reading the Babar stories, I have dreamed of one day seeing this famous French landmark. Happily, it lived up to those childhood expectations.
Mont Saint Michel dates back to 708. According to the books, St Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, had a dream in which Michael the Archangel told him to build a sanctuary here. The mount soon became a major focus of pilgrimage. In the 10th century, the Benedictines settled in the abbey while a village grew up below. The Abbey was constructed and added onto between the 11th and 16th century. Mt St Michel served as a prison before, during and after the French Revolution. In 1864 it reverted back to a monastery and the abbey and ramparts became 'listed buildings'.
After driving out on a narrow, unfloodable causeway to the island, we parked the car in a parking lot which had only recently been uncovered by an outgoing tide! The tidal range here is one of the highest in the world at 39feet! You really have to synchronize your visits here a bit with Mother Nature!
We entered the island through this large gate and wandered along the walkway on the outer wall of the village....
From up here it's a long way down...
Once we climbed up many, many steps, we were at the top of the island and the entrance to the Abbey. We took the self guided English tour which was really an amazing experience. We even got to attend a noontime church service, complete with bell ringer!
After the service, we went out into the Cloisters...
and then down into some of the lower rooms where the monks would study and eat. This one is called The Knights' Chamber or the 'calefactory'...
Here is a wonderful statue of the Archangel Michael. He is fighting the dragon from the Bible story in Revelation...
We came out of the Abbey and walked back down to the car on the other side of the island...
From M-S-M, we drove several hours south to Nantes, a large port city on the west coast of France. We stayed at the home of a very nice client of Nick's. We enjoyed meeting his wife and children, a superb dinner out in Nantes and a fabulous brunch at their home the next morning. Once on the road, we drove all the way back to Aix-9 hours!! Here ends our long distance driving for a while!
I'm just in the process of learning how to make Web Albums. If you are interested in seeing more photos from Mt-St-Michel, check out my first one!http://picasaweb.google.com/susiebates/MontStMichel
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