Mont Saint Michel and Off to Paris

Today we left Caen. It was a short stay but I got to see many different places.
About 2 hours after leaving Caen we arrived at Mont Saint Michel, which is an abbey right on the border of Normandy. It was absolutely breathtaking and beautiful! As we were driving along to road I had just woke up. I looked out the window and in the distance was what looked like a castle floating on an island in the middle of a lake. It truly looked like a fairytale castle.

We drove through a little town and when we turned the corner we were on a straight and narrow road driving directly for the big, stone island. As we got closer I could see that at the bottom were large castle walls. Rising above the walls on the island’s sloping hills were small houses that seemed to be stacked one on top of the other. Perched at the top was a large, beautiful church with its’ steeple outstretched towards heaven.

The tides were low so we drove down to the muddy bus parking on the side of the road. We all walked in together and everyone couldn’t stop staring up at the monastery and through the stone castle streets.


We met with our guide and started the slow, long, slanting climb towards the top. The man street was narrow and I could feel the worn, rounded stones beneath my feet. We walked by restaurants, crepe shops and souvenir stores. Up and up we went.
The rain was sprinkling on my head but I was so busy looking at everything, especially the steeple that we were slowly approaching, that I paid no attention to my wet hair.
After what seemed like forever we finally reached the monastery doors.

The guide told us that only 25 people could live year round on the island. Twelve of the people were monks and sisters and the other thirteen were mostly shop owners. I think that it would be so strange to live on an island in an old castle with only 24 other people. During busy times the guide said that Mont Saint Michel could have up to 10,000 visitors.

In all we walked through two chapels, saw the various sections that have been used as monk housing over the centuries, what used to be a dining hall, the location of the old cemetery, and the place where the monks worked. I think that my favorite thing we saw was the room that was used for guest banquets. This room had two huge fireplaces. I have included a picture of everyone standing in the fireplace to show how big it actually was.

I think that Mont Saint Michel was so interesting because of the first impression. It was absolutely amazing to look out the bus window and see it on the horizon. At first glance it appeared to be floating on the small bay just waiting for us.

After Mont Saint Michel we got back on the bus and traveled to Paris. It took us about five hours.

I have to say that I’m not ecstatic, like the rest of the group, to go to Paris. When I traveled to Europe in 2004 I wasn’t impressed. I think that it is mostly because there are so many other places we had been on that trip that I thought were so much more beautiful that Paris.

It’s nice to see the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, but most of the other places to visit are expensive designer shops and overpriced restaurants.
Tonight I paid 20 Euros for grilled chicken that wasn’t even seasoned, fries, and ice cream. That’s about $35 American dollars!!!! So I do believe I will be making a trek to the small grocery store down the street to buy bread and meat and cheese for my lunches while we’re here. I can’t shell out 40 Euros for two meals a day tomorrow and Saturday!