We were picked up outside our Hotel at 6:30am by the "Paris Vision" travel company and taken to the depot on Rue Villiers (St Joan of Arc's statue) to begin our journey to Mont St Michel. The coach was almost full - very comfortable. We had two guides and two drivers - a sign of a full day. The commentary was delightful - our guide spoke English and Italian (on the bus); we later learned he had another 3 languages up his sleeve and the other guide Japanese.
The explanation of the history of Normandy from the 10th Century to World War II took a fair chunk of the time on our journey (repeated in 3 languages). We learned a lot and it was good also to have a French perspective on history, especially the Battle of Hastings.
We caught sight eventually of the Mont some miles away - it is mysterious and amazing. We had to cool our walking shoes as the bus load enjoyed a very pleasant lunch (part of the tour) in a restaurant with a panoramic view of the mountain/island.
The guide provided us with audio headsets and so proceeded to take us on a wonderful exploration of buildings - predominantly a medieval Benedictine monastery - built to house monks and nuns and a vast array of their activities - chapels, the main church, but also halls, refectory, scriptorium, hospital and guest accommodation, a courtyard with cloister, pulley room for hauling heavy loads up the steep precipice.
Like other incredible monastic sites (Meteora and Montserrat to name a couple) you wonder at the energy and the expertise involved in creating these buildings.
Mont St Michel has no great claims - theologically or spiritually. It does not seem to have given rise to any great church figures - yet it is incredibly appealing. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands of tourists on the mount and it's probably like that every day. Naturally, the souvenir and gift shops do a roaring trade as you snake your way back down the hill to catch the shuttle on time. Then begins the long trip back to Paris - we were back at Hotel Maubeuge by 10pm; a quick hot chocolate and off to bed - what a wonderful day!
The explanation of the history of Normandy from the 10th Century to World War II took a fair chunk of the time on our journey (repeated in 3 languages). We learned a lot and it was good also to have a French perspective on history, especially the Battle of Hastings.
We caught sight eventually of the Mont some miles away - it is mysterious and amazing. We had to cool our walking shoes as the bus load enjoyed a very pleasant lunch (part of the tour) in a restaurant with a panoramic view of the mountain/island.
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| Magical Mont Saint Michel |
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| Cloister at Mont Saint Michel |
Mont St Michel has no great claims - theologically or spiritually. It does not seem to have given rise to any great church figures - yet it is incredibly appealing. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands of tourists on the mount and it's probably like that every day. Naturally, the souvenir and gift shops do a roaring trade as you snake your way back down the hill to catch the shuttle on time. Then begins the long trip back to Paris - we were back at Hotel Maubeuge by 10pm; a quick hot chocolate and off to bed - what a wonderful day!
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