le 26 juillet: Mt. Saint Michel

Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast. It wasn't as extravagant as the breakfast at the other place but it was still good. We went out and walked around a little market that was right in front of our hotel. It was really cute. I bought some three euro shoes to match my blue and white skirt.

We boarded the bus and headed to Mount Saint Michel. There is a legend that Saint Michel appeared to someone (lol I love how thourough my history is) and told them to build a chapel on this island. It is an island when the tide comes in but when the tide goes out, it is just a hill. So the hill had to be reinforced with granite and it was constructed like a pyramid with a flat top where the chapel was built.

We got there at high tide so the water was right up to the road and the edge of the mount. We walked up a narrow windy street to the top of the mount and took a tour of the chapel. It was probably my favorite so far. We walked into the center of the nave while they were holding mass and it was gorgeous. The monks were singing and the light was shining through the back windows. It felt very heavenly. I would have liked to just sit there and take it all in for a while but we had like a scheduled tour so I had to go run and catch up with the rest of the group. There was a stunning little courtyard with an amazing view and a great dining hall. In the hall, the windows were in deep recesses so you couldn't see the windows standing in the middle but as you walk down the hall, you can start seeing the windows and the light coming through. It symbolized progression and learning which was kind of cool. The top level of the chapel was reserved for monks because it was highest and therefore closest to God and the lower levels were for recieving kings and other royalty. It is all just white stone now but in the past, it would have been elaborate and brightly painted or covered with tapestries.

The chapel was used as a prison during the revolution and The Scarlet Pimpernel (version from like the 40s or 50s) was filmed there.

After our tour, we wandered back down the streets which are lined with souvenir shops and restaurants. We got a quick lunch and then shopped on our way down. When we made it back to the entrance, the tide was gone and our bus was parked in a lot that didn't exist in the morning. The tide is pretty crazy. It comes in at a metre a second, which makes it very dangerous to walk to the mount.

Before we headed back to Paris, we made a quick stop at a cookie factory. The Normandy region is famous for its milk/cream, butter, salt, apples, and meat. The lamb meat there is already salted because the grass the lambs eat is salty from the water. So I bought some butter cookies and some apple cookies and jam.

And now, picture time:

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