I guess you could say that July 3 was the “start” of our
vacation, the day we really got out to see the sights. We drove down from
Carentan to Le Mont St. Michel. The “mount” is about 120 Km SSW of Carentan,
just west of Avranches. As normal, the drive was quite scenic. St. Michel is
something you can see from quite a distance. So, up close, it is enormous. The
mount used to be accessible at low tide by walking, but at high tide, not so
much. A causeway was built in the 1800s so pilgrims could walk to it regardless
of the tide. The first thing I realized is that people, just a handful mind you,
actually live on the island. Well, it used to be island, something being
remedied currently. There is a project in the works to return it to its
original design of being “separated” from the mainland during high tide. It is
supposed to be done around 2015, so I hope to get a chance to go back and see
that.
Since the current mount was constructed over a period of 1,000
years, there is a lot of architectural variance. I found this very cool. It is
like a hodgepodge of buildings lumped together, but somehow it seemed to make
some sort of sense. Since it is a big tourist site, there are restaurants, shops,
and even hotels on the island, located at the base.
The main fort/chapel is at the peak of course, and as the
name implies, there are lots of steps, in addition to inclined roads, so the
trek can be tiring for some. As I alluded to earlier with the construction,
walking around was something out of MC Escher. There were small stairs and
alleys, nooks, and rooms galore. The overall effect though was one of grandeur
- tall, steep, massive walls, parapets and lookouts, columns and long passageways.
The view over the English Channel was also magnificent.
We spent several hours at Le Mont St. Michel, and had quite
a nice time. Around 2pm, we noticed a huge influx of Asian tourists; they were
right on time. Let me explain. We were told that the Asians often take tours,
which are of course, on specific schedules. I forget where they were in the
morning, but they showed up when expected in the afternoon. Fortunately for us,
we were on our way out. It was time for lunch, but not before I picked up my
souvenirs. I bought myself a magnet, my usual for vacation destinations, but
also a puzzle of Le Mont St. Michel. That’s going to be a fun one!
I believe I mentioned previously that the Europeans have a
different take on when restaurants and shops are open. Unlike the 24hr.
mentality of the U.S., Europeans close early and often. That is with the
partial exception of touristy areas. At this point we were trying to eat after
the “normally” prescribed time for lunch, but we found one eatery just on the
mainland that was open. I had a goat cheese salad. The goat cheese was warm and
actually laid out on toasted bread, which was laid out on top of the greens. It
was quite good. If you didn’t know, goat cheese is pretty strong and not to
everyone’s liking, especially my Mom. She loves cheese, but not a fan of this
type. More for me!
After lunch we headed to Villiedeau-les-Poeles, which was
actually on the main road back. Nancy, our B&B hostess, told us about a
copper “factory” located there that had tours. We were late for a tour, but
scheduled a time to return on the 5th, and instead roamed the
immediate area for a while. As with all the towns we ended up visiting during
our travels, this one was quaint. There will be more about this later, but for
now, check out the picture of the pizza dispenser in the next post of pictures. This has to be one of the
craziest things I have ever seen. You actually order the pizza through the
touch-screen and delivered in the slot. At least there isn’t a delivery charge!
We mentioned it to the lady we talked to at the copper factory and she
basically said “tsk, tsk,” do not try it. We were tempted to do it just to see
it work, but we exercised caution.
After a short time, we got back in the car and headed back
to Carentan. We just lounged around the B&B, likely playing Farkel.
Well, until next time…
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