Mont-Saint-Michel

The tidal island of Mont-Saint-Michel has 41 inhabitants, but hosts three million visitors a year. With it's history, beauty and natural wonder, it tops the list of many visitors to this area. It sits off the coast of Normandy, just a few hundred yards. When the moon is positioned just right, the tide rushes in at impressive speeds, leaving just a narrow man-made causeway to access the island. When the tide is out, it is way out, creating dramatic scenery. The island has been occupied since ancient times, but in 708, according to legend, the archangel Michael appeared to St. Aubert, a local bishop, and instructed him to build a church on the island. He ignored the instruction so the angel burned a hole in his skull with his finger. Apparently that got his attention, because now one of the most impressive abbeys sits atop the island. 

I read in the guide books that the best time to visit the island is at night because the bus loads of tourists have left and anyone remaining will have the island to themselves. This worked for us, since we had driven from Paris with stops at Versailles and Giverny. We arrived when the light was perfect, we had just enough time to explore the island and we had a stunning view of the church lit up as we drove away. When we arrived on the island, we did indeed have the place to ourselves. We asked a couple who was leaving how to get to the abbey. They explained that there is no right way. It is a maze of stairs and alleyways and requires a bit of trial and error. Just head up, they said. There is not one way to get there. We set of on a small adventure. We wandered through a church and it's adjoining cemetery. Just as we decided that we had found a dead end, we spotted a tiny opening with an iron gate and a few stairs. 

We tried some alleyways and had to turn back, but finally reached the doors of the church. 

Of course it was closed; we knew that it would be, but we felt successful anyway. Wandering down was just as much fun. We stopped for views of the vast ocean below, in awe of the how far out the tide runs at this spot along the French coast.

We stopped for crepes in a tiny restaurant on the island. We ran into an American family and soon made the connection that they were from Massachusetts and used to live in Sudbury, only a few blocks from our house! One of the highlights of our trip for me has been meeting locals and other tourists. We left for our hotel, making sure that we turned around on our way across the causeway to see the island lit. 

I arranged for a place close by so that we could also visit Mont-Saint-Michel in the morning, when it was open. We toured the building and found the inside to be just as stunning as the outside. 

We learned that at one point the abbey served as a prison. There was a huge wheel that brought supplies up the sheer walls of the building. It was amazing to think of piles of food being hoiseted up. Emilie convinced her siblings that the prisoners climbed into the wheel, much like a gerbal, running until the pallets of goods arrived. They believed her! 

Mont-Saint-Michel has been a pilgrimage site for hundreds of years. Still, groups walk across the sand to reach the island. We saw several small groups, with their pants rolled to their knees and thick mud covering their feet, crossing to the island when we were there. I found a poster  with a photograph of a very large pilgrimage taking place. I took a photo of it and then showed it to the kids on my camera. "Did you see these guys? How could you have missed them? They are heading here now." The kids believed this too! I wish that we really could have witnessed a true mass pilgrimage to this religious site. 

It was time to move on, but we felt like we had seen Mont-Saint-Michel just right.