Mont St. Michel

When we first arrived in France, we headed to the Normandy region with two main goals: visit the D-Day beaches and tour Mont St. Michel, a beautiful abbey that has served as a pilgrimage site for hundreds of years.

It's easy to see why. The shuttle bus was driving along, meandering through small towns and field areas in a relatively rural region. The scenery was much like this:

And then out of no where you see this:

In the distance, almost like a floating castle, stands Mont St. Michel, named for the Archangel Michael. It was built over a thousand years ago by a monk upon a giant rock that sits in the middle of mud flats. And when the tide (a very ferocious one that has caused countless drownings) comes in, the abbey is an island. When it goes out, the abbey sits again in the mudflats.

View from of the mud flats. School children taking a trip.

From the moment you arrive, you must climb flight after flight of stairs, leading to the abbey itself and the steeple which features a gold statue of St. Michael.

Side history lesson: The legend goes that a bishop of Avranches who served in this area was sleeping one night when the Archangel Michael came to him in a dream and told him to build an abbey right there in the flats. And the bishop woke up and said... no way. So the next night, the angel visited him again and told him to build the abbey. And the bishop woke up and again said... no. So the third night, the bishop went to sleep and this time the angel visited him, repeated his request, and pushed into his face. The next morning the bishop had a mark on his face. And so he started building the abbey.

St. Michael at the very tippy top

When you approach Mont St. Michel, it feels as if you've just been given the keys to a grand old castle. The site served monks and visitors and even held prisoners during the French revolution. It is massive. Exploring every room and nook and cranny was like floating back in time. And it was actually cold and damp that day, which is a good reminder that we really cannot imagine what life must have been like then.

Giant fireplace... can you imagine?

A quiet meditation garden... in the clouds

Pillars supporting the abbey

As you first walk into the island, there are shops and restaurants. It's just a small village really, but built around the bottom of the abbey with lots of narrow staircases that lead you up to the abbey. 

Nowadays these shops are tourist traps and  filled with all sorts of junk. However, historically, the villagers would sell omelets to visitors and pilgrims and monks. The idea is that you only had a short time before the tides came in and big omelets were fast and filling. They became a local custom and so Mont St. Michel is now also known for it's omelets.

We had an omelet lunch before heading back to our shuttle bus and it didn't disappoint. We also found a great kid history book of Mont St. Michel and picked up some t-shirts for the kids. 

When we sent pictures and texts back to Anna and Abe that evening, it was fun knowing that they were also going to get a kick out of it. They are really into castles and knights and all that jazz. We both commented on how it was a shame they couldn't have been there with us (but, yeah, it was our anniversary and we enjoyed every minute of it). 

There's so much history here and I am not doing it justice whatsoever. But it was beautiful and amazing and such an incredible experience. We felt so lucky to have walked through Mont St. Michel and would highly recommend the trip to anyone heading to the region.