Mont St Michel

The day arrived, I was going to see my place. We drove through some lovely countryside, had coffee in a small hotel on the estuary and admired the stone houses. 

I was quite emotional when I first saw Mont St Michel, gobsmacked actually. It was everything, more than everything, I had expected. Just a shame we had to share it with so many other people!

The camera was out, the sore arm forgotten and off we went exploring. How to describe......well, I'm still a bit speechless so I'll refer to Wikipedia for some facts.

The first monastery was built on Mont Saint Michel in the eight century after the archangel Michael appeared to the bishop and instructed him to build a church on the rocky outcrop. It is featured in the Bayeux Tapestry which commemorates the Norman conquests of 1066. Mont St Michel reflects different architectural styles as it was fortified and added to over the centuries and is classified as a Gothic style church. It was used as a prison to house political prisoners during the French Revolution and was restored by influential people such as Victor Hugo in the late 1800s. It was declared an historic monument in 1874 and a UNECO World Heritage site in 1979. 

The tide is fierce and we watched it sweep in rapidly across the salt flats. So real in my dream and in real life, the tide measures about 14 metres between the high and low tide marks. The causeway makes traveling to the Mont safe at any tide but many choose to cross the salt flats on foot. Quicksand and the fast tides still cause drownings today.

All that notwithstanding, I had the best day exploring, didn't want to leave and dragged my feet down the hill. I realised why when I found the very small chapel on the way down. I needed to visit there before I could leave. The Chapel of St Michael featured a lovely statue of St Michael and had an amazing feel to it, very peaceful. We sat a while and bought a candle for Sarah as well as lighting one. Then continued down the hill to watch the tide coming in. 

As we drove away, the light changed and lit the Mont up with evening light, priceless.