BigWeather's Blog

We woke up at our seemingly standard 6a and, with generous snooze pressing, actually got up at closer to 6:30a. Got our showers and went out to the breakfast area just outside of our room, which doubled as a bar at night and had a glass roof which allowed for copious light. While the buffet looked tasty we ended up just eating the breads — French bread, croissants, and chocolate-infused croissants. Michelle had a decent tea and I had an amazing cup of coffee — dark and flavorful, even with a decent volume of milk mixed in.

As we were not staying a second night in Bayeux but were going to Mont Saint-Michel via the hotel’s shuttle service we kept one of our backpacks and a paper bag containing snacks with the hotel for the day. While Michelle waited in the lobby I ducked outside to check on the weather (sunny but quite chilly, making me thankful we brought jackets) and was treated to the gorgeous sight of the morning sun bathing the spires of Bayeux Cathedral in a bright orange light.

Closer to 8:30a Michelle and I headed out to the plaza behind the hotel and waited for our shuttle. There was a large group heading out to do a full day D-Day tour but there were a few others waiting for the shuttle to Mont Saint-Michel (hereafter “MSM”). In short order our driver, Jean-Pierre, appeared and did a quick roll call. We were then escorted a short distance to our waiting van. Michelle and I climbed into the middle bench along with another guy. Three ladies occupied the rear and the front passenger was occupied by an older lady who had been a French teacher. He wanted her up front so he could talk with her during the 1h30m drive each way.

And how they did. Conversing in a mixture of English and French (mostly French) they chatted about the surrounding area, French and European politics, lamented the death of the baker and butcher in small towns, etc. I could follow along with the French pretty well but some was beyond me. I asked a question about the abbey (when it was constructed) and, while he answered (starting in the 800s), it was made clear that he wasn’t a guide but rather a driver. Okay then.

Traffic was fairly light as we drove first south of Bayeux through a pretty decent forest then a succession of tiny villages with stone buildings, a stone church, a small cemetery, and so forth. We skirted the larger town of St. Lo, flattened in World War II (unlike Bayeux, which was spared due to its mayor making it very clear that there were no Nazi defenders or weapons there).  Jean-Pierre mentioned that it was mating season for the deer and that the male’s grunt is almost primeval.  Apparently Steve Forbes’ son had a castle in the area and would fly balloons shaped like his castle, or bikes, etc.  We also saw some windmills (the large kind, not the quaint Dutch ones) and a few electric car charging stations.

The terrain was hillier than I expected it to be.  Eventually we descended into a flatter, marshier area and were treated to our first view of Mont Saint-Michelle, looming gray over the horizon.  We stopped a fair distance (five miles or more, I think) to get a few pictures and, as luck would have it, about twenty green old-school parachutes blossomed in the sky.  Apparently they were preparing for the feast day of Saint Michael (Saint-Michel) – Michaelmas – this upcoming Saturday.  So neat to have that happen by chance!

We drove the rest of the way to the parking lot of Mont Saint-Michel, some distance (a couple miles) from the actual site.  We were told to be back promptly at 1p, Michelle and I setting out to use the bathroom first before catching the free shuttle to the site.  The line was a bit long and the delay cut into our time but we made it to MSM about 10:45a or so after passing through an area of small hotels and art galleries and the newly constructed dam that has enabled MSM to be an island again as the silting has been halted.  After being shuttled we still had a moderate walk along the causeway which spans the distance to the island.  As the tide was on the low side there were interesting patterns left behind in the wet sand by the retreating water.  Shore birds flitted about and sheep grazed on sea grass on the few patches of land that were above the high tide land.

After entering the main gate we had a choice to make — go up via the ramparts (fewer people but more steps) or the main road (more people and fewer steps, but shopping opportunities for magnets and the like).  We ended up going the main road with the plan to possibly come down via the ramparts after I scouted a little bit and decided that, yeah, the ramparts path was a bit more strenuous.

The street was really neat as it was very narrow with the signs advertising shops nearly touching at points.  We stopped by a couple of stores for magnets and postcards.  Though crowded it wasn’t crushing as it was past the high season tourism-wise.  We walked east up a moderate slope then turned 180 degrees and walked west a very short distance to a small plaza with some nice views back at the sea and the causeway.  We continued up, this time via some steep steps with no handrails, to the abbey entrance.  Michelle and I were very happy that we brought the walking stick that we bought in Utah years ago.

Our shuttle fee included abbey entrance fee so we skipped the ticket desk and proceeded inside.  The first room had a series of display cases showing the evolution of building on the island from the 800s and the initial abbey to the present day.  A door on the far side led to a large open courtyard in front of the abbey proper with amazing views all around.

The inside of the abbey was simple but impressive.  Simple wooden benches and a similarly simple altar were the main features.  One of the chapels had a wooden ship model suspended in it.  Two nuns and a priest were preparing the 12:15p mass and a crowd started to assemble as we left, about noon.  As time was of the essence we decided to go back down the way we came, stopping along the way to get a chicken and cheese panini from one place for Michelle and a ham and cheese sandwich (delicious, the bread is sooooo good) for me at another place.  I also bought two eclairs — raspberry for Michelle, coffee for me — to enjoy later.

We left MSM and boarded the shuttle not knowing what time it was and afraid to look.  I mean, not like knowing would’ve made us any less late!  As the shuttle pulled away it was hard not to constantly look back in awe at the sight — pretty much like something straight out of a fairy tale.  After getting off the shuttle we walked the short distance to the parking lot and found the shuttle waiting.  Phew!  Only then we looked at the clock on our phone — 12:58p.  Close, though we weren’t the last ones to show up, they appeared very shortly thereafter.

We were short two as a husband and wife was staying on MSM for the evening, leaving just Michelle, myself, the retired French teacher, and two young ladies in the van with Jean-Pierre.  It was nice to have the extra room.  On the way home everyone but myself and Jean-Pierre slept.  Jean-Pierre and I talked about French politics and political history and his fear of Fascism spreading across Europe.  Where his broken English failed my broken French would step in and we were able to hold the conversation fairly well.  Amazing how quickly it came back after nearly thirty years!

The van pulled in to Place du Quebec at 2:40p, just a few minutes past schedule.  Michelle and I sat on a bench and enjoyed the cool air while I finished my sandwich and then we ate our eclairs.  Michelle wasn’t too fond of the raspberry one’s filling but I thoroughly enjoyed the coffee one.  After gathering our bag from the hotel (marked with chalk, which came off on my shirt) we headed to Bayeux Cathedral as it closed at 6p.  Adjacent to the cathedral was a massive tree — turns out it was a Liberty Tree, planted in 1797 and still thriving.  The buildings in the tree’s courtyard had once belonged to the Church but were confiscated during the Revolution.

We stepped into the cathedral and… wow.  It was amazing, the sheer volume of stained glass (or painted glass, or whatever).  We were there at a good time as well, as the light from the late afternoon sun bathed the cathedral in color.  The nave was particularly amazing, with an area of multiple colors, an area of bright red streaks on the stone, and my favorite — spiderwebs acting as a projector screen and capturing the colors of the window they were attached to.

Another neat splash of color on the cathedral floor was filtered through a wrought iron fence, leaving the swirling design of the fence in stark negative to the color.  There were also paintings of Saints on the ceiling and a beautiful lectern that was sculpted to be cloud-like.  A timeline of the Catholic Church from the earliest times on a succession of posters was also interesting.  Underneath the cathedral was an area with pillars that we could’ve gone into but we were short on time.

Stepping back into the daylight we walked over to the Bayeux Tapestry museum gift shop to buy a few things then stopped for a bite to eat at a small eatery adjacent to it.  Michelle had a cheese omelette and a hot chocolate and I had a cafe au lait.  The omelette didn’t impress but at least did help take the edge off her hunger.  The hot chocolate and cafe au lait were OK.  Posters for both anniversary celebrations of the landings as well as Medieval fairs decorated the walls — again with the embarrassment of riches tourism-wise!

After walking back into town to buy two bottled waters from Carrefour City we headed to the train station.  We stopped along the way and enjoyed the evening and watched a large crane working.  We arrived in time for the earlier train to Paris but sadly we didn’t have reservations for that one and had to linger for an additional hour until dusk and the 8p train.  While waiting I snacked on the strawberry “cookies” Michelle bought back at Paris Saint-Lazare.  Not great but I just needed something.  Unfortunately I was getting quite the sniffle and was feeling a bit off.  The train ride wasn’t great, particularly as — despite carefully choosing our seats to face forwards — Michelle and I had to sit facing backwards.  Not a big deal for me but Michelle, being susceptible to motion sickness, was not in a good place.

Finally arrived back in Paris shortly after 10:30p and walked across the street to Hotel Phileas, where we collapsed in short order, exhausted.