In deciding what I wanted to do with my remaining full day in Caen, I figured, that since I had access to a car, I should travel around, see the countryside, and get to places that may be a bit tricky relying only on public transit. So, I thought that I would go to Mont-Saint-Michel.
Mont-Saint-Michel is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of National Geographic's top places to visit in Europe. It is an island commune and is about a two hour drive to the site. The highway speed limit is 130km/h! Love it. The French countryside is beautiful. I saw a rainbow. That makes at least the 12th rainbow that I have seen since I have been away from home. Unbelievable.
Mont-Saint-Michel is a Benedictine Abbey that is located on top of a rocky island. The original abbey dates back to 708 and became a focus of pilgrimage. It wasn't until the 10th Century that the Benedictines settled in the abbey. This was when the village began to grow up around it. During the Revolution, the abbey was used as a prison.
Driving toward the site, you are able to see the abbey for quite a distance. On the rocky island, around the base of the abbey there is a town. And although you are able to see the abbey from quite a distance, you can not reach it up close by car. There is a parking lot about a 40 minute walk or 10 minute shuttle bus away from the abbey. I hopped on the bus and was at the base of the abbey in minutes. As you enter the walls of the town, you can feel the shadow of the abbey casting down on top of you. No matter where you journey on this island the presence of the abbey is constant. As you can imagine, the town winds around the island in a circular path that is constantly moving upwards. The streets are for pedistrians only and are lined with shops and restaurants. There were even a couple of hotels on the island. There are not vast spaces on the island. Everything is well crammed together. The shop lined streets reminded me of The Shambles in York.
I continued the climb, either by sloping, cobbled roads or by stairs, until I reached the entrance to the abbey. The abbey has a wall that circles it as well. I paid admission and grabbed a pamphlet that outlined different parts of the abbey that were numbered for me to read as I toured through. The entire places is beautifully made, has a complicated floorplan (nothing regular about the plan), has gardens on a couple of the roof tops, and contains a great pillared crypt, which was my favourite room in the building. Obviously, once I reached the top of the climb, and headed outside, the views were spectacular. I was able to view out over the ocean and the French countryside. Another highlight of the abbey was being able to walk around the tops of the walls and look out over practically all sides of the island.
I was pleased and rather surprised by Mont-Saint-Michel. I love being able to visit those UNESCO World Heritage Sites
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