Heading south to the main attraction I wanted to see during this trip. Mont St Michel. An island just off the coast. When it is ebb you can walk out there on the sand, when it is flood you can use the bridge leading just up to the walled city and cathedral. It is an impressive place. Be prepared for steep streets and going up and down. Although we were there before the main tourist season the streets were so crowded when we arrived in the late afternoon, we could hardly get through.
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| Me, in front of Mont Saint Michel |
I had booked a room on the island itself. It was a hard walk up stairs to reach the room, but once there, what a view! In the evening it was wonderful to walk the almost empty streets and find a cosy place to eat. We found a lovely restaurant with views towards the coast and we could see the water coming in. Martin had oysters as usual and I tried a local speciality, Moules Camembert! Absolutely fantastic.
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| A room with a view |
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| Evening view. Amazing. |
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| My Moules Camembert! |
The next morning we lined up to enter the cathedral. An amazing place and you just wonder how they could build it on top of an island. I am complaining about the steep streets, what about the people who had to carry building material up? Puh! We left the island in the early afternoon and headed for our next stop, Saint Malo.
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| Steep walls of the cathedral |
The walled city of Saint Malo is wonderful. We walked around the ramparts, although it was cold and very windy, but well worth it. It is a beautiful city and we just walked around the small, narrow streets. We looked at some of the landmarks and then settled down in a beautiful little restaurant with a menu that just melted in your mouth.
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| Walking on the ramparts |
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| Saint Malo |
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| One of the desserts |
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| The other dessert. Artwork! |
Today, when I hear Saint Malo, I think of the wonderful novel by Anthony Doerr,
All the Light We Cannot See. Set during the second world war it is about a young, blind girl and a young German boy. It is a beautiful story on how destiny and war can change your life.
One thing which is very visible in Normandie is the ebb and flood. Being from Sweden I am not used to these changes in the water level. Here it is really something and the area looks totally different by ebb and flood. I had a feeling that it was more ebb than flood and mostly you saw the sand from the bottom stretching out towards deeper water. The boats have to make a go during flood hours. Mostly it looked like this.
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| Normandie |
Lisbeth, I can't tell you how much this post resonates with me and brings back so many memories of both Mt. St. Michel and St. Malo. You were fortunate to stay on the island. We didn't and the day we were there largely rainy and wet but still so fascinating. And St. Malo -- oh, I loved that spot and would return in a heartbeat. I loved "All the Light" and read it after my visit, so it was very visual to me (interesting, the visual in a book where blindness plays such a role!). Loved this!
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