Adrienne and I were determined to go to Mont St. Michel after seeing pictures and hearing about its coolness. In the middle ages it was called “Paradise on Earth” and how can you pass up visiting paradise? The island was created by a huge wave and the abbey was built on appealing piece of land by St-Aubert, the bishop of Avranches after the Archangel Michael told him to. So to get to this place, it was looking like quite an ordeal. It involved taking the metro into Rouen, a train to Paris, changing to another train to Rennes, and finally a bus to Mont St. Michel. This process would take us about five hours in each direction, cost a hefty sum, and just be the biggest head ache of a day. Our other option was renting a car which was also very expensive but it would get us there directly in only two and a half hours. We talked others into joining us and filled a car which helped lower the cost some. We also just had really had our heart set on seeing and had to make it work.
It was Adrienne, Brittany, Jarrod, Todd, and I. I so wish I knew how to drive stick better because I was longing to drive. I have had two lessons but never have had an opportunity to practice therefore I still am not so good at it. I instead had to settle as being the navigator.
As we started approaching the island was so thrilled. It looks just as cool as it sounds and I was just so proud that we made the trip happen. Tasha had gone earlier and knew we were making an attempt this week. I feel like she thought we wouldn’t be able to make it happen so I can’t wait to tell her we saw it. The tide was low when we got there so it was surrounded by sandy marsh grounds that apparently have pockets of quicksand in it! I have never felt quick sand so I really was intrigued by this but don’t worry I refrained from checking it out. It would have liked to have gotten to see it when it was totally surrounded by water.
The little village surround the abbey is so cute. You walk these narrow cobblestone streets that wind back and forth up to the entrance of the abbey. We ate at Restaurant St. Pierre and I had some good pizza with veggies on top of it. It turned out to be an amazing day with a really blue sky! The abbey was beautiful. At one point it was converted into a prison which I just can’t imagine because it was far too pretty for a prison. Near the end the sun started to set and we got some really good pictures.
On our drive back we stopped mid-way to see the D-Day beaches. It was dark at this point and they weren’t lit up so we didn’t get to appreciate them fully but we at got to catch a glimpse which was better than nothing. At Omaha beach there were two memorials we saw and then we walked down by the water. I was running on the beach frolicking away. It was cold by the water though so our stay was short. When we were looking at pictures later Jarrod noticed a plague had read that you were not allowed to walk on the beach after I had run all over it!!!!!! So basically I am a criminal ruining part of our US history! I swear I didn’t know though! UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH We also saw a U-Boat and some big guns that were outside the museum.
It was a long day. On the way back Jarrod drove. He was new to the whole roundabout thing and was very hesitant about them. He would come to a complete stop and wait until there was nobody which sometimes is forever. I’m so used to barreling right into rotaries at home just look you merge onto the highway. In my tired state I may have snapped and was like, “Go Jarrod! Yield doesn’t mean to come to a complete stop!” I wish I could have driven. Todd had a freak out on the way home as well. Jarrod wasn’t sure how to turn the lights on. Todd started freaking out about how dangerous it was for us to be driving right now without them but it wasn’t even dark yet. He wanted us to pull over right there but that would have been even more dangerous. We were telling him to calm down and deal until we could get somewhere and figure it out but he got so nervous over this and I’m not really sure why. On our journey back we ended up on a back way for far too long in which we had to drive slower and I felt like we would never get back. Finally we got on the main highway and were back in no time. We got some food at this chain Hippotomas for dinner. I made a horrible choice and got this salad that had chicken on top that was covered in a mayo type sauce I found disgusting. It is just highly unfortunate to spend money on food you don’t end up liking and not getting satisfied by your meal.
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