Sunday, February 11 - Le Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy - Villandry, Loire Valley (in English)
Welcome to our blog of day 3 of our French voyage!
Today morning, we left Granville for Mont St. Michel. We woke up, packed up our suitcases, and cleaned our rooms. The view outside each room is stunning, with a direct view of both the ocean and the Carnival. Although there is definitely a lot of noise from the Carnival at night, it adds to the exciting and special ambience of Granville.
We rode the bus for about 45 minutes to reach Mont St. Michel. Our bus has wide windows, so we could see the beautiful views of the countryside. The green pastures, adorable sheep, and rain in the morning together made for a spectacular view.
Once we reached near Mont St. Michel, we took out our umbrellas and ponchos, as it was extremely windy, and it was raining, as well. Although it was certainly challenging walking against the wind, it proved to be an awesome adventure.
We rode a shuttle to reach Mont St. Michel itself, and there, we met our guide, Gael, who is from Brittany. He explained to us the detailed history and cultural context behind the area. We learned about the differences between Roman and Gothic architecture (Roman architecture being made of simpler arches and Gothic architecture featuring a more complicated structure. Some crypts were made with the Roman style, and some in the Gothic style.
Together, there was a unique blend of styles that made for the magnificent view featured below.
We heard about the time when the Abbey was functionally a prison following the French Revolution. During this time, it was atrocious. The prisoners had to do forced labor and stay in bad conditions. In particular, we saw the big wheel that they had to power manually.
We heard about the legend that the archangel, Saint-Michel, visited bishop Aubert three times in a dream, asking him to build what would then become Mont Saint-Michel. When Aubert ignored the imperative commands of the archangel, Saint-Michel pushed his finger and burned a hole in the bishop’s head. I have attached some pictures of Saint-Michel here.
Depiction of Saint-Michel perforating a hole in Aubert’s forehead.
We also sat where the monks eat their food. They must eat in silence, so our guide showed us the signs they make with their hands to indicate that they want fish, salt, and more.
There were some areas that we were not allowed to go. Gael explained that Mont Saint-Michael always hides some secrets, even to people like him who have been working or exploring the place for ages. He briefly introduced us to his colleague who is a historian and intern with the clergy, I believe. He has access to ALL the doors in the church as he was given a big key. Our guide’s explanation of these old secret spots in Mont Saint-Michel really intrigued me.
Then, we spent some time in the gift shop, where I bought a keychain of Saint-Michel. We had an hour of free time to find lunch and explore the island. My friends and I each got one galette (savory crepe) and one crepe. I had a galette complete and a chocolate crepe. I also bought a bag with an embroidered depiction of Mont Saint-Michel to carry my things, and I enjoyed walking down the curving streets and alleyways, seeing all the beautiful stores.
We also interacted with many locals. All of us asked a local if Mont Saint-Michel was a territory of Normandy or of Bretagne. It was a pretty contentious question; some people laughed, some looked hesitant to answer, and some locals were very passionate. The consensus from most of them was that it is a territory of Normandy. It was interesting to see the cultural disputes and conflicts as well, in real life.
I am writing this from the bus, so I’m sure we will do a lot more today, but that was our exploration of Mont Saint-Michel. Now, we are on a four hour journey via bus! I’m excited for all that is to come.
Mont-Saint-Michel is pictured below.
Ananya (Antoinette)
Some group pictures:
Dinner in Villandry in the former maids' house of the castle, a very quiet place before going to the International School of St. Denis after breakfast tomorrow:
Comments
Post a Comment