Paris: Day 7
June 17, 2022
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On Day 7, I took a tour to Mont-Saint-Michel, on the west coast of France, the western most part of Normandy. An over 4 hour bus ride. Each way. But surprisingly the time went
surprisingly well ... a washroom break halfway through, pictures to take of the passing scenery, and Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door to read on the way back. Mont-Saint-Michel
is a tidal island ... the island is only an island around high tide, and can be reached on foot in the afternoon and during the early morning when people should be asleep.
The island was originally called Mont Tombe, and was as a stronghold in the sixth and seventh centuries of Gallo-Roman culture and power since the departure of the Romans in 460.
By the middle of the 6th century, Christianity had a strong presence in the bay, and was populated by religious devotees – hermits (probably Celtic monks) who took care of the site
and led a contemplative life. According to legend, the archangel Michael appeared in 708 to the bishop of Avranches, and instructed him to build a church there, and the island was
renamed Mont-Saint-Michel, with the first monastic establishment beginning then in the 8th century. In the 10th century, Duke Richard I sent soldiers to Mont-Saint-Michel to give
the monks there an ultimatum: return to a religious life style and become a member of the Benedict order or leave the Mont. Only one monk stayed. In 966 AD, Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey
was founded as a Benedictine abbey.
The monks worked on building the abbey after that, but it took time, with having to move building materials across the bay only during certain times of the day to avoid the water
rushing in at high tide. The church was started in 1060 with some money from Richard II of Normandy. The abbey continued to grow in the 13th to 15th centures, but by the time of
the French Revolution, few monks lived on the island, and it became at prison in 1791, with as many as 700 prisoners kept at its height. The prison was closed in 1863 due to pressure
from influential figures, such as Victor Hugo, to be seen as a national archeological treasure. The golden archangel Saint Michel at top of the spire was completed in 1898.
In 1979, the island and abbey were named a UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1979.
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Above: A view of Normandy farmland during the bus ride to Mont-Saint-Michel.
1 shows the traffic jam going into Paris ... fortunately we're in our bus going the other way.
2 to 11 show the French countryside ... small towns, lots of farmland.
12 shows us rolling up to the toll booth.
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