Honestly, it’s thanks to the World Showcase at Epcot that we
know about Mont Saint Michel and have this on our list of places to visit. We didn’t know much about it other than what
we’d seen in the France movie at Epcot, but as we drove through the fields, all
of a sudden this magnificent castle seemed to penetrate the sky out of
nowhere. Apparently the best time to
visit Mont Saint Michel is during high tide and while we were in the area,
because of the phase of the moon at the end of the month, the tide wasn’t
high. We arrived early in the morning
just in case we could catch a glimpse of the magic, not fully understanding the
high tide phenomenon. After walking
across a bridge and oohing and ahhh-ing, we read a sign that warned people that
if their vehicle was parked in that area, that it would be underwater later in
the day.
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Not a sign you see everyday! |
Because of high tide and the
dam that they built to help control the water around Mont Saint Michel, at
certain points of the day the entire castle rises up completely surrounded by
water!
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Looking across the field to Mont Saint Michel |
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Boys climbing around the boulders at the base of Mont Saint Michel |
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G literally sinking in the quick sand |
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Mom & G walking through the quick sand area
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Mom & G getting dirty |
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G in front of Mont Saint Michel |
Since it was mid-afternoon and we had no place to be, we
stopped in Bayeaux and saw the Bayeaux Tapestry, the oldest known comic
strip of sorts.
This embroidered piece of art is
over 205 feet long and depicts the rise to power of William the Conqueror as he
took control of England.
There are 58
detailed scenes including everything from Halley’s Comet, an appearance of Mont
Saint Michael, and ending with a brutal scene showing the Battle of Hastings.
During the car ride the children were thrilled to watch
Great Courses on some of the topics we were being exposed to. And lucky for them, even though they didn’t
think so at the time, when we weren’t watching those we were listening to Les
Miserables and explaining the Victor Hugo's famous story to them. From Mom and Dad’s perspective it was
beautiful and amazing to be doing this while driving through France, but not
all agreed.
Needless to say, by the time we arrived at our place Mom and
Dad decided a date night (escape-night) was needed. We
went into the nearby village and ate at a restaurant that our hosts had
recommended. The area we are staying in
is not a tourist hot spot and so it appeared that we were the only non-locals
dining there. We guessed at what we were
ordering, hoping to enjoy some of the famed local cuisine. We had to stifle our shock and amazement when
they set a cold pot of a half eaten something in front of Dad that had white
cold lard present on the sides of the meatloaf-like mixture. The wait staff was good natured and while it
wasn’t the gourmet night out we’d hoped for, we were happy to have some time to
ourselves while the kids stayed home and studied.
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This mystery meat was placed in front of us as seen as part of our appetizer |
WHHHAAAAT??!!! They really expected you to eat someone's cold leftovers?!
ReplyDeleteThat castle looks awesome. Great visit
ReplyDeleteLooks like pâté... You normally cut a slice which you eat with bread in your own plate, not directly from the main dish. It's really weird they would set it that way. Mt St Michel looks awesome. Also need to go there one day but I think I'll skip the quicksand...
ReplyDelete