Cupcake in the sea? Le Mont Saint-Michel

My two weeks of All Saints Holidays have begun and I don't think my holiday plans for Marseille will ever see the light of day, thanks to the on going pension strike in France. Le sigh. My school has shut down for the holidays and hence no possibility for wi-fi. But my neighbour has been kind enough to share his wi-fi code with me and now I actually have internet! I spoke to my mom and aunt a while ago and showed them the massive house that I have for myself and I tried my level best to not burst into tears especially after they described the lovely meal they had just gobbled down. My family is utterly nuts but I love them to bits! My aunt is an amazing cook and the jar of pork sorpotel she packed is still kept safely in my refrigerator :'(  Ah well.

Today's post is about a weekend spent at Mont Saint Michel in July with my mum and my French friend Amélie. I haven't had the time to upload these lovely pictures so I thought might as well do it today. Generally people do a day trip when they come to see this stunning monument but Amélie is a hiking pro and she signed us up for a 16 km trek in the bay (Rando-baie) and so we had to spend a night in a gite (bed & breakfast à la française style).

The Mont Saint Michel has existed for more than a thousand years and it is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world. It can get really hot and crowded here during the summer. We went in June, so it was already filled with tourists and the lanes leading up to the abbey are so narrow, you have to wait a long while for the queues to advance! To make things worse, these narrow streets are lined with so many souvenir shops, hotels and restaurants, so you could get stuck for ages!

Hermit monks came to this island in the 6th century in search of solitude. Archangel Gabriel convinced the Archbishop of the neighbouring town of Avranches (by burning a hole through his skull according to legend) to construct a church that could reach heaven and this would surely bring the worshippers back to God. And voilà! You have an intricately designed church and an even more exquisite spire on top of it. There is gold statue of the Archangel atop the spire and when you look up, you feel as if it's piercing the heavens!

The Mont has a very mystique quality to it and the abbey (which you have to pay to enter has employed a prissy woman who refused to accept my International Student Identity Card (ISIC) as proof of my age and demanded for my passport with my Carte de Séjour in order to give me a discount. I obviously was not going to bring my passport to this island in the middle of nowhere and it struck me as very odd that this famous monument in France didn't accept the ISIC! so if you're below 25, you might want to take your passport with you!) is made up of many peaceful cloisters where the monks conducted various activities such as carpentry, gardening, bible study, etc.

The bay of the Mont is today converted into farmland and you find a gazillion sheep grazing here. Their salty meat is a local speciality. It contains so much salt because the sheep graze on plants that thrive only on the salty waters of the bay. Restaurants are quite expensive on the island (and they are run by some of the 41 permanent residents who live here only to cater to tourists). The villages around the bay like Avranches, etc boast of some quaint areas that serve reasonable food! I enjoyed the cool cider that was served with our meal in Avranches!

French people and French royalty have loved the Mont Saint Michel very passionately throughout the ages. The entire island is fortified by strong walls. During the hundred year's war, the British conquered all of Normandy but never managed to conquer this well protected island! Hence it remains the proud symbol of French nationalism even today! For a few hundred years during the Revolution, the abbey was used as a prison by the Atheist government and there are still various reminders of the torture prisoners underwent here. For example there is a giant wooden wheel high up in the abbey wherein prisoners had to enter two by two and walk like hamsters to draw up a wheel barrow down below which contained nearly two tonnes of food and building material!

The Mont Saint Michel is surrounded by lovely towns, so if you have a car, you can escape the hordes of tourists by driving to these villages. But no matter how far you drive, the Mont will still be there in the distance :) Plus when it's summer time, the entire countryside is come to life and I've seen some of the best shades of yellow in this region!

On our second day in Mont Saint-Michel we trekked for 16 km around the bay. I was worried whether my mom would be able to complete the trek because it was so hot that day and moreover the bay is filled with water and depending on the tide, the water can rise up to the height of a bus! But of course we had a professional guide who knew exactly the timing of the tides and my mum is such a sport, she completed the entire trek without a single complaint! Our guide was such fun and he spoke perfect English as well. In the picture above, he is showing us how the quick sand in the bay is a real hurdle to trekkers and imagine how it must have been in the middle ages when there was no road leading up to the Mont. The pilgrims would have to walk, always at the risk of quick sand, disorienting fog and monstrous tides!

I was so proud of my mom because she was the eldest member of our trekking group and made me realize that age has nothing to do with your goals! "Age is an issue of mind over matter.  If you don't mind, it doesn't matter".  ~Mark Twain :) The trek in the bay was a strenuous but unforgettable adventure. I highly recommend the trek organized during the summer by the Tourism office and its called Rando-Baie. Our guides were brilliant and we learnt so much about the history of Mont Saint Michel and the surrounding islands! The trek ends at the point you started and there is plenty of entertainment, refreshments waiting for you!

The sunsets at Mont Saint Michel add to the character of the place. Every moment you feel as if an invisible painter somewhere keeps brushing new strokes on to the landscape. Every second the canvas has morphed into newer, more striking shades of peach, mauve, grey, blue, etc. This has to be the work of divinity because I find no suitable explanation for the peace I felt when I witnessed the sun going down at Mont Saint Michel.

Personally, I feel looking from a distance, the the Mont ressembles a cupcake with a long candle on top. No? :)

At least once in your lifetime you should visit the magnificent Mont Saint Michel, which has stood the test of time (as old as a millenium!). My visit was extra special because my mother was with me and this journey was part of a holiday we took together after many years. When I was younger, she always said sunsets are for making wishes. That day I wished for many more sunsets with my darling mother. We both deserved this happiness and the trip to a destination like this which didn't fail to impress!