BC Tour de France: Weekend in Normandy - Mont-St-Michel

Last weekend, the BC bus finally rolled out of Paris on our first trip to see more of France. We rented a small car and drove 2.5 hrs to Villers Bocage in the heart of Normandy to our accomodations, La Ferme du Pressoir B&B. With an Audi in the driveway, the smell of farm, and a big old harvest table, we knew we were home.

P,D, and a new friend, holding their monnaie d'argent, outside our B&B

Nothing but the best of France for Breakfast, but what is D doing in Mark's chair?

Our Saturday was consumed by Mont-St-Michel, an ancient abbey built in the 8th Century, that sits 1km off the North Coast of France. Even though the tides no longer completely cut the Mont off from the mainland, Mont-St-Michel is one the most impressive things I have seen since we moved to France. It is inspiring on so many levels - the beauty of the man made structure completely isolated in its natural surroundings, the history, the stunning gardens inside the abbey, the simplicity of the abbey rooms, and the views!!! Then there was the constant questioning of how & why.

We entered the small touristy town at the base of the Mont and walked it's narrow cobbled stone streets. Then wound our way around the island, stopping at many great views and finally climbed the multiple sets of steep steps to the abbey. Once on top, we truly felt it's grandeur and it was clear why this has been a spiritual place for the millenea and continues to be a place of pilgrimage. Since the season doesn't get any lower than mid-January, we got to enjoy the experience as it should be, quietly and calmly, sometimes not seeing another person for extended periods of time.