Once we reached Mont St Michel we boarded a shuttle bus to take us closer to the site. Mont St Michel is known for having extreme tides so Mark made sure to check the tide schedule before we left. Its strange to think of having to check tides almost like checking the weather. Mont St Michel is a really impressive site. As we rode the shuttle, its about 12 minutes to the drop off site, we saw storm clouds quickly gathering. We started walking towards Mont St Michel and as we were the wind picked up and a big rainstorm started. Rain is one thing but walking in the rain with gusty winds blowing off the water and making the rain go sideways is another. Again I was really grateful for my rain boots. Its just under a quarter of a mile to the walls and it was a rough, cold walk but we all made it. Made us apprieacte those who made the pilgrimage there without a nice walkway, rain coats and boots. Sue stopped in a little cafe to warm up and we started our walk up to the abbey.
Not ideal picture taking conditions.
1. Conceived in a dream
2. A structural hierarchy of the feudal society: God on top, then the abbey and monastery, below this the great halls, then stores and housing and outside the walls at the bottom the fisherman and farmer housing.
3. It was an important pilgrimage of faith during the middle ages. It was second only to a church in Spain.
4. It served as a church, prison and unpentrable fortress. England tied to lay siege to it more than once could not get penetrate it during the 100's year war.
I knew none of this before touring it and was happy to learn some new history. We haven't talked about or had any real medieval type experiences with Jared and Lydia, it hasn't been one of their interests, they didn't even really know what a knight was exactly so we had some background information to give out. We enjoyed walking through the city and imagining how it was all those years ago. The streets were narrow and made of cobblestone and it was easy to see it as a medieval city. The abbey up top is massive. We tired to explore most of it and were lucky enough to see a worker come and pull the rope to ring the bells. It was really cool, like just out of a movie. He would pull on the rope and as he kept pulling it would actually lift him off the ground. It was fun to see him working and to then hear the bells. Jared was fascinated by the swords and armor on display in the shops and the cannons still on the walls.
From the top (256 feet)
You can see the rope coming out of the hole in the ceiling that looks like a light.
The walk up was rainy but the walk down was nice and sunny. It was a good visit. We caught the shuttle back to the parking lot and headed down the road to the Overlord Museum, enjoying a lunch of baguettes, cheese and apple slices in the car.
Overlord Museum
Mark and I were both history majors and Mark currently teaches American History from Reconstrction on so he covers WWII but there was a lot of details I had forgotten. The Overlord Museum is full of models and tons of great information. Besides the mannequins everything was from that actual time period. Jared was in heaven. (Operation) Overlord is the code name for the invasion of France at Normandy. I loved learning or relearning about all the behind the scenes (fake tanks!) and everyday resistance groups and how it lasted much longer than just the days getting past the beaches. We toured the museum and then headed down to Omaha Beach (the American landing site). It was sobering to see all the gravesite and look out over the ocean and imagine the ships and landing craft and so many soldiers.
We toured the cemetery and memorial and tired to find a pathway down to the beach. Jared and I both really wanted to be on the actual beach and were disappointed we couldn't find a way to get down there. As we headed back to the car I saw a path that led off in the opposite direction. We got in the car and turned the opposite way that we came in and found a parking lot across the street that led to a path down. We followed it and found our way down to the beach. There were 2 old German bunkers there that Jared and Lydia enjoyed exploring and then we made our way down. Being right there made it very real. It was a dangerous undertaking, the risks were very clear. General Eisenhower said that they "will accept nothing less then full victory." Over 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the invasion. The cost was high: 9,000 allied soldiers were lost or wounded yet it allowed 100,000 soldiers onto continental Europe to move forward to across Europe to defeat Hitler's forces. * I am not one to love WWII history or learning about any war but I very much appreciate sacrifices made which allow me to enjoy the life I have today. The museum and visiting this beach were Jared's favorite things in France.
We are really happy we took this trip and that Sue joined us. Jared and Lydia were really good sports. Lydia asked us before we went if this would be more or less walking than NYC. I think they were actually pretty similar. We walked a ton on that first day but tried to limit ourselves more when Sue joined us. She was such a good sport and we love that she just jumped on a plane and met us there. While we saved money on flights Paris is still a really expensive place! Its nice that we have been and my general feeling is now that I have been I don't really need to go again. Maybe a long lay over to see if I could make it to the Orsay museum but not a whole other trip. There are too many awesome places to see in the world. This trip made Mark feel that working at the airport was worth it. He did have to add a 3rd night and it is pretty exhausting but as of now he his willing to keep it up so we can do things like this. I think that if I don't get enough kids for a preschool class next year I will try to get a job at the airport, see if we can switch out. With working there, teaching full time and Bishop stuff its pretty intense for him. He knows he will make it through this summer since soon enough school will be out but we will just have to see if he keeps it up when school starts again.
*army.mil
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