Day 2 Romance in France

June 23, 2011

Dear Family,

Thursday started with another delicious meal, composed primarily of French pastries, dipped in hot chocolate, then it was back to the airport again to rent a car. We had become more wise since the previous day and took a taxi to Notre Dame and then the blue train back up to the airport. It took a while to discover the car rentals on the third level up but eventually we were settled in our little Peugot and on our Westward towards Normandy and the Mont St. Michel.
Mont St. Michel is an impressive stone abbey build on what used to be a small island.

Construction started sometime in the 9th century. If you are imagining narrow stone streets with narrow stairways, you have got it. Though architecturally quite amazing, I actually enjoyed the buildings and walks around the cathedral better as I somehow imagined that the local people must have suffered greatly in the hundreds of years it took to construct this grand edifice to the archangel Michel.

We stayed at L'Auberge St. Pierre which is actually a series of small rooms scattered around the island. We stayed in a very nice room up towards the cathedral with a nice view of the harbor. I am sure it was the oldest building that I have ever stayed in. the exterior of the building at least dates back to the middle ages.

Despite the signs warning of danger, we braved a walk in the tide flats around the island and then devoted ourselves to finding someplace for dinner. It appears that most of the restaurants are closed from about 5:00 to 7:00 so we settled on what appeared to be the only one open at the time. St. Michele is famous for it's omelettes and so I went for the once and a lifetime taste of the St. Michele Omelette, along with some seafood. The St. Michele omelette is very light and fluffy, very large, and at least half liquid. It doesn't have any filling of any sort. If you like that sort of thing, it might be fine, but I would recommend not trying it just for the experience unless it appeals to you. Somethings that are famous are still worth passing by. Though most of the other seafood was palatable, I would also recommend against the shrimp, complete with feet, and a head that spurted brownish green goo when I tried to remove it.

After dinner we went for a nice walk over the causeway and back and then explored more of the island. We found some of our favorite walkways and little parks on the far left of the island, and also a great, though popular, vantage point to watch the sunset on the far right, just below the cathedral. Sunset was late, about 10:30, and I am still exhausted I think from the long flight previously.

Best wishes,
Michelle