700 steps

An early morning again. Up at 0500 to catch the train to Mont St. Michel. Much easier this time as it is just an overnight. We have packed in Neecie’s backpack on wheels and my duffle bag. The train leaves from Montparnasse station which is an easy Metro ride from our station at Denfert-Rochereau. The TGV station and track are easy to find and we are on our train by 0715 and leave promptly at 0730. We have a sheltered 4 person table and only the3 of us to share it so we spread out. We even have an electric plug to charge our computers! (I love these trains in Europe! They are wonderful!)

I have read about Mont St. Michel and I doubt that I will be able to go to the top. Too many stairs and an arduous climb but I am sure that I will find lots to do while Susie and Neecie explore.

The countryside we pass through reminds me of the Midwest...some flat fields and then gently rolling hills. The only thing that is missing is the corn fields.

June 12, Saturday--from Neece, Number 10

I’m trying to write a re-cap of our earlier travels and days where we were too busy to post anything, and I will return to that and post on here when I get the chance. But first, we are on the train returning to Paris from Mont St. Michel, so I will write about that visit first. What an awesome fairy-tale place. It’s on a small rocky island off the coast of Brittany and Normandy, near St. Malo of WW2 fame. Not needing to rob notice from any place near, it rises like something unearthly almost, into the sky with a church spire at its highest point and a gilded St. Michael standing in dominion over both the church and some devil--whether it is Lucifer or a sea monster, or if the two are blurred by time & preference into one creature. At any rate, Michael stands in dominion, not quite like an archangel, looking more like a chevalier (a knight). Beneath him and below him rests the church and the Abbey, and below that a village consisting of one Steep main street, and many back alleys, and steps everywhere! You’d think the place was designed by Stairmaster. Don’t know how many steps we climbed to get into the Abbey but it was a lot. (Katie said she’d read it was 700 or more.) We checked into our hotel and Katie and Ange crashed for a rest. Our hotel room was really charming, out the front door, up the street, up some steps, up another alley, a few more steps to a wooden door with a small window; it felt like we were entering a hobbit house. Being restless, I headed out for the Abbey, climbed more steps, explored the upper terrace outside the church, then the church, the beautiful cloister, refectory, down some steps to guests’ hall, a crypt or two, and emerged into the one essential nod to modernity: the Gift Shop. Did not see a monk anywhere so had a hard time believing there was a religious community there as the guide had said. I did discover that Vespers was at 6:30, so I resolved to return then. Back at the hobbit house, Katie and Sue were stirring and I told them about the steps. Katie was determined to go, so she swallowed half a Vicodin and set off with Susie, while I stayed behind to do some business with the hotel concierge, then followed trying to catch up. By the time I climbed the 700 steps a second time, my knees were hurting and I was wondering where the other half of the Vicodin was. Found K. and Ange, asked if they wanted to stay for Vespers and they agreed to that. The abbey worker who was shooing everyone out toward the exit path said we could stay but one of the monks would have to let us out the front way, back down the 700 steps to a locked gate. Vespers was awesome. There is indeed a religious community there of both men and women; about 6 men and 8 women sang Vespers. Rather than traditional monk stalls they had prayer rugs and small stools arranged around the altar. Other than their chant, the only sound was a hard rain beating on the church roof. Afterward, one of the women monks led us outside and down the wet stone steps in the rain to the gate that she unlocked and locked again. It felt very medieval and like we’d fallen into the set for The Name of the Rose.

After a short rest and a dry off in the room, we ventured out to eat. The tides had come in and we looked for a restaurant with an overlook. With an appetite engendered by 700 steps we ordered: mussels, fish soup, and a sampler plate of fruit of the sea (snails, mussel, oysters, shrimp, and langoustines). The mussels made me full but those were only the entrees. We then got the main plates: sea bass, scallops St. Jacques, and leg of lamb. All yummy. I passed on dessert but shared with Katie and Ange: Katie got apple sorbet with Calvados (apple brandy) which we did not like (the ruination of a good apple), and Ange got a Normandy apple pancake--delicious! And, of course, good rich coffee. We watched the tide roll out; that was almost (but not quite) as cool as the beautiful acappella chant at Vespers. Today we explored more, attended some museums and had the requisite omelette at the oldest restaurant on the island, La Mere Poullard. It was good, but overpriced, paying for history and reputation I guess, but in general a practice against my religion. Then we explored more on the ramparts, took another 700 pictures (one for each step) and caught the bus to Dol de Bretagne, where we caught this train to Paris. Just stopped in LeMans and now we have one hour until we arrive at Gare Montparnasse. Only 2 more nights in Paris and one day and then home. It’s been so lovely and, except for Switzerland, going to Mont St. Michel has been the loveliest of all. Bon nuit, mes amis.