April 1
Happy Easter (and April Fool’s Day) to everyone. Well….for the 3rd straight farmhouse we have a very slow internet connection, so we’re sorry to say, no pictures for the next couple of days. But from here we’re moving on to a larger city so hopefully we’ll have a fiber optic connection and can upload tons of pictures.
But let’s get you caught up. On Saturday (yesterday) we moved from the Loire Valley to Breton (Brittany). Our first stop was the amazing Mont St. Michel (Mountain of St. Michael). It is the #1 tourist attraction in France outside the Paris area. Most of you have probably seen a picture as it’s very famous. Here is a link to a great picture. Mont St. Michel
Lynn was here in 2006 with her mom. But since mom couldn’t walk up the hill or climb the stairs, they didn’t make it out of the village. Yesterday was miserably cold (upper 30s) with a strong wind and, of course, a drizzly rain. But we got there early and beat the crowds to the Abbey so there was no line at the ticket counter. We took the free English-speaking tour and are so glad we did. There’s just no way to get all of the information without a guide.
The Abbey was built in the early 8th century and remained an Abbey until the French Revolution in the late 18th century; a thousand years later. The church is literally on the top of the mountain. The challenge was that the top wasn’t large enough to hold the church as it was designed. So instead of making the church smaller, they made the mountain bigger. Well…not exactly. What they did was build 4 small churches (called crypts) on each side of the mountain. Then they used the tops of the crypts for the base of the main church. We actually got to go into two of the crypts. It was very cool.
The tour guide was great and told lots of interesting stories about the Abbey. One of the jobs of the Benedictine monks was to write elaborate manuscripts. Even working all day, the only produced 3 manuscripts per year. We wanted to see them at the Scriptorial d’Avranches Museum on our drive today, but the museum is only open from 2-6pm Tuesday through Saturday. If we have a chance, we’ll head back down there before we leave the area.
The tour last about 90 minutes and then it was time to hike back down off the mountain. We stopped for lunch at a small restaurant in the village before taking the shuttle bus back to the parking lot.
Then we headed to St. Malo for a quick peek. It was about an hour northwest of Mont St. Michel, and it was a busy day in the city in spite of the nasty weather. It took about 20 minutes to get a parking spot, but we only walked around for about an hour. We couldn’t find the entrance to the Cathedral and Lynn wasn’t in the mood for yet another chateau turned museum. Since it was still cold and damp, we decided just to find our flat and settle in for the evening.
We stayed in a very nice over the garage apartment and Helene was a great host. We had roasted chicken and potatoes for dinner before several rousing games of Rummikub.
Unfortunately, Easter morning was a bit of a challenge as Lynn woke up with terrible back spasms. She couldn’t walk without assistance and took about 30 minutes just to get dressed. When Helene came up to check us out of the flat, she saw that Lynn was in a great deal of distress. Turns out she’s a nurse so she put her medical hat on and got a heat pack and some meds. Lynn has muscle relaxants, but they make here super sleepy, so Helene gave her something…. we think the French version of Tylenol. The heat pack helped a lot so by the time we were ready to leave she could actually shuffle herself out the door and down the stairs.
It took over 2 hours to get to Bayeaux because we had to stop several times so Lynn could get out and walk. Sitting locks up her hip joint, which is what causes the muscle spasms, so it was definitely worth the extra time.
When we finally got to Bayeaux, we went to the museum that holds the famous Bayeaux Tapestry. The tapestry was made in the late 11th century and is about 230 feet long and 20 feet high. It tells the story of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The story in a nutshell…. King Edward of England was dying and asked his brother-in-law (Harold) to go to Normandy to tell William that he was Edward’s chosen successor. In spite of being kidnapped by one of William’s rivals, he finally succeeded in passing along the message. Before he left Normandy to head back to England, he pledged his allegiance to William. Once Harold got back to England, he found the king on his death bed. Once Edward died, Harold went back on his promise to William and declared himself King. Well, Williams was understandably pissed so he gathered his army, invaded England, and whooped Harold’s butt. So, William the Conqueror becomes king of England, France and just about everything else in Europe.
The tapestry tells this story with embroidery. It is an amazing piece of art and well worth the trip. Here are some pictures. No photos were allowed so this is the best we’ll be able to do. Bayeaux Tapestry
After lunch we headed to our new flat which is a beautiful stone house about 9km from Bayeaux. Once again, it’s in the middle of nowhere so while we have an internet connection, it’s very slow. Even though the bedrooms are upstairs, we think we’re going to enjoy staying here. The place is huge, so we have a little room to spread out.
Lynn’s back loosened up with all the walking she did at the museum. The spasms have stopped but it’s still very sore so it’s going to be an early night with a muscle relaxant. Hopefully it will be back to normal level of stiffness by the morning.
Tomorrow will be an all about D-Day sightseeing day. We’ll start in Utah Beach and head to the east, stopping at several museums and beaches along the way. For those of you who know Peter well, you know he’s crazy about the WWI/WWII history so this will be a great day for him. We’ll let you know how it goes. Night everyone and have a great holiday.