10 – Grand Rue

To the streets

Not long into the walk up to the final destination (the abbey) we arrived in the delightful small town on the lower reaches of the island.  Already bustling with visitors, although not crowded on the day I was there, the Grand Rue or Main Road of Mont St Michel is a charming step back into a time gone by. Not modern, yet not mediaeval either, the street is somewhat like being on the set of some film – a little unreal so that you almost expect to walk beyond the doors of the shops and restaurants to find there’s nothing there. But there is, for these solid buildings have stood for many years as old sepia postcards available will attest, and the restoration of the village since its days of dereliction is complete. It is not unkind to say that today every one of them is aimed squarely at us the visitors, for modern Mont St Michel only has a permanent population of some forty to fifty residents, including the few resident clergy.

How well that aim has been taken. The quality of the goods, services and food on offer is irresistible. Of course you can get the inevitable ‘snowglobe’ and ‘beermug’ variety of souvenir. I’m certain if you looked you’d even find the inevitable cornily sloganned T shirt, but even the most discerning collector of travel memorabilia will be certain to find something to suit their taste perhaps amongst the metal work, the fine needleworked pieces, the Gien earthenware or Limoges porcelain that is uniquely French. Today (perhaps sadly) you can order Mont St Michel souvenirs from these shops in your home via the internet – so, yes the Mont is truly living in the twenty first century.

I have made it a habit not to rush into buying anything on visits to any destination. I find there is something about that first rush of excitement in any new place that often impairs judgement. It is advice that should serve you well. Sometimes your perspective and the memories you may wish to retain of your visit will change along the way. This certainly was the case at Mont St Michel. 

09 – Behold

A tower

Mont St Michel has turrets …. and towers … and then it has TOWERS. That the word has both noun and verb forms in English is convenient, for indeed the many towers of the fortifications, and the Marvel do just that, above the visitor. My first encounter with an outlook tower occurred setting out on the walk from the Burghers Guardhouse at the entrance up towards the lower streets of the town nestled at the foot of the abbey at the summit.

Around the lower ramparts of the citadel are a number of these smaller fortified turrets, and they are quite imposing. Built of granite rock typical of the stone used in construction on the Mount, you will notice the long embrasures or arrow loops first used by archers in mediaeval times and later by artillery soldiers. These turrets were part of the lower defence system of the island.

As I had found in Paris, my visit to the mount was going to be one filled with the most amazing photo opportunities. Thank goodness this time for digital technology. I only hoped my batteries would last throughout the day. (They did).

08 – On Entry

Onwards … and upwards

Immediately you enter the paths, roads, streets and stairs of Mont St Michel you will be impressed if not overwhelmed by the scale of the place. Stone walls abound, and the fortifications look decidedly impenetrable. Although building on Mont St Michel originated in its use as a place of Christian worship and homage, much of its history has seen it under siege and attack, and the fortifications were increasingly strengthened over the centuries since dedication to its patron in the eighth century. The most notable and intense period of fortification was the Hundred Years War of the fourteenth century. Repeated attacks by the English later in the fifteenth century were withstood, but as monastic life declined so too did Mont St Michel, becoming a prison by the eighteenth century – the Bastille of the sea, and then the island went into gradual decline and decay (it has recovered!!!).

The rock on which the church and abbey are built is one of two in the area, which have over centuries withstood the ravages of time and tide. The larger of the two is St Michel and its foundation rock rose some two hundred and fifty feet above the sands surrounding it. Although appearing to be on flat and sandy land when the tide is out, the mount becomes an island when the waters rush in reaching a tidal height of some forty feet - and the tides of the bay surrounding Mont St Michel are amongst the strongest and most dangerous in the world. It is said that the incoming waters would beat a galloping horse – so be forewarned if you have plans as I did to walk around its base.

Having passed beneath the Overhang Gate, a considerable climb alongside the lower walls leads into the streets of the town, passing towers then along numerous external and internal stairs, along the ramparts ultimately reaching the upper level of the church.

With a deep breath we set out en route to the abbey at the top ……..

07 – Arrival

We’re Finally there…

We’d crossed the (controversial) causeway to the parking area. Mont St Michel towered above us, and only then I noticed that to a person everyone on the coach was already up, out of their seats - eager to alight and begin their exploration of the site.  Slowly the coach took its parking place alongside two others already there. This was apparently to be a quiet day!!!! The excursion offered an initial guided tour around the hallowed buildings and historic areas (in English and French) followed by the promise of three hours of free time to wander at will through the streets and shops of the small town – and for those a little more adventurous a chance to go down to the shore and, tide permitting get a three hundred and sixty degree perspective of the Mount from the there. I hoped to do it all.

On the journey, punctuated by our stopover at Carrouges with its own story, our guide Segolene had already explained much of the remarkable history of the Mount. Now it was time for that history to come to life.  Before us lay our point of entry, the Overhang Gate identifiable by the large oak beam built into the masonry of the, flanking walls of the Burghers’ Guardhouse - now home to the tourist office. There was not much new material I could gather here – I’d done my preparations well. Built about a century after the other two inner gates the Forward Gate (Porte de l’Avancée) is the first encountered of the three portals designed to strengthen the town and abbey fortifications against attack. The guardroom was originally manned by people of the Bourgeoisie (local townsfolk) who stood as an advance guard to the Royal militia stationed at the later gates and along the parapets.

And in we went .....

06 – Closer

We’re Almost there…

It has been said that I sometimes get so involved in certain matters that I ‘lose the plot’. OK - It’s true! And so it was with my preparation for visiting Mont St. Michel. I’d hit the web before leaving home, I’d bought the guide book long before  setting out on this journey, and I had collected a copy of every possible official Mont St Michel tourist brochure available in Paris immediately on my arrival.

That my mother had always called me by my second name (which is Michael) was surely of coincidence, but if I was going to learn about any single angel Saint, Michel it was to be.

St Michel (or Michael) is of course an archangel. I had learned that he was one of a select group of three of these high ranking venerated beings recognised by the Catholic Church, the others being Gabriel and Raphael.  Other religions including Judaism and Islam acknowledge at least a pecking order amongst the angels, although their  number at the arch level varies from seven to thousands, dependant on the text consulted. One thing they all seem to have in common however is the name ending of EL, being Hebrew I believe for “one of God”. Protestant Christian text would have their number down to two, Michael and Gabriel, with some Protestant devotees and certain denominations recognising only Michael as the sole archangel - the term itself translating into “Chief Angel”. However many you personally acknowledge, St Michael seems to be the common denominator. Sadly my prior knowledge of his worth was largely coloured by the surprising hit movie Michael starring John Travolta. I’d first have to dispel an image of the somewhat flawed, boozing, smoking though ultimately good being presented by Holywood in 1996.

From the windows of the coach (reflected in this shot) the Mount grew ever larger and details of its construction were now discernible - the silhouette so familiar from the stamp I’d known since early childhood took on it’s monumental reality.

I was here - at last.

05 – First sight

... And There it is.!...

My hunger sated by a bountiful breakfast of fresh meats, cheeses, eggs , breads and hot chocolate – and following a most enjoyable tour of the splendid chateau at Carrouges (yes,  I WILL cover that later) we re-boarded the coach. Eagerly pressed up against a window, my camera at the ready (for readers of Paris…In My Pocket! I had by now gone digital) and having ensured easy access to left, right and rear coach views, I anticipated my first sighting of the mount. I half hoped it would lie over the horizon of a hill, and would unexpectedly and instantaneously loom in all its full majesty into view as the hill was crested. But no – little by little the distant outline of its familiar silhouette revealed itself. At first I saw a small but unmistakable shape on the horizon, and then gradually, as the kilometres passed by it grew as if in slow motion.  We’re nearly there.

The day was relatively clear. Against the streaked azure blue of the sky and the verdant green pastures of Brittany, the stone of the mount and its abbey stood out quite clearly from quite some distance. Occasional glints of gold flashed from the top of the spire. St. Michael was surely beckoning his next batch of pilgrims as he has done for the millions before me – for with some 3.5 million visitors each year Mt St Michel is second only to Paris on France’s list of ‘must sees’.

Have you ever wished a moment could last forever, and yet be over at the same time? 

That was how I felt. I wanted to be there at once to start my exploration, and yet the getting there is a great part of the enjoyment of any travel experience (as much as some airport authorities today try to ensure that it is not the case ;-)

04 – Almost There

Towards The end of the (outbound) Journey...

It had taken the coach some five hours, including the Carrouges stopover at breakfast time, and passing through the fields of corn, strangely reminiscent of the familiar mielie (maize) farmlands back home in Africa (I guess if you’ve seen one maize field you’ve seen them all), I somehow sensed we were nearing our destination. There is something in the air right next to the coast that is unlike the inland atmosphere. I had on many occasions through this ride been sorry that I had not taken the ‘drive yourself’ option to get here. Those small provincial French villages, as in most of Europe, are completely irresistible - and reading through a guide book I had discovered in Paris I was only too aware of the many attractions we had sped past barely knowing, but for my having read of them, that they existed.

Of course I also knew that had I been driving myself this could never be a one day visit, and I would have been so busy concentrating on the roads I’d have missed much of the country scenery.

You pay your money and you make your choice! Besides, there’s always the next time …

03 – Leaving Paris

The start of the Journey ....

Mont Saint-Michel lies on the coast of France right on the border of Brittany and Normandy (more about that later), some 350 kilometres from Paris, making a one day visit from the city a real possibility. I had considered hiring a car and driving there myself but. remembering earlier experiences of driving in France (where, for me,  they drive on the wrong side of the road), I opted rather to join one of the daily guided bus excursions leaving the city in the very early morning, and returning later the same day to arrive back in Paris in the evening.

I also wanted to enjoy the scenery as we wended our way through the provincial countryside and villages, taking in some of the sights already familiar from watching televised coverage of the annual Tour de France cycle race. The trade off is of course that you cannot stop at will and explore these fascinating smaller towns and villages; but one bonus of the tour I selected was a stop en-route for breakfast at Carrouges, a family owned chateau in the Brittany countryside. (Although it will be sequentially incorrect I’ll cover Carrouges at the end of my journey’s record. Today’s image is therefore just a preview – the breakfast room awaiting our arrival at Carrouges).

And so it was that I left my hotel on the Boulevard Victor (chosen for its convenience to Porte de Versailles and the Paris Motor Show - see previous post) crossing the Boulevard to the nearby Métro station at around five o’clock in the morning. The metro train coaches were (unusually) almost empty even on arrival in the city centre. The bus was to leave from the Rue de Rivoli. It was already there, engine idling – the odour of it’s diesel fumes already contributing to the city’s smells. Gradually the coach filled with tourists, our guide boarded and we set out.

With my not being a morning person at all, it would take something very special to get my own engine started at this time of the day.

Indeed it turned out to be so.

02 – the Mondiale

The motor show ....

It may seem strange to start my story of Mont Saint-Michel with an insert on the exhibition centre at the Porte de Versailles, but on this trip I had come primarily to visit the Mondiale de l’Automobile (Paris Motor Show). If you followed my first Parisian visit through Paris…In My Pocket! you will have realised I wouldn’t need much of an excuse to return to the city.  

Beyond my childhood dream of seeing Mont Saint-Michel, one of the other items on my personal ‘bucket list’ has been to do the three main European Motor Shows (Paris, Geneva and Frankfurt), and this was the year for Paris to have her turn (Paris and Frankfurt politely alternate hosting two of Europe’s major motor exhibitions). With my Audi due for replacement and the four ringed German marque having just revealed it’s then still controversial new face PLUS - with the model of the RSQ Concept (seen in the movie iRobot) being Audi’s guest of honour - AND a rumour that the next Le Mans supercar prototype (now known in production as the covetable R8) may be on display - this seemed the obvious year to check that particular motor show box.

But that would fill a day, or probably two, leaving my planned week long visit with quite a few days open to fulfil some other long held wishes. Of course I’d have to revisit many of my favourite Paris city sites, but the further choices I had made were to visit:

Chartres (for the legendary stained glass windows of the cathedral),

Some of the Loire Valley châteaux and champagne estates

… and of course …

Mont Saint-Michel.

That image from the stamp just would not go away.

Not that I wished it would!

01 – The Stamp

Mont Saint-Michel

My grandfather collected stamps. He wasn't as dedicated to philately as he was to Freemasonry, and contact with his worldwide brethren meant that he increasingly had friends well scattered around the globe. In those pre e-mail days all correspondence was done by traditional postal mail services (imagine that), and my guess is that he saved the stamps from the letters he received for his young daughter (my mother), who later  in turn passed the slowly growing collection on to me.

As a child, these simple paper tokens fascinated me – not in the way a postage stamp collector would find them interesting - but for the images, the interesting people and landmarks of foreign lands sometimes represented on their faces. To me they were little works of art, and small hints of the wonders that lay beyond the borders of the isolated small African country which was then my home. I too slowly and occasionally added my own contribution to the family album of world souvenirs.

I cannot explain what it is that makes some images stand out more than others in my memory but in the entire collection, often not looked at for months or even years, there are perhaps five or six stamps I always see or recall when I think of that album.

And one of these is a simple sepia engraving of a tiny island off the coast of France. The post mark on the stamp indicates it was used in 1936, I suspect on an item posted in Calais. It fascinated me – in my young mind I thought it to be France’s own Bali Ha’i, and I decided to find out a little more about it. It has an interesting history. That ‘island’ (which is not always an island) is the Mont Saint-Michel. At the age of around ten I determined I would one day visit the Mount.

Never underestimate the power of your dreams.

It took me another forty years or more, but I did get there.

This then is the image that started my journey. Let me take you there.

Dave