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!