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 ;-)