Day 53 - Mont-St-Michel

After a filling hotel breakfast (at least it was for me because I ate almost everything they had available), we headed to Mont-Saint-Michel. It took a couple hours to get there and we were able to take some naps.That is Mont-Saint-Michel in the distance.

It was a little difficult to wake her up :)

Then we arrived! It is incredible. Many pictures are coming up; be prepared!

Around the abbey, there is a small village. More people used to live here, but as it became more of a tourist destination, they replaced living quarters with touristy shops and such.

A couple of the nuns that live here going to Mass.

Mère Poulard is someone who used to live here (actually, her remains are still here. Picture to come). She opened this restaurant where she made special omelet souffle things for the visitors. They looked delcious, but for 55 euro a plate, we decided to eat someplace else for lunch!

This is Mère Poulard's grave, where she is buried along with her husband.

This is our tour guide. She was really cool! (She was midsentence while I took the picture)

Dr Ricks taking a picture of us with the abbey.

This facade was made after the French Revolution. The original church went out a bit further than this, but that part was destroyed so they had to shorten it.

Romanesque wooden barrel vaulting.

Modern stained glass. I actually really liked it. It lets a lot more light in.

Flamboyant Gothic style.

This is the cloister.

Kitchen chimney used for the important guests who came to the abbey.

Inside the chimney.

Underneath the abbey. Some info - the church was built on top of a huge rock. Well, doing this is not exactly an easy task. So they built four rooms around the top of the rock that would serve as the base for the church. This is one of the rooms.

Prisoners were put into this wheel to turn it. Like hamsters.

Original rock that Mont-Saint-Michel was built on.

Saint Michel

It was amazing! And though it was a little cold, I went to the water and touched it :)

That was the end of our short trip. We then headed back to Paris (wow, I almost wrote Springville). It took about 4.5 hours, but we finally arrived at our respective homes! It was an awesome trip! Now I get to stay up and do French homework... :)