Day Eight - Enough of All This World War II Stuff....Let's Go Medieval

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Still no relief from the sauna that is our bathroom. We actually cracked the windows open to get some fresh sea air during the night. Nevertheless, I got a good night's rest in preparation for our drive on to our next destination. I was going to miss the old Hotel Normandie which had been our French home for the past 4 nights. I might have been talked into one last big breakfast at the hotel, but by now we had so many leftover snacks and drinks in our car that we felt we needed to polish off some of that stuff.

Paying the bill was no problem despite the lack of a common language between us and the proprietors. $468.00 for two rooms for 4 nights. And no charge for the broken heater in the bathroom. Later, at our next hotel, I gave the Normandie a glowing review on TripAdvisor.

While our suitcases had been up in our rooms for the past 4 days and nights, we had accumulated quite a bit of new junk in the trunk - literally and figuratively. As we got ready to load up the Renault we discovered we were about to experience some difficulties getting everything inside. I tried multiple strategies to just squeeze in our four suitcases. But once I finally got them in the proper alignment, there was no room for our carry-on bags, purses, souvenirs and bags of goodies. The space between Cassie and Grandma in the backseat soon disappeared as all the purses and my camera bag in the middle became a wall between them. Gail's feet were perched at an odd angle atop the bags in front of her below the passenger's seat. I could barely shift gears because of the clutter forming a second barrier between driver and victims.

Once again, we made our way south toward Bayeux and the super highway by way of the LeClerc foodstore. More chicken sandwiches, chips, fruit and pastries.

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Photos

One Last Look at the Hotel Normandie
Lest one look at this photo and think we checked-out very early morning, just know that once again we were leaving the hotel during some more miserable, rainy weather. Each succeeding morning the hotel car lot had more cars. Cassie even spoke with someone from Brooklyn as we were leaving.

Just Another Unknown Chateau Along the Way
On our way out of the Bayeux area and before we reached the boring super highway (A84) we passed by this impressive estate. Once again, there was nothing in our guidebooks nor any signage in front to indicate the significance, if any, of this place. A nice big cross in front but no inscription explaining why it sits in front of the entrance.

A Quick Peek Inside
Once again I decided to be a bit daring and headed onto private property believing that my total lack of knowledge of the French language would help keep me from getting into too much trouble should the Gendarmes suddenly show up. When no one invited us inside for tea and crumpets we turned around and returned to the main road.

Still Looking for that Bustle in the Hedgerow
It's easy from this angle to understand why the Allied mechanized units couldn't simply roll across the wide expanses of fields in France and on into Germany when you see how each plot of farmland was delineated by dense rows of trees, rocks and shrubbery. Aerial photos would not have told the Allied commanders how these natural fences would slow the tanks and halftracks and provide the Germans perfect fortifications for raining fire down onto the invaders.

More Farmland
Since we had been driving nearly 45 minutes by now it was time for a pit stop. Shortly after hitting the A84 I found a rest stop with modern facilities.

Rest Stop Greeter
As I left the facility feeling much lighter and refreshed, I heard a wierd whistle in the direction of our rental car. At first I thought we might have a problem with a fan belt, but I quickly spotted this strange looking birdie chirping at me from a distant tree. My attempt to zoom in and capture him in a photo was only partially successful.

The Emerald City Awaits
So far most of the trip was catered toward my interest in WWII military history. Back in the days when Gail and I worked for the airlines one of our offices featured a big picture of an odd castle built on a plump little island in the middle of the sea. We learned it was Mont St. Michel. When we started traveling to Europe together we always said one day we would make a trip to see this wacky looking place in person. It took us almost 35 years to make it. Coming around a wide bend around a mountain on the super highway Mont St Michel suddenly appeared off in the distance. As quickly as we caught a glimpse, it disappeared. We had to drive another 15 minutes until we caught another look.

Just a Little Closer
We pulled into a nice sized gravel parking lot on the road toward MSM but were not alone. A group of load non-French (and not American) tourists in three cars were yukking it up while we waited to get to the best camera spot in the corner of the lot. They were really obnoxious and took their sweet time about getting out of our way and giving us a clear line of sight.

Zooming In
I didn't really think much at the time about the sheep in the foreground but it seems like almost every travel website photo of Mont St Michel also has the fuzzy little fellows posing in front.

And Now From a Slightly Different Angle
By now the talky tourists had finally left us on our own in the parking lot. Gail and I leaped over a few puddles to get yet another shot. What I've put up here may seem like overkill, but the fact is I actually deleted more than I posted.

More Norman Mud
It hadn't rained in hours but there was still mud and big puddle everywhere. If this had been our own car I would have made everyone remove their shoes but Hertz is paying someone to clean up our mess.

Finally Found It
Even though we were once again depending on two GPS units to get us to the Mont St Michel parking lot we still ended-up in the wrong place. No cars may go within two miles of the island city and a humongous parking area has been built to accomodate the cars, trucks, vans, cycles and campers of the thousands of daytrippers arriving each day. Since we had built our entire Normandy Christmas Vacation itinerary around our reservation for the night inside the city walls we were also given a special code to park in the special lot for the very few hotel guests that would be spending the night. The official population of MSM is 44 people with only 5 hotels or inns on the island itself. But in and around the immense parking lot there are probably twenty modern chain hotels. The place has to be an absolute zoo in the summer.

So There's the Way In
In trying to find our parking area I accidently ended-up in the bus lot. When I attempted to enter the code we were given into the turnstile keypad it was immediately rejected and an angry French voice challenged me. When I replied in English that we were staying at Le Mounton Blanc Inn he very kindly instructed me to turn around and go to the next lot. In English! These Normans are destroying all the myths about the rude French.

View From Our Hotel Room?
Nope. We had to walk nearly a mile from the parking lot carrying our overnight bags (we had been warned not to haul our suitcases) to get to special shuttle buses that would take us to the medieval town. The shuttle buses were typically French in design and rather ugly if not practical.

Boxy Bus
That's one of the shuttles that you take after your mile long hike from the lot to the bus. Then the bus takes you maybe half a mile before stopping and dropping you off another half mile away from the city gate. I think a monorail system would make more sense in getting eager tourists and their wallets to this magic kingdom.

Construction Around the Thousand Year Old Village
Old photos and some vintage videos on Youtube show that not too long ago visitors to Mont St Michel could park on the narrow road leading up to the castle. The best videos show some of those cars being washed-out to sea when the infamous high tide came rolling in at sixty miles an hour and covered the causeway. Now they have elevated that road and limited access to shuttle buses only. When the project is completed I think the bus will actually drop tourists much closer to the town walls.

Not High Tide Yet
If the truth be known we were so enamored of the old city and its many charms that we plum forgot to take the time to watch for the incoming high tide. I reckon we missed three good opportunities in the time we spent on the island. We seemed to have arrived just after high tide. We later observed wacky daredevils hiking on the sandy beaches during the lowtide.

The Best View Yet
I should probably crop the tourists out of this shot but it does go to show how busy this place gets even during the depressing Winter months.

Reminds Me a Little of Old Quebec
The nice thing about the hundreds of tourists was that we only had to follow them to make our way inside. Later that same night Gail and I took a midnight stroll all along those upper alleys not really knowing where we were headed.

The Abbey and Monastery
Mont St Michel was established back in the Eight Century when monks established the monastery on the peak of the rocky island that had previously been used only during the mild summer months by fishermen. Interestingly, the settlement of the island town mirrors the social ladder of the feudal period when MSM achieved its greatest fame: at the top of the mount and the society is the church. The next lattice down the ladder and island was the nobility with their stately homes and at the bottom were the shopkeepers and freemen. The peasant farmers were outside the walls with their sheep.