The marvel

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Geo: 48.6329, -1.50956

Out of the hotel at 8:30 this morning (said goodbye to Boobie; he was indifferent) for the drive to
Brittany. We all knew that today would be a long bus day (5 hours), but it was really difficult to stay awake. Caught glimpses of grape vines and plenty of cows and sheep, as well as an outdoor dog obedience class.

Our lunch stop was in Fougères, which is very small but boasts a cathedral and a ruined castle. Yvonne, Bert and I ate at La Duchesse Anne and were served by an Irish woman! Bert and I both had galettes (egg, cheese and bacon for me), and Yvonne went straight for an apple-caramel crepe. Had cider again too, but this one was more beery than the one I had at Chambord. It was a very filling lunch and only came to 7.60 euro. Stopped in one of the shops
afterward to buy some postcards and “fresh cola”-flavor Mentos.

On the road again, Rolinka got on the subject of how some people have had bidets in their hotel rooms (I have not). She was curious to know what we do with them because she said she's had groups who tell her they wash their socks in the bidet or – eucchh! -- wash grapes or apples in it. Then she started to talk about what they're really for. This somehow turned to terminology and how she can use the phrase “pipi stop” for just about any nationality of tour group, and they know it means a rest stop. We told her that pee-pee is baby language in America, but she said it's not that at all in Europe, adults say it too and it's not considered odd. She thought it was funny that in America we often refer to it as “Number 1,” with the follow-up being “Number 2.”
She said that “Number 2” in the Netherlands is called “the big message,” which of course cracked us all up.

We finally got to a point where we could occasionally see Le Mont-St. Michel looming in the distance. It's like a mirage or something out of a fairy tale and, in fact, it's referred to as “la merveille”: the marvel. It was built in the year 708 when a bishop was visited three times in a dream by the Archangel Michael and ordered to build a chapel on the island. He was reluctant to do this, but when during the third dream the Archangel touched the bishop in the middle of his forehead, the bishop decided he had better do it because he woke up with a small hole in his head. The chapel was later enlarged to house an abbey for Benedictine nuns, and it was further enlarged over the centuries. The island was historically part of Brittany (something about where it was placed in relation to the river), but since the 19th century it has been part of Normandy. It was then that the causeway was built that goes from the mainland to the island, and this essentially dammed up the sea surrounding the island and apparently destroyed a whole ecosystem in the process. There is now a project in the works to replace the causeway with a bridge, and this will allow the sea to surround the island permanently again.

René dropped us at a parking lot on the mainland side so that we could walk on the causeway to the island. The mount gets closer and closer, and it's just spectacular. The only problem was avoiding all the “big messages” left by the grazing sheep. We stopped about halfway to the mount in order to toast ourselves with cider. When we continued on, I started slipping and sliding in the mud so much that Rolinka had to grab me so I wouldn't fall. The side of my pants is kind of muddy now, and my shoes are definitely muddy.

René met us at the parking lot at the foot of the mount to give us our luggage, and then we trekked up the hill to the main part of the hotel to get our keys. A few people are staying the annex right next door to the main hotel, a few people are staying farther up the road and farther up the side of the hill in another annex, and I am staying even farther up in the building called Le Chapeau Blanc. My room is really cute, with a beamed ceiling, wooden-shuttered windows (which are right on the path; it's slightly disturbing hearing people walk by because they are right there), and separate toilet and shower rooms. The toilet room is a sort of coffin that looks like something from an airplane, and the shower room is also a prefab thing made of plastic. Also, no shower curtain, just that ridiculous single pane of glass. If there's one thing Americans know how to do well, it's bathrooms!

I dropped my stuff in my room, combed my hair (it was pretty windy on the causeway) and then went down to the other building to see if Holly and Yvonne had wandering-around plans. Their room is really cute and has a double bed, a single bed, and a Murphy bed! It's also full of light and their shower stall has a whole door on it. Since Lynn and Anne were visiting, I got to see their room too. It's all done in yellow and has a double bed in one room, and then two singles in the next room. Their bathroom is barely big enough to turn around in, so it's a good thing they are both petite. I am the only one to have a safe and a chest of drawers.

So we all wandered farther uphill, stopping to buy a few souvenirs, and made it nearly to the top where the abbey is ... figured we'd save that for tomorrow though. And anyway, it started to rain. We are all resting in our rooms now because the shops appeared to be closing at 6:00, and we
can't go to dinner till 7:00. There is no wi-fi access here, and I was really hoping to be able to Skype John.

LATER: Dinner was included on the tour tonight, but we were given vouchers for our choice of two different restaurants. 24 of the 28 of us chose the same one because it has a view of the bay: La Croix Blanche. I sat with Yvonne and Holly next to a window, and the view did seem to go on forever. Dinner was a multi-course affair and also seemed to go on forever. For starters, I had jambon cru de pays, which was several slices of a marvelous prosciutto-ish sort of ham garnished with tomatoes, lettuce, olives and hard-boiled egg slices. Then there was a palate cleanser: apple sorbet in calvados. Oh la la! My main plate was gratin de morue (cod with au gratin potatoes), which was followed by three small pieces of goat cheese: camembert, Pont L'Évêque, and livarot. All very good, and progressively stinky. Dessert was soufflé Normand, a sort of custard on top of a biscuit, topped with apples and caramel, and swimming in a creamy calvados-laced sauce. All washed down with Kir. So good; such decadence!

And to cap it all, it's just before 11:00 p.m. and I'm turning off the computer and going to bed!

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Photos

Fougeres
Where we at lunch.

Me
That small grey triangle next to my head is Mont St. Michel.

My room
I forgot to get a picture of the prefab shower and toilet cabins.

Dinner
Holly, Yvonne and me toasting with Kir.