Medieval Sunday

We spent the day in the middle ages ... sort of. We began our day with a trip to Mont Saint Michel, a small rocky island with an abbey named after the Archangel Michael. The first things were built on the island in 708, though parts of the abbey are new - built in the 1500s! Its about a 90 minute drive from Bayeux, where we are staying (we have a lovely rental car - a Peugot with a sun roof). We arrived about 9:30 (you can do the math - we even had breakfast before setting out so we were ambitious) and were glad to beat the crowds of tour buses.

You can see 'the Mont' from miles away, sitting out in the bay. You need to take a causeway to get to the parking area and then walk the rest of the way through the town and to the abbey. The streets are narrow and lined with many opportunities to spend one's Euros, from the upscale (60 E omelets and Saint James clothing) to the downright tacky (orange and green plastic swords made in China). The hike up through the town (or along the ramparts, where John and Ben went) is steep but well worth it to get to the abbey. Apparently, only about a third of the visitors to Mont Saint Michel actually go IN the abbey (because the climb is daunting), but we did and were so pleased. The views are spectacular and the building itself is sparse but lovely. It befits the cloistered monastery it was (there are still a few monks living there, and we saw one of them as he dodged into a hallway). Mont Saint Michel is part of a worldwide celebration of sacred mounts and as such there were photos within the abbey of people climbing similar heights in Ireland, China, etc. It was really moving to think about others around the world making similar climbs to see sacred spots.

This afternoon we visited the Bayeux tapestry, best described as the story of William the Conqueror told in pictures on fabric. It is very long and thin and is amazing in its detail. More amazing is that it is about a thousand years old. The people of the town treat it with the respect and care it deserves - the visitor's center is wonderful and they even have a children's audio tour which tells little stories of interest to kids. There are no pictures posted of the tapestry because cameras are prohibited - you'll have to wait until we get home to see the book we purchased. Bayeux itself has been populated for 2,000 years - it is mind boggling to think that people have been living in this spot for that long and that some of the buildings here date to the middle ages.

I finished the day doing laundry at two laundromats - yes, two. I did the wash in the first but then the machine that takes the money stopped taking money so I had to move to a different one to dry it. But hey, at least I had dryers available (not to mention automatic washers)! Met some lovely French women in the laundromat, and managed to figure out which machines were for washing (lavage) and drying (sanch-something), even though nothing was in English.

Two final notes (particularly for the Gingrich family members): First, we bumped into a group of people from southern Ohio and Kentucky staying at our hotel, all Kentucky fans (they went there together). We had a great chat with them about Sam Bowie and basketball in general and I told them that my grandpa taught me to cheer for UK. Second, we are seeing tons of cattle and sheep and I keep thinking how much Grandpa would love to see the small farms. We took a picture of a sheep crossing sign for Martha.