On the way to Le Mont-Saint-Michel - Rainy Brittany- 3
On the way to Le Mont-Saint-Michel
Le Mont-Saint-Michel [↗] is still in Normandy, but since it's one of the most famous places in the area, you can't miss it.
But we'll start the day with a brief look at one of the beaches that all the Americans are here for. The Longues-sur-Mer Battery [↗] on Gold Beach was part of the German coastal fortifications of the Atlantic Wall and is the only battery in Normandy to retain some of its original guns.
It's pretty cold this morning, so we put on extra fleece jackets and go to see what's left there. There are only a few people around, all part of small tour groups, following their guides as they explain some details on the map.
Our next stop is Sortosville-en-Beaumont. Jürgen found some nice pictures of old houses and a gas station. The old houses turn out to be La Maison du Biscuit [↗]. They have restored a whole row of adjacent houses from the 19th century and turned them into one big shop.
Inside it is pure temptation. Of course, as you would expect from a biscuit shop, there are sweets. But also wine, sausages and much more. We had planned to go shopping only at the end of the trip and now this.
We were very modest, but in addition to delicious meringue cookies and other sweets, we also bought the good fish soup concentrate and the pink salt that Freya had been looking for elsewhere. Then we quickly leave this place. There was so much more we could have taken.
From Sortosville-en-Beaumont we drive to Coutances, which is more or less on the way to Le Mont-Saint-Michel. We park the car in the city center and have a look inside the cathedral. Again we admire the huge and colorful windows.
Since the dinner options around Le Mont-Saint-Michel seem to be limited, we stop at the Leclerc supermarket on the outskirts of town. This is one of those big hypermarkets and we are a bit lost, but finally we buy a baguette, red wine and some other things.
We put our groceries in the car and take a look at the restaurant, but we hardly find anything to our taste. Then Freya discovers roasted ham with slices cut off. She orders a slice for Jürgen and herself, plus extra sauce and a salad. It's okay, but our expectations of French cuisine are different.
The last destination on today's list is the Abbey of Lucerne d'Outremer. Unfortunately, it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays outside of the French holidays. What a pity. But ok, that gives us a little more time for Le Mont-Saint-Michel.
Our hotel is near the bridge that connects the mountain to the mainland. Therefore we are allowed to park in the otherwise restricted area. We received a code by mail the day before, and after having mistakenly followed the signs to the regular parking lot at first, we are now able to open the gate that is otherwise closed.
We drop our luggage in our room. By the way: Many French hotels do not have elevators.
We don't want to be on the island too early because we want to avoid the crowds. So we walk behind the hotel onto a dam and then over a weir onto the fields to the left of the abbey. After a while we turn around and take the complementary bus over the bridge to the island.
We are here in the early evening in mid-October, but we can well imagine what it is like at midday or even in the summer. We walk up the steep, long alley, climb the stairs, and stop to look at the little church on the way. Most of the shops and restaurants are already closed for the day, but we knew that. The abbey itself is also closed.
After a while we decide to turn back and this time we walk over the bridge.
The next morning, Jürgen gets up early to take some pictures of Le Mont-Saint-Michel at sunrise. Again, he crosses the weir and follows the same path we took yesterday. Just a little further until he finds a suitable foreground.
Freya is happy about the extra space in bed and sleeps a little longer. When Jürgen comes back we go for breakfast and here they even have whole grain bread with nuts and raisins and salty butter. A good start to the day.
