I took about a million pictures of Mont St Michael, attempting to capture in a photograph the sense of awe that overtook me when I saw the abbey through the bus windows for the first time. Over the last few days, I journeyed all the way up to northern France to see just this one church that I had decided years ago was a must-see. Mont St Michael is a very small village on a rock slightly off the coast of Normandy. The crowning glory of the village is a great abbey built on the highest rocks that is dedicated to the archangel Michael.
Construction on the abbey began in 708 when the Bishop of Avranches had a series of visions of the angel requesting that an abbey be built in his honor. Nothing of that original abbey remains as there have been various phases of construction through the eighteenth century. The oldest parts of the abbey remaining are from the tenth century, and the bulk of the construction was completed by the beginning of the fifteenth century. The structure is truly a testament to the genius of Gothic and Romanesque stone masons as the buildings are perched on the peak of a great rock formation. The cavernous halls and stairwells constitute a journey through centuries of innovative techniques in the construction of a great religious monument.
Today, the abbey again has a monastic life, after going through several conversions in purpose from fortress to prison. I went to mass in the great Romanesque cathedral, and I was very moved by the presence of monks and nuns cloaked entirely in white as they sang psalms from the chambers surrounding the sanctuary. The job of those living at Mont St Michael is to ensure there is constant prayer coming from the abbey.
After the abbey grew to be a place of religious pilgrimage, a town sprung up around the base. I was truly enchanted by the small Norman town. The people of Normandy seemed to be much more of a rural background than those of Lyon. The architecture was very different, as was the food. In the interest of continuing the cuisine-associated part of my blog, I'll say that crepes and creme brulee both have ancient roots in Normandy. I was in love with the food in the northern part of the country - everything was much heavier, and quite a lot cheaper. And as something of a creme brulee connoisseur, I will say the best I have ever had was from the small restaurant at which I ate the night I arrived. I had to restrain myself from licking out the three miniature pots in which the dessert was served. Sorry to dwell on food, but it's obviously one of the most important facets of daily life in my mind.
Due to some strange train connections (I think the woman who booked my ticket was confused), I also ended up getting to spend a few hours in Brittany. Brittany is another rural region in France with a very distinct culture. Because the area was in English possession for so long, the countryside looks very English, and the people have their own way of doing things. I found the people to be not very friendly; I think like any set of farm people they are very set in their ways and dislike change and outsiders. However, the towns were truly charming. I was in Dol en Bretagne on Saturday morning, with the market is full swing downtown. I thoroughly enjoyed the market until I saw one woman surrounded by crates of ducks and chickens. After a customer pointed to a particular bird, the vendor yanked the bird from the crate and with one swift motion broke the bird's neck. She was obviously selling the freshest fowl in the entire market.
Despite that one highly unpleasant experience, I had a most fabulous trip. I was thrilled to visit two regions of France that were entirely new to me, and I can't really relate in a post how magnificent I thought Mont St Michael was. The church was far greater than I had imagined it would be. So I guess that's the reason I couldn't get a picture that I thought did the structure justice: I had never seen one before. Wonderful photographs of the island prompted me to visit the particular bay in Normandy, but nothing prepared me for something so moving. But that's the joy of actually getting to see something in person for the first time. I'm very lucky to have had the opportunity to take such a wonderful weekend trip.
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