Day 29

The legend is that St Michael, the archangel came to earth to convince the local Bishop to build a Monastery and cathedral on this mountain. He came to the bishop in dreams two nights in a row and the bishop ignored him. The third night, St Michael had lost his patience and pushed on the bishops head so hard that a hole was created in his skull showing he meant business. The nest day the bishop got started on the plans for the church which was built starting in the 8th century. This story lends a new meaning to the saying, “He must have a hole in his head.”

We climbed up the cobblestone streets to the base of the church. It was almost as crowded as Pamplona had been. The crowd was much better behaved though. We got tickets for the tour and had a very nice young lady, who said she was a trainee tour giver; you would never know it, take us and 4 others on an hour tour. It was very interesting and amazing to think about how they built this huge structure on the side of a pyramid shaped stone mountain. The views across the tide flats were amazing too. It was a very low tide and you could see forever. Until recently, pilgrims coming to this holy spot had to cross the tide flats, about 6 kilometers, during low tide to get here. Not so bad except the flats are filled with quick sand and when the tide comes in, it is at a rate of one meter per second. We learned much about Benedictine life in the monastery’s earlier years.
This a definite do not miss if you are in France.

We went and checked in to our hotel room, which had a full wall of windows that viewed the Mont. We decided to go back for dinner as there were many restaurants on the hill. We wanted to go have an omelet that had been cooked on a wood fire as we had watched them being made earlier in the day. As it happened we did not eat there, but would certainly try it in the future. We found a spot that had a view of the incoming tide for Mark and a hamburger steak that he though was wonderful. The Norman roast chicken and vegetables were pretty great too. The tide was going to be very high that evening so the announcement to move your cars out of the parking lot before they were under water was made. We were parked high and dry so we just sat and watched as it rushed in, and rushed it did. I would not have wanted to be about 1 kilometer away, walking around quick sand when it came in. The lights then came up on the cathedral and it was absolutely stunning. I actually got up in the night and sat by the hotel window for awhile just because of the amazing view.
SKC

written by  pscossette on July 16, 2007 from Pontorson, France
from the travel blog: The Cossette Family Sabbatical
Send a Compliment

comment on this...