Tidal Islands for 1000, Alex

Answer: This tidal island abbey was built in the year 708 and is referred to as The Wonder of the Western World.

Ummm... What is Mont Saint Michel?

Ding ding, right answer.

But before we get further into that, let's pick back up where we last signed off. So Friday... ummm... our plan was initially to maybe stay in, and just chill in Caffet Ango, which is a little snackbar type place in our residence building that is open only on Tuesdays and Fridays from 8 pm to midnight. They make and sell pizza, crepes, and some other stuff, all for very reasonable prices. So we started with that, but then, realizing that we weren't going to go out Saturday night due to having to be up bright and early Sunday morning for our trip to Mont Saint Michel, decided going out was the only logical thing to do. Myself, Igor, Karan, and Kelsey began the night by catching the 11 pm bus into town to go to Bar Ouf. It was nice for a little while, and our waitress/bartender was actually from Quebec, which allowed myself and her to converse some. But then we kinda noticed that we were the youngest people in the bar, and the crowd was getting older by the minute, so we left to find some other place. That place ended up being a bar/lounge/disco called Quid Novi. Quid Novi is almost beyond description. A very strange place. Basically when you walk in, it first looks like a small diner, with a couple of booths on either side of the hall, leading up to a bar/kitchen. But then you'll notice you have two options: stairs going down, or another hall in the back. If you take the stairs down, you'll find yourself in another small bar/lounge-type room, with an adjacent room in the style of a cave, with a DJ and small dancefloor. If dancing is not your thing, you could have continued on to the 2nd hall upstairs, which featured lounge-style big comfy chairs and couches, and a sign stating there was free wireless internet available. We decided on ordering one more round of drinks, and then dancing a bit. The place was kinda empty, with again, a bunch of older people upstairs, and a smattering of younger folk in the basement. The fact that there were so many older people out that night led us to the creation of a theory that in France, kids go out Thursday nights, and then stay home and babysit while their parents go out Friday nights. That's our theory and we're stickin to it. All the same, the night was kinda fun, and it ended with us chilling in our usual park waiting for the night bus. I noticed for the first time that two swans live in the pond in the park, and they were kinda cool, except that they made funny noises in our direction when they saw us. We decided to name them, and while I voted for Jeanne and Darc, the names Quid and Novi eventually won out.

Anyway, so Saturday I slept in, then made myself some eggs that I bought the day before for brunch. The day kinda flew by, and before we knew it, the sun was setting, which meant cooking dinner, then getting together in my room for a watching of Anchorman courtesy once again of Heather's DVD collection. After the movie, we officially booked our tickets for Italy online, and so we'll be leaving on the evening of Friday, February 23rd, and returning on Wednesday the 28th. Thus far, four of us, myself, Igor, Kelsey, and Heather, are confirmed as going, though others may possibly end up joining us. It should be pretty great.

Then next up was Sunday morning, when we awoke and boarded a bus for the school-organized trip to Mont Saint Michel. Mont Saint Michel is a tidal island in Normandy that, as you now know, was built in the year 708. Its peak features an abbey, and from a distance, it looks like a castle/fortress. It is the third most visited tourist site in France after the Eiffel Tower and Versailles. The treck involved a 2 and a half to 3 hour drive through the Normandy countryside, but eventually we arrived. We spent the first 2 hours going around the outside, climbing one side, going down another, and then going back up the middle. The lower parts of the mountain are full of small boutiques, boulangeries, and restaurants, and the abbey is up top.
We eventually went into the abbey, and it is quite minimalist, but beautiful all the same. And from up there, you had an incredible view of the tidal flats down below, and the nearby other tidal island called Ile de Tombelaine, which is deserted. After exploring it all day, we all boarded the bus back to residence tired, and slept parts of the way home.

So that's about all for now, but enjoy some more photos I took of Mont Saint Michel. Hope you're all doing well, and speak to you soon!

Dan










Tombelaine Island, as seen from Mont Saint Michel