Early Sunday morning, at 7am, I took part in another excursion. I boarded a bus heading to St. Malo and Mont Saint Michel. It was dark when I walked to school and the moon was still in the sky. We all waited anxiously for the buses to depart to see the much-anticipated and talked about departments of Bretagne and Normandy. We left for our 3-hour journey just as the sun was rising and the fog was lifting over the countryside. It was such a beautiful view and as I drifted in and out of sleep, it felt almost like a dream.
Lucas leaned over and said to Amanda, Tyler, and me, and said, two hours in, “Can you believe we are only in Rennes?” But, of course, we had no idea where that was geographically that his statement meant absolutely nothing. And we waited as we drove onward. Finally, around 10:30, we arrived to the port city Saint Malo.
This is a picture on top of the walls. Below a few stories is the city streets and below to the left is the port.
All of the other students were going up the wall and to see the view of the city. As there was so many of us, we, Audrey, Amanda, Tyler, Lucas, and I, decided we would first explore the city. We walked up the cobble stoned streets and came across the Cathedral. As it was a Sunday just before 11, we were standing and admiring the architecture just as the church bells starting ringing signaling that it was time for Mass. It was almost deafening as we were right below the bell tower as they echoed through the city streets. It was such a cool experience to watch all of the locals come walking by, headed to church.
From there, we saw a lot of people walking on top of the walls (Saint-Malo is a walled city along the coast) so we decided we would walk over to where the walls were to see what was going on. And, oh my goodness, what a view! Through the door in the wall, beyond a balcony, was the sand and the sea! We climbed down stairs, crossed big rocks all to reach the water! It was so wonderful! The air was fresh and smelled of salt, and the water was only a bit cold. We took pictures, searched for shells, and walked along the shoreline. Behind us was the stone wall that made way for the city and in front of us was endless water with sailboats and fish. After living in a city for so long, it was calming and refreshing to just stand there, looking and enjoying the moment.
From there, we walked along the wall, down alleyways, and just explored. We ended up back at the port entrance, and decided to try the famous Saint Malo crêpes. Later, after still being hungry, we found a small snack restaurant and ate lunch. With not much time left until our departure, we climbed up onto the wall and saw the view of the city and the port. The city looked so cool with such old architecture.
After boarding the bus, we drove on, taking in the last views of the city. We drove through small towns along the coast, passing by cows, horses and goats, and buildings made of stone with thatched roofs. We even saw white trash bags we thought were sheep!
When we finally arrived, after much anticipation of seeing Mont St Michel through the fog, we took a bus to the entrance point. We entered through a sort of arch and immediately were in the city. The streets were cobblestoned, winding up the side of the island alongside shops and restaurants. Everyone from our group was to head to the Abbey first as we had tickets.
We climbed up step after step after step, quickly losing our breath as we saw the city below us disappear. After entering the abbey, we climbed more steps to reach a terrace that looked out upon the ocean and France. All around us was sand because the tide had receded earlier. People, who looked like bugs from a distance, were down below, walking through the sand. It was truly a site to see and I don’t think any of my pictures could give it justice.
Walking through the abbey, it was amazing to think of the people who had built it so many years ago. It seems almost impossible to think of how they transported all of the stone and the fact that they built such an immense and wonderful church and abbey on top of a mountain in the ocean. In that time, once it was finally built, it must have been such a peaceful place.
It was only a short visit, and I would have quite liked to have walked in the sand outside of the city to get a better appreciation for the island. But, we only had such a short time, and were quickly distracted by other things in the city. Overall, it was a beautiful and impressive abbey and island.
On the way back, after a little over three hours in the bus and lots of laughter, we arrived back to the university. We all walked back to our houses together because we are all neighbors. Along the way, we were stopped by a French woman. She started talking to us and telling us that her car wouldn’t start and she needed help pushing it. I didn’t think I had heard her correctly as people normally talk so quickly that it takes me a few seconds to catch up. But, surely enough, she was saying what I thought she was saying. So, the group of us, pushed her car down the street (it was very light I must say) until finally it started and she was able to go on her way. It was such a strange moment to say the least and such a random way to end the evening, but I got to learn some car vocabulary along the way! Anyways, enough of my ramblings!
As always, thanks for stopping by my corner of sweetness!
Emily
UPDATE: Here is a video that Lucas made from our trip. You can check out his blog about St. Malo here.
Sweet Like Speculoos 