Day 7: Brittany and Mont St-Michel
Rose: I really enjoyed the fries and salad tonight at dinner! I have been going above and beyond to try new foods on this trip, so I appreciated one meal that reminded me of home.
Thorn: The torrential downpour made the walking miserable and dangerous at Mont St-Michel because it made for slippery cobblestones!
By 8:30 A.M. the tour group was on the road again to Fougères, France. It was a long drive, but the time flew by with Graeme's wonderful history talks and a nice rest stop in between. Graeme even bought us all crêpe cookies dipped in dark chocolate. We drove through the Brittany region this morning. Clinton, my father, is a farmer and would have loved it! Brittany is known for agriculture and cattle, two of Clinton's favorite things. There were dairy cows everywhere and many fields overflowed with wheat, corn, barley, and potatoes. The architecure in this region features stone, brick, and granite buildings, which was vastly different from the Loire Valley's white wash walls we saw previously. Brittany is also known for crêpes, galettes, and cider. . . so of course Susan and I took advantage of these specialities at lunch in Fougères.
The town of Fougères was very charming and quaint, especially as we wandered all over it looking for a lunch place. We walked through a beautiful public park and garden, but there was no time to "stop and smell the roses" because we were on a fast track to lunch at "La Duchess Anne." Lunch was delicious, minus my chitterling sausages. I was completely unaware that chitterlings are pork intestines wrapped in pork bowels. I read online that they are sometimes jokingly called "feces" sausages. My galette with chitterlings sausages and apples was not my favorite, yet I still ate most of it. Susan chose the safer option of a ham, egg, and cheese galette and enjoyed it thoroughly. We both shared the best sugar crêpe ever for dessert, and we even tried some cider.
The drive from Fougères to Mont St-Michel was uneventful, and we arrived in pouring rain. The walk from the bus lot to Mont St-Michel should have been beautiful, but trying to juggle an umbrella and our overnight bag in the pouring rain was certainly not ideal. It sure made me thankful we didn't have our suitcases! The abbey and mountain were still absolutely stunning, but the rain certainly put a damper on things (pun intended).
Our hotel was La Vieille Augerge at Mont St-Michel. The rooms were scattered throughout the mountain, and we got one of the best room according to Graeme. It was the highest up, therefore the most stairs, but the views were spectacular! It is awesome to be able to sleep right next to an abbey, with a great view of the bay and the soothing sounds of seagulls. We loved hearing prayer bells signaling prayer for the monks and nuns at the abbey.
Dinner was at "La Croix Blanche" with the tour group tonight. We watched the high tide come in which was incredible! What was a large sandy bay quickly turned into an island in the Atlantic Ocean. We enjoyed a wonderful five-course meal including chicken ceasar salad, apple sorbet with Calvados (to "puncture a hole in our stomachs" and make room for the rest of the meal), steak and fries, a cheese plate, and dessert.
Thorn: The torrential downpour made the walking miserable and dangerous at Mont St-Michel because it made for slippery cobblestones!
By 8:30 A.M. the tour group was on the road again to Fougères, France. It was a long drive, but the time flew by with Graeme's wonderful history talks and a nice rest stop in between. Graeme even bought us all crêpe cookies dipped in dark chocolate. We drove through the Brittany region this morning. Clinton, my father, is a farmer and would have loved it! Brittany is known for agriculture and cattle, two of Clinton's favorite things. There were dairy cows everywhere and many fields overflowed with wheat, corn, barley, and potatoes. The architecure in this region features stone, brick, and granite buildings, which was vastly different from the Loire Valley's white wash walls we saw previously. Brittany is also known for crêpes, galettes, and cider. . . so of course Susan and I took advantage of these specialities at lunch in Fougères.
The town of Fougères was very charming and quaint, especially as we wandered all over it looking for a lunch place. We walked through a beautiful public park and garden, but there was no time to "stop and smell the roses" because we were on a fast track to lunch at "La Duchess Anne." Lunch was delicious, minus my chitterling sausages. I was completely unaware that chitterlings are pork intestines wrapped in pork bowels. I read online that they are sometimes jokingly called "feces" sausages. My galette with chitterlings sausages and apples was not my favorite, yet I still ate most of it. Susan chose the safer option of a ham, egg, and cheese galette and enjoyed it thoroughly. We both shared the best sugar crêpe ever for dessert, and we even tried some cider.
The drive from Fougères to Mont St-Michel was uneventful, and we arrived in pouring rain. The walk from the bus lot to Mont St-Michel should have been beautiful, but trying to juggle an umbrella and our overnight bag in the pouring rain was certainly not ideal. It sure made me thankful we didn't have our suitcases! The abbey and mountain were still absolutely stunning, but the rain certainly put a damper on things (pun intended).
Our hotel was La Vieille Augerge at Mont St-Michel. The rooms were scattered throughout the mountain, and we got one of the best room according to Graeme. It was the highest up, therefore the most stairs, but the views were spectacular! It is awesome to be able to sleep right next to an abbey, with a great view of the bay and the soothing sounds of seagulls. We loved hearing prayer bells signaling prayer for the monks and nuns at the abbey.
Dinner was at "La Croix Blanche" with the tour group tonight. We watched the high tide come in which was incredible! What was a large sandy bay quickly turned into an island in the Atlantic Ocean. We enjoyed a wonderful five-course meal including chicken ceasar salad, apple sorbet with Calvados (to "puncture a hole in our stomachs" and make room for the rest of the meal), steak and fries, a cheese plate, and dessert.