On Wednesday, we left Etretat and headed southwest to the Bayeux area, the Normandy Beaches, and Mont Saint Michel, with a quick stop in Beuvron-en-Auge, shown in the slideshow below. Beuvron is affiliated with Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ("the most beautiful villages of France"), an independent association of communes and communities of communes which seeks to promote as tourist destinations those small, picturesque French villages which meet its membership criteria. I think you can see why.
Driving a few more miles along the coast, we entered Bayeux, famous for the Bayeux Tapestry, a UNESCO-listed embroidered cloth depicting the 1066 Norman Conquest (which was on tour as the museum is under renovation), and its magnificent Romanesque-Gothic Notre-Dame Cathedral. Bayeux was the first French town liberated in June 1944 (they LOVE American GIs). Bayeux Cathedral, also known as Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayeux (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux) was consecrated on 14 July 1077 in the presence of William, Duke of Normandy. It was on this site that William may have forced Harold Godwinson to take an oath of support to him, the breaking of which led to the Norman Conquest of England. One of the most beautiful sites we saw on this trip.
About 30 minutes from Bayeux is the Normandy American Cemetery, where the legendary D-Day beach landings took place. Hard to even comprehend what happened in this beautiful place, a fitting final resting place for so many courageous American servicemen and women.
We then made our way to Mont Saint Michel, a stunning view as we approached. Visitors must park on the mainland, then walk or take a shuttle to the Mont. I booked a hotel on the Mont, wanting to fully take in the experience of 'life on the Mont'. What I didn't realize is that the hotel was up about 25 medieval steps, and then another set of 50 steps to get to our room, and no, there are no elevators. We really should have consolidated down to one suitcase! After checking into our room, we ventured out in the dark to see the tide come in, with bells ringing as a warning. We visited the Eglise Paroissiale Saint-Pierre (Saint-Pierre Parish Church) tucked in one of the corners of the Mont (see the statue of Saint Michael the Archangel, depicting him in the traditional pose of defeating a dragon).
The next day, we drove about 45 minutes west along the coast to Saint-Malo, and for once, I had not planned the day, so this day was full of delightful surprises. Tall granite walls surround the old town, which was once a stronghold for privateers (pirates approved by the king). Saint-Malo Cathedral, in the center of the old town, is built in Romanesque and Gothic styles and features stained-glass windows depicting the city's history. The cathedral was extended from the 13th to the 18th centuries and has a Neo-Gothic spire on top of it, which was destroyed on August 6, 1944, at the start of the battle for the liberation of the town. The reconstruction of the spire in 1971 marked the end of the work involved in rebuilding the historic town of Saint-Malo. Eight centuries after the initial construction, the remains of an old Romanesque cloister, forming part of this first cathedral dating from the 12th century, were found in the ruins of a house near this location. We were able to walk the ramparts and enjoy the views of the Atlantic on a beautiful sunny day.
Since we had arrived at Mont Saint Michel later in the afternoon, just before sunset, we made sure we to returned to the Mont to take in the Abbey and walk around the ramparts while it was still light out. We made the climb to the Abbey (many, many more steps), purchased tickets, and then climbed again to enter. We explored this wonder of medieval architecture, navigating up, down, and around to take in its beauty, and learned more about how the the building of the santuary. I found this post regarding the structure interesting: https://elcaminothrumylens.com/.../build-it-and-they.../ We learned more about how this amazing structure came to be as a result of a series of dreams the Bishop of Avranches had, where the Archangel Michael appeared to Aubert and instructed him to build a church on the tide-worn rocky islet now known as Mont Saint-Michel. It was only after Michael appeared several times and even burned a hole in Aubert’s skull with his finger that the bishop complied. Today, Aubert’s skull, complete with the hole, is a religious relic displayed in the Saint-Gervais Basilica in Avranches.
Have you ever visited Mont Saint-Michel? Leave your comments below! Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.
Comments
Post a Comment