But, I do have this, the 12th day, which will be my last entry about my Paris adventures.
I've seen pictures of Mont St Michel many, many times and dreamed of going there. That dream came true on this day-long trip from Paris.
I hopped on a subway line to take me to one of Paris's massive train stations to catch the TGV leaving at 8am. The topography along the way was pretty flat with lots and lots of corn and hay fields.
2 1/2 hours later and 225 miles (with a few stops along the way) I arrived at the small town of Dol de Bretagne in the Brittany region.
In case you haven't seen the inside of a bus.
MSM is a 'tidal island' because, at low tides, the island was originally reached by land exposed by the receding tides. However, at higher tides, MSM was completely surrounded by water and inaccessible by foot or vehicle. In recent years, the causeway was modified and a bridge constructed to allow access to MSM at all times, regardless of tide.
The 'island' covers only about 17 acres.
Though some structures were built as far back as 1,300 years ago, the Abbey is about 500 years old.
I was suprised how many chose to walk the 1 1/2 miles to MSM. Follow the specks of people around the curve all the way back to the stand of trees where the coordination center is located.
At low tide, lots of people chose to walk out on the exposed land.
It was a bit chilly and misty day.
The one and only entrance was a ridiculous bottleneck through these small arches and onto a narrow 'street' lined with shops and cafes.
Believe it or not, approximately 50 people live on-site!! In the lower area, there are shops, restaurants, a few inns, and offices.
There were other bottlenecks, too...like this staircase where two people could barely pass one another.
An ancient 'funicular' with sleds to lift and lower materials and goods.
Many people brought snacks to enjoy while taking a break from all the climbing.
People with 'skip the line' tickets on the left side.
Those who needed to purchase a ticket on the right side. I was on the right (wrong) side.
Start climbing.
The lighter gray area you see at the end of the bridge is a graduated mound of concrete that remains above the tide level.
Notice the people in the glassed windows across the way.
A wooden barrel-rolled ceiling.
The huge wooden wheel used to raise and lower the platform (funicular).
The ramp and sled (funicular) I showed you in an earlier photo (but from below).
Below, in the area of the foundation holding up the Abbey.
See the people in the glass windows above....that you saw before from a different angle.
My usual Oscar-worthy video showing snippets of my time there.
It was a long 15-hour day, starting at 8am, arriving at MSM by 11:30am, then spending 5 hours on-site, then a shuttle (after waiting in a long queue) to take us off the MSM property and back to the coordination center, then another shuttle bus that left at 6:06pm to take me 45 minutes to a different town (than the one I arrived at) to catch the 'fast train' at 7:06pm back to Paris (via many stops along the way)...which took 3 hours. Then, switch to the Paris subway to take me back to my apartment. WHEW!!!
By the way, in case you're curious, the round-trip train ticket cost $112.
That's it!! My 2-week Home Exchange stay in Paris!
Time to say adieu...
Time to say adieu...
Au revoir Paris!!!
How cool!I'd like to see it some day!
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