Part Two
Last Saturday we once again boarded a bus and headed off to Normandy to visit Mont St. Michel. However, this time we did not walk across the bay and get caught in a storm. This trip was to visit the actual mount and the abbey and small village perched on it. We had good weather this time, if not a little cold with the wind blowing from all directions, to explore what is one of the most uniquely situated churches in France, if not the world.
Last Saturday we once again boarded a bus and headed off to Normandy to visit Mont St. Michel. However, this time we did not walk across the bay and get caught in a storm. This trip was to visit the actual mount and the abbey and small village perched on it. We had good weather this time, if not a little cold with the wind blowing from all directions, to explore what is one of the most uniquely situated churches in France, if not the world.
Mont St. Michel is on the border between Normandy and Brittany, a border marked by a river that has changed its path many times throughout the course of history. it is in between the sky and the earth, as it rises out of a flat bay and seems to touch the sky and between water and the earth, as it is at some points an island and others a part of the land.
Mont St. Michel is a historic pilgrimage site, since the 12th century. The oldest buildings and sections date from at least the 10th century, but it is possible that there are sections that were destroyed that were older. Over the centuries, but in three distinct sections, the abbeys were constructed and rebuilt, around the church at the summit of the mount. Today it is a heavily visited sight, for its history, religious significance and uniqueness.
The cloister, right next to the church, which is the big building in the upper right corner of the picture. It was a place for the monks to pace quietly, reading perhaps, in peace. Originally, it was completely closed to the world, with no open walls leading to public parts of the church, so only the sky was visible.
And one last picture of Mont St. Michel, after the sun had come out.