A few people had recommended going to Mont Saint-Michel, but no one was entirely able to explain why it was a "must see." I trust the judgment of everyone who had said it, my curiosity was piqued, and so I knew I had to go.
Yet another one of the Americans here went too. We took an early train from Paris to Rennes, then got on the bus from Rennes to the base of the St. Michel causeway, then took a shuttle to the hotel before continuing on to the Mont.
It's really quite a sight to behold. We picked up tourist maps and continued along the narrow and winding street. A man at the Maritime Museum got our attention and we bought the 4 museum pass. The maritime museum contained mostly model ships from various centuries. It was a quick walk through before we exited on the walkway of the outer wall. We were surprised to see so many people walking along the silt and sand--especially since there was a warning sign for quicksand.
Up next on the museum tour was the Archeoscope. We were told the next showing would begin in 10 minutes so we browsed gift shops until we were let in. The Archeoscope is a sound/light/visual presentation about the history of Mont St Michel. The way it started, I thought it was going to be the lamest thing I'd ever seen. However, there were some really cool effects (like the fact that the floor of the "stage" was actually a pool and a model of the mont rose from its depth during the presentation) and I enjoyed it MUCH more than I expected.
Continuing on along the narrow streets and up the outer wall (and lots and lots of stairs) we went to the history museum next. It, too, was a quick visit, but had some interesting things. The French seem to be really into using creepy mannequins for their prison displays. The Mont has a long and interesting history, but it didn't seem that much of it could be adequately displayed.
We were hungry and in Bretagne, so naturally, I suggested crepes. We went to La Sirene for lunch. Best crepes I'll probably ever have here, since I got them at the source. I went for my standard galette--ham, cheese, and mushroom--and finished with a banana and homemade salted butter caramel crepe for dessert. It almost goes without saying that we had a pitcher of cider, too.
We went to the abbey next. It was a bit of a wait to get tickets, but it was worth it. The abbey was built in four major stages and seems much larger than you would think by just looking at the map. Nothing in particular really struck me side aside from the view from the cloister garden. (Of course, I don't have a picture of it because it was the focal point of every tourist's photo.)
We had talked about going to MSM a few weeks prior, but put it off to properly arrange it to be longer than a day trip for the sole purpose of seeing the tide come in. During periods of high tide, Mont Saint Michel becomes an island. We finished touring the entirety of the abbey (and gift shop of course) around 16h15, so we went to the gardens to watch the tide come in. There's no good way to explain what we saw, but it nearly felt as though the island was sinking instead of the water rising around it. I keep thinking of the scene from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang where they think the car is going to get stuck until it changes just in time...so, watch that to understand what I mean :)
The Abbey at Mont St Michel reminded me a lot of the monasteries at Meteora, Greece. Isolated and high atop mysterious rock formations, somehow frozen in time. The whole experience is rather difficult to put into words. Mont St Michel almost seems like another world entirely, as though reality has been suspended while you wander the fortress. The phenomenon of the rising tide is simply magical and adds to the mystique of the experience.
After watching the tide for about an hour we set out for the last museum--Tiphaine's house. The only reason I really cared about seeing this (other than getting my money's worth) was because one of the prized possessions of the museum is a chastity belt. (Side note--I went through the whole museum and still have no earthly idea who Tiphaine is.) We headed towards the entrance of the island, picked up some treats at La Mere Poulard Boutique, and tried to go back the way we came. However, the wooden walkway was underwater, so we found a "secret" exit and headed back to the hotel. We stopped at the supermarket and bought some salted butter caramels (oh my goodness so delicious) and some salted butter caramel bon-bons (like Werther's Originals but infinitely better) before we went to the most filling four-course dinner at the resto across the street.
The next morning we took the bus back to Rennes to explore Bretagne's capital before our evening train home to Paris. We ate at an organic restaurant before heading to Les Champs Libres. Les Champs Libres contained a library, the Museum of Brittany, and the Science Museum & Planetarium. Two engineers--we bought tickets to the Planetarium and science museum. The planetarium show was really cool! I even understood most of the presentation which was entirely in French! The rest of the museum was geared towards younger children, but we enjoyed practicing our French and playing with the hands-on displays anyway.
Rennes is pretty forgettable (and backwards...everything opens at 14h), but the day at Mont Saint Michel was worth the entire trip!
