Normandy Day 2

Hope you enjoyed the last post about our visit to sites of the Normandy Landings during World War II and then our visit to 'Mémorial de Caen'.

Tuesday morning, we woke up bright and early, had breakfast at the hostel and we were off to visit the magnificent Mont Saint Michel. We got a few beautiful glimpses of this incredible site from the bus and we couldn't wait to get there.
Once there, we had to wait for shuttle buses that take us to the foot of the Mont Saint Michel and because it was peak tourist season, we had to wait a while. The students decided to eat some or all of their picnic-lunch that the hostel had packed for us. Here are a few pictures of us waiting in line.

                     

We got to the foot of the monument and were stunned by the structure as well as the landscape around us. Mont Saint Michel began as a small pre-romanesque church almost 13 centuries ago on top of this huge rock and over the years, transformed into this.  Even now, during high-tide, the sea water comes in quite high and surrounds this monument and makes it into an island.
Once in, we hiked up the narrow pathway lined with boutique souvenir shops and reached the entrance of the church. We made our way further up the main terrace of the church and took in amazing panoramic views around us.

After a tiring but good visit, we took the shuttle back to where our bus was parked and then we headed to the port city of Saint Malo in the state called "Bretagne" (Brittany). We walked the ramparts and got beautiful views of the ocean. We also got some sun which made our short visit even more special.

 




We walked through the streets of Saint Malo and enjoyed some ice-cream from one of its best ice-cream place. Soon it was time to head back to the bus and head back to Saumur.

 
We got back to Saumur around 8.30pm where host families had come to pick up the students. Tired but happy, everyone headed home.
This trip to Normandy was a truly enjoyable experience, despite long waits and crowded sites!
Check out the next post to see how we spent the rest of the week in Saumur.
Au revoir!