Marjorie goes to Paris and the Heart of France
a Rick Steves tour 2023
FRANCE 2023 PART 2
Welcome to the second part of my digital scrapbook documenting my trip to France in the summer of 2023.
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I ran out of space on my first wixsite, so I'm hoping you never see this page! But if you're here, find a link to get back on track!
Day 7: Le Pelerinage
Day 8: Le Bocage
Day 9: Le Jour J
Day 10: Les Nympheas
Days 11+: Bon Voyage
Day 8
Mont St Michel Abbey
Almost half of our group has an early start this morning. We were given the option to climb up to the abbey for morning prayers before breakfast. This seemed like a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity, so I went for it. The morning light on the island is spectacular, but I'm not awake quite early enough to take very many photos. I'm also very uncomfortable being outnumbered by seagulls; there aren't enough other humans awake this early.
Our small group is joined by a couple of families, greeted by a monk, and taken into the church. There are 4 nuns and 3 monks, dressed all in white, praying and singing. They belong to the Order of Jerusalem, and they are known for praying in public places. That's why we tourists are invited to morning prayers, regardless of our faiths.
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Speaking of faith, mine has been pretty absent lately. I was hoping this morning prayer session would awaken the holy spirit inside of me, but it didn't. I guess my inner spirit doesn't speak French.
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After prayers it's back down to the village for breakfast and room check out, with a few more gorgeous photos along the way.
We're instructed to meet our local guide after breakfast outside the gates of the village. But it's really, really, really rainy, so we actually catch up to her under the first available shelter. Her name is Maude and she is energetic and full of information. But it's kinda hard to hear her over the pounding rain. Once we're on our way, Virginie abandons us, probably to stay dry. Maude walks us through the village, pointing out places I've already explored on my own, like the cemetery and the schoolhouse (the last schoolkids were here in the 1970s). We make our way up to the abbey, and Virginie is there waiting for us with our entrance tickets! I can't believe I doubted her. And the rain has already stopped. This is going to be okay.
It's more than okay. The abbey is just as beautiful from inside as it is from the village. Maude teaches us that it was built from a dream. In 708, Bishop Aubert was visited by the archangel Michael three times in his dreams. Each time he tells the bishop to build a church on this rock. The third time, Bishop Aubert ends up with a hole in his skull where the angel poked him.
a relief of Aubert's dream
On the tour of the abbey, I finally learn the meanings to a bunch of words I've heard before, but never really known what they meant.
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Romanesque: in the style of the Romans; round arches and big thick walls.
Gothic: the architectural style that probably comes to mind when you think of a cathedral, with narrow pointed arches, flying buttresses and such. Flamboyant Gothic refers to the flame-like shapes at the top of arches and windows.
The abbey has both Romanesque and Gothic styles as parts were destroyed and rebuilt.
Refectory: a place where monks eat. It's meant to be a time of silence and reflection, so Maude teaches us some monk sign language for bread, salt, fish, and wine.
Cloister: a space in an abbey or monastery that allows communication between different buildings
After our tour, we need to exit the abbey and make our way back down to retrieve our luggage. And this is our largest dose of the island's crowds. Did you know Mont St Michel welcomes around 3 million visitors a year?
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As we leave the island and I reflect on our visit, I'm struggling to find the words to express how wonderful this place is. Perfect, amazing, spectacular, awesome, inspiring...nothing is enough. To everyone reading, put Mont St Michel on your bucket list so you can experience this beautiful place too.
Today:
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Tour of Mont St Michel Abbey
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Lunch in Villedieu les Poëlles
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Bayeux cathedral
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Bayeux tapestry
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and more walking!
just a few photos before prayers
A guided and rainy walk through the village
Maude illustrates that the church is built on the tip of the rock. To support the building, there are four underground crypts. We get to tour all of them.
Skull piercing aside, Bishop Aubert's tale is a familiar one. It makes me think of the voice that Ray Kinsella had to hear three times before he built a baseball diamond in his Iowa cornfield.
You can recognize St Michel by his spear to slay the devil and his scales to weigh your soul
The western end of the church collapsed and was never rebuilt, so now we stand on a terrace with lovely views
It was really cool to go underground and see how the church was built into the rock
Lovely windows of the refectory
A final view over the bay
On the road again
Since we spent our morning visiting a church, when we're back on the bus we add a chapter to Jean and Marie's story and talk about going to church in France.
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Because France has complete separation of church and state, there cannot be an official poll asking about religion or ethnic origin. But in informal polls on the street, Jean and Marie answer the same as around 60% of French people and report to be Catholic. But they don't go to church regularly, and only about 16% of Catholics in France do. They have a few friends who aren't Catholic; about 30% of French people report being agnostic, and about 6% are Muslims. That leaves just a small percentage for Jewish (expelled during WWII) and Protestant Christians (forced to convert or emigrate by Louis XIV) and other religions.
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The phrase of the day is Le Bocage. Virginie lets us guess what it means, but no one gets it right. Le Bocage is the word for the hedgerows that are dominating the landscape as we travel deeper into Normandy. Tomorrow we'll learn that the hedgerows played a big role in the D-Day invasions because tanks get stuck in them and German guns can hide in them.
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We're not on the bus for very long before it's time for our lunch stop. We're stopping in Villedieu les Poëlles, which translates to City of God and Pots and Pans. They're known for metalwork. But Virginie spends the rest of our bus ride (about 20 minutes) talking about the hot dogs we can buy on the street. She promises the best hot dog we'll ever eat, and while she points out other options in town for lunch, I certainly can't choose anything else.
I don't think I'll ever eat a hot dog without a French baguette again
Virginie, Richard, Lisa, Rob, Morgan, Becca, Julie, Kristina and I all eat our hot dogs on the steps of City Hall. When I'm finished eating, I have time for a short but lovely walk around town. And can you guess what's waiting when I get back to the bus? Virginie and snacks! This is the only bus snack pretty enough for a photo.
After lunch it's on to Bayeux, where we'll sleep for two nights. In Bayeux, I'm most excited to see the Bayeux Tapestry, and we'll be visiting early this evening. On the bus, Virginie gives us a bit of background on the tapestry. It's a long embroidered tapestry from the 11th century, documenting the story of the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Virginie doesn't share the details of the invasion, because we'll learn those from the tapestry. To Virginie, the most important part of the Norman invasion is the growth of the English language (though this might be because she has a masters degree in English). English has a lot of French words, and most of these came because the king and his court came from France in 1066.
Here's my favorite example: the Germanic Anglo-Saxons were living in England and working the land. They might have been working with cows and swine. The German words for these animals are Kühe and Schweine. But in the kitchens, we find the royal court who came from France. They call these animals bœuf and porc. So in English we have different words for animals depending on whether they are alive or if we're eating them, because the farmers and the cooks came from different lands. Thanks for the English lesson Virginie!
A lovely landscape in Normandy: cows and hedges. The cows provide 2 of the 4 C's of Normandy: crème and camembert!
In the Rick Steves TV episode about Normandy, we learn the four C's of Normandy:
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Crème
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Camembert
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Cidre
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Calvados
a walk around Villedieu les Poëlles
An illustration of the Bayeux Tapestry's depiction of the Norman Conquest of 1066
Bayeux
We arrive in Bayeux and have just a few minutes to settle into the hotel. Virginie takes us on a walk through town. She points out the grocery store, a walking trail along the river, lots of options for dinner, a shop full of local foods, and even some souvenirs. We pop into the Bayeux cathedral.
Knowing what we've been taught at the abbey this morning, Virginie quizzes us on whether the cathedral is Romanesque or Gothic. And it's a trick question, because it's both! It was originally built in the Romanesque style in the 11th century, but in the following centuries it received Gothic-style renovations. The result is beautiful.
Virginie suggests we find our favorite instrument on the painted columns in the crypt. I found mine quickly.
La Tapisserie de Bayeux
We have a timed entry to see the Bayeux Tapestry, so we head there after we leave the cathedral.
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I'm just going to say it now: the tapestry is incredible. It is 70 meters long and half a meter tall. It was most likely embroidered by nuns in the 11th century. It used to hang in the Bayeux Cathedral on feast days. It has been lovingly cared for through the centuries, so it is in surprisingly good condition for 900-year-old fabric.
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We're given an audioguide, and we're warned that there is no way to pause it. I'm initially worried that it will take us through the tapestry too quickly, but it is perfect. The audioguide brings the tapestry to life, describing the scenes and telling the story it depicts. There is no photography allowed of the tapestry, so I'll tell my version of the story using photos from my souvenir: a 1/7 scale illustration.
My coworker and I had fun unfurling the illustration. At a 1/7 scale, it's 10 meters long!
Knowing that I can study the story later, I focus my time with the tapestry on admiring its size and the quality of the stitches. It's not a true tapestry, but an embroidery on linen, using mostly stem stitches and satin stitches. We are free to spend as much time at the Tapestry Museum as we wish. There's an exhibit upstairs where we learn about the threads and the dyes used, and a video to learn more about the context of the tapestry.
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The tapestry meets my high expectations beautifully and perfectly. The gift shop does not have the souvenir I had in mind, but I was able to order a kit online to embroider my own scene from the tapestry!
And we're free the rest of the evening for dinner and to explore Bayeux. What a great day!
The Norman Conquest of 1066, told through 9 memorable scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry
Edward, King of England, has no heirs. He sends his brother-in-law Harold to France to pledge fealty to his cousin, William Duke of Normandy.
Harold crosses the channel. His sailors wear neither pants nor shoes.
William and Harold travel together to Mont St Michel
Harold saves some French guys from quicksand
Harold pledges his oath to William
King Edward dies
Harold accepts the crown of England, breaking his oath
William is miffed, so he and his armies travel to England. They bring horses.
They battle, and Harold dies. Both English and French soldiers die in the margins.
Bayeux
We arrive in Bayeux and have just a few minutes to settle into the hotel. Virginie takes us on a walk through town. She points out the grocery store, a walking trail along the river, lots of options for dinner, a shop full of local foods, and even some souvenirs. We pop into the Bayeux cathedral.
Knowing what we had been taught at the abbey this morning, Virginie quizzes us on whether the cathedral is Romanesque or Gothic. And it's a trick question, because it's both! It was originally built in the Romanesque style in the 11th century, but in the following centuries it received Gothic-style renovations. The result is beautiful.
Virginie suggests we find our favorite instrument on the painted columns in the crypt. I found mine quickly.
Exploring Bayeux
Inspired by the tapestry, I set out to explore Bayeux and find the best setting to work on Claude.
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I start on the walking trail that Virginie pointed out earlier. It starts as a lovely path along the river. When I reach a busy street, I turn to walk on a bike/pedestrian trail parallel to the street. The busy street is much less scenic, and just as I think I've wandered too far, I find a street leading directly back to the cathedral! I have my map and tracking on, but I don't even need it as the cathedral guides me back home.
Back in the town center, I continue back to the riverfront to work on Claude.
I try my hardest to stay up for the evening light show at the cathedral, but I give up at 10:30. Good night Bayeux!
