The lost story of Mont Saint Michel and Saint-Malo
Why lost? Well because I totally forgot to blog about this trip, not because it was boring rather because it was my dream come true and I just was not ready to share it with people yet.
Mont Saint-Michel has always been this place that made me think of France. When I took French in high school I had to present on an iconic location in France, and many people went for the obvious (Eiffel tower, Versailles, and such) but no I chose Mont-Saint Michel. I chose it mostly because it was aesthetically beautiful, I mean look at it!
View from the bridge that leads to Mont Saint-Michel.
Well, I just want to say thank you Mrs. Kaiser for introducing me to this beauty of a place. Really, I mean it! I mean you probably know what its like to want to see a place so badly that all you do is dream about what you are gonna do when you get there. This is what Mont Saint-Michel was for me, a dream. My first time abroad, I flunked the whole “travel and see the world” part. Don’t get me wrong I still traveled and saw many things, but in reality I didn’t see many things I really wanted to see.
So I am here two years later and this time I am doing it right (or so I think). As you may know, I came to Europe early to do a sort of trip some may call a “Eurotrip” that is I visited tons of places I had not been to with my little brother Kevin and my good friend Suzie Gamboa (if you want to know more about these go read my earlier blogs here). But when I got to Angers (where I go to school), I found out that the school we go to offers these trips for students to go on to different parts of France. These trips are day trips and are perfect if you want to see nearby areas, go wine tasting, or go to see a show. And guess what? They had a trip to Mont-Saint Michel and to Saint-Malo and it included transportation and lunch. What more could I ask for? So Suzie and I signed up for the trip and prepared ourselves for journey. We left our town of Angers at around 6:45 am with a bus full of students from different walks of life, and headed off to our first destination: Mont Saint-Michel.
Mont Saint-Michel
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the small island is home to the abbey of Saint-Michel and was used in the past as a prison. It is in the middle of a bay surrounded by sand and the most amazing thing happens in high tide– the water comes in and completely surrounds the island not allowing anyone to come in or leave the small island (or at least that was the gist until a bridge was constructed back in 2014).
As soon as you walk into the Mont Saint-Michel you feel like you have stepped back in time into medieval times, the walls made of stone, the draw bridges, the coats of arms, the feel of old, and let’s not forget the abbey! Everything makes you feel like you are walking through history.
We made our way to the abbey and walked through the building. The massive structure boasts many great halls you can visit and a statue of the Archangel Michael made out of gold on top of the abbey. The abbey also has many mythical creatures that pop out of the walls when you least expect it, and a view to die for.
After exploring the abbey for a little we walked through the small town and made our way back to the meeting point where we were provided with lunch. Our next stop was Saint-Malo.
Saint Malo
This walled city is located in the north of France at the mouth of the Rance river. I didn’t know much about it going in (not that I know much about it now). But I can say that the view and the scenery was breathtaking the water was as blue and turquoise that blended together like marble. The wall that protects the city rises sharply from the beach and is a stark contrast against the ocean. We didn’t do much sightseeing here except for walking all along the wall and taking in the view. We also went down to the beach and ate what was left of our lunch. It was pretty peaceful Suzie watched the waves and did some people watching while I build some funny looking animals out of sand.
We finished our walk of Saint-Malo by sitting down at one of the cafes near the main entrance and eating a crêpe. The cafe was a cute little place called La Licorne and it was pink and fluffy (I meant it, everything was pink) and the waiters wore the cutest little french outfits. The food was great we laughed and talked and sadly our trip ended after this. We got on the bus and made the three hour long bus ride home.
I absolutely loved the trip and I just wasn’t ready to share it. But since it is the holidays, well why not?
Happy Holidays!