Yesterday we saw Mont Saint Michel from a lot of villages as it stands out from the surrounding plains and bays. It is a world famous island just off the coast that used to be accessed only at low tide, but today there are dykes along the coast to protect the land from the sea and there is a boardwalk and roadway out to the Mount.
To get there today we had to catch the 7:32am train to Dol de Bretagne and wait two and a half hours for a bus to take us there. We wandered along the streets of Dol, which is another lovely medieval town with stone and wooden houses.
This town is also proud of its association with Chateaubriand and has a statue of him as a young man studying.
He also died in this town.
Victor Hugo lived here for a while and he was a great fan of Chateaubriand, who inspired him. At 14 Victor said "I want to be him or nothing." His bust features in the main street also.
In the bookshop another local hero featured.
The Cathedral had the beautiful stone details renovated and the masons are still working on it. Along the side were large photos of the details in the main stained glass window. The main stories of the whole Bible were represented in glass and the life of Jesus was covered in the stonework. Excellent education method for illiterate people of the middle ages. This boat made of granite sat out the front and made us wonder whether it would float.
In the park in front of the cathedral there was another set of photos representing different aspects of the night sky. This one showed a Medieval king on horseback being given a saintly appearance by the full moon.
Another one explained the blue grey strip across the horizon that can be seen in the west just before sunrise.
We saw this many times on the QM2.
L'ombre de la terre means "shadow of the earth". Finally our longstanding belief was confirmed.
It was very easy to fill in the time at Dol. We bought a caramel Pave de Dol, which is a square cake with thin icing all around it. The bus from Dol dropped us off three kilometres from the Mount as there is extensive improvements underway, including the completion of a barrage to stabilise the river and the tides. There was a free bus but there were queues and we enjoyed the walk to and from the Mount. Once you get there you cannot see it any more, so the view from the coast is the best part. We climbed the steps to the base of the Abbey.
Then we filled in time with a lovely salad at a Creperie. The menu listed flavoured milk, so Malcolm asked which flavours were available and the first one the waiter said was lemon. We both raised an eyebrow but Malcolm jumped in and found it was quite nice, but it went down quickly before it turned into curds. The main street is a long, crowded shopping strip and seems to be the main interest among the tourists. It was a fascinating place to wander around, and walking the ramparts allowed 360 degree views.
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