The main attraction of our stop in France, Cherbourg Port, was Le Mont St. Michel . . . we tried to find a cheaper way of getting to it rather than paying the overpriced cruise excursion, but failed. We attempted renting a car (unfortunately the day we were to be there was a holiday and most of the rental offices were closed), a train (the schedules were not working out to give us enough time at St. Michel and then get us back to the ship in time) and a private tour (was even more expensive). We ended up booking the ship excursion just like 99% of our fellow cruisers . . . sigh . . .
Le Mont St. Michel is an island commune in France and is named after the monastery of St. Michel that sits atop of the island. It is constructed as a feudal society where the top of the island, the monastery, exemplifies God followed by the great halls, stores and at last the housing. Outside of the walls were the fishermen and farmer's housing. This, I believe, was my first encounter first hand with a feudal society. As we entered the citadel we noted how narrow the store lined streets were. It made the society seem quaint . . . a true step back into medieval times. The streets seemed to wrap around the island in an assent to the top where the monastery of St. Michel was located.
The island held strategic fortifications since ancient times and the location of the island made these fortifications key. During low tide the island was easily accessible to many of the pilgrims which would visit it's abbey, but during high tide any would-be assailants would be stranded or drowned. The Mont if famous for being unconquered during the Hundred Years' War because of this key location.
Le Mont St. Michel is one of France's most recognizable landmarks and is part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites with more than 3 million visitors each year . . . it felt as if most of these 3 million visited on the same day we did . . . .
After visiting the monastery we spent the rest of our time meandering about the shops, buying crepes, a croque monsieur (basically a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with cheese on the outside of the bread as well), cookies, cakes and other French goodies. By the end of the day the rain had started . . . hard, pelting rain. Despite our umbrellas we were soaked. Due to the increased gale force winds (felt like) many of the umbrellas were discarded along the road back to the buses. Yes, mine indeed broke as well and had to be discarded in the proper receptacle. I had just bought it the day before in Amsterdam . . . good thing it was cheap.
The island held strategic fortifications since ancient times and the location of the island made these fortifications key. During low tide the island was easily accessible to many of the pilgrims which would visit it's abbey, but during high tide any would-be assailants would be stranded or drowned. The Mont if famous for being unconquered during the Hundred Years' War because of this key location.Le Mont St. Michel is one of France's most recognizable landmarks and is part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites with more than 3 million visitors each year . . . it felt as if most of these 3 million visited on the same day we did . . . .
After visiting the monastery we spent the rest of our time meandering about the shops, buying crepes, a croque monsieur (basically a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with cheese on the outside of the bread as well), cookies, cakes and other French goodies. By the end of the day the rain had started . . . hard, pelting rain. Despite our umbrellas we were soaked. Due to the increased gale force winds (felt like) many of the umbrellas were discarded along the road back to the buses. Yes, mine indeed broke as well and had to be discarded in the proper receptacle. I had just bought it the day before in Amsterdam . . . good thing it was cheap.
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