France 2012 - Mont Saint-Michel

le 3 novembre

After a veritable pilgrimage to our mysteriously placed parking lot, Habibi and I finally arrived at Le Mont Saint-Michel.

Le Mont Saint-Michel, an Benedictine abbey built into a rock-island, is accessible only by shuttle across a small land bridge.  For centuries, pilgrims traveling by foot could only reach the abbey during the low tides.

It was only after repeatedly relying on the kindness of strangers (not to mention their senses of direction) that we found the accursed parking numéro trois (the lot we had been trying to locate for nearly an hour).  Finally, we climbed aboard our navette (shuttle) and were shuttled to the island.  After a quick lunch and check-in, we hiked up the kitschy, touristy streets and entered the centuries-old abbey.

The steeple of the abbey is topped with a statue of Saint Michael, the archangel, slaying the dragon (Satan). 

The abbey from another angle

A scenic view of the Atlantic Ocean during a low tide, taken from one of the abbey's upper decks.  (In a high tide, the sand you see would be covered in water, making the site inaccessible to pilgrims of past centuries.)

A sunset view from an abbey window

The transept of the abbey's chapel

A courtyard where the monks go for solitude and meditation

The old "cafeteria" (for lack of a better word) where the monks would take their meals in relative silence, only to be broken by a reading from scripture

The crypt
Note that these pillars are load-bearing.  They are still holding up the entire structure, a testament to the craftsmanship of the abbey's creators.

Some of the rooms in the abbey are older than others, as it took centuries to complete.  This room, for example, is one of the oldest in the entire structure, dating back approximately 1,000 years.  An interesting thought:  The builders of this space were equidistant to us today as they were to Christ.

Le Mont Saint-Michel is literally a breath-taking sight to behold, largely due to the multitude of stairs one must climb to reach it.  For the trouble we went through trying to find the damn parking lot and hotel, it was more than a remarkable reward.

A passageway, marked by one of the many staircases, leading to the abbey entrance.

Later that evening, we ventured back out to admire the abbey at night.  The cold stone, dim lights and quiet streets sent a chill down my spine.  A cat darted across our path (we saw three or four by the end of the night) before we passed silently through a small cemetery.  As we emerged from the opposite gate, a small creature scurried in front of us before ducking into the brush and staring at us with reflective eyes.  By night, it is easy to imagine this cold, mysterious place as it may have been 1,000 years ago.

By day, the streets of the island are teeming with tourists from around the world...

...by night, they are nearly empty.

The abbey, illuminated at night

Another angle of the abbey, lit up at night

As we continued, Habibi pointed out an illuminated window near the top of the abbey, where Benedictine monks still reside.  The combination of the melodiously clanging bells and the indication of life upstairs could mean only one thing:  a monastic call to the weekly movie night.  As more lights came on, we reflected on what the monks might be watching.  Robin Hood (the Disney version, of course)?  Monty Python?  Dances With Wolves?  In the end, we decided it must be a Shrek movie marathon since the number of illuminated windows indicated a sense of enthusiasm.

Despite this slight deviation from an otherwise eerily fascinating -albeit touristy- place, the mere fact that this wonder even exists is a baffling testament to the faith of its creators.  The people who began building this monumental structure very likely knew that they'd never see the finished product, yet they dedicated their lives to it all the same.  

Medieval technology:  Look like a big hamster wheel?
You're dead on.

In a modern age where buildings are erected withing a number of months and there is little risk of losing your life being crushed by heavy bricks and stones, such a dedication is difficult to fathom.  Yet as we make our way through time and history on our trip, we see hundreds of examples of this scattered throughout France.  Perhaps one of the best examples of this notion of "self-sacrifice for a greater cause" is most evident at the beaches of Normandy, where we are headed next.

In the meantime, enjoy this little treat...