Our last couple days in France we drove East from Brittany toward Paris. We spent some time touring Mont St. Michel.
I have visited it several times now and am still amazed by the medieval feel of the narrow streets and many stairways leading up to the Abbey.
We used to be able to drive right up to a parking area at the base of the island, but now you have to park and take a shuttle bus across a new waterway and there is a dam to regulate the tides.
The cloister gardens were not as pleasant as usual with so many tourists. It was much quieter when hubby and I visited last time.
Several works of art depicting the Arc Angel Michael.
A lovely view from the side of the Abbey looking up -- I think the various tiers of stones tell a bit about the history and how it was built up over time.
That afternoon and the next day we stopped at various sites along the d-day beaches.
A and I were imagining what it would have been like to be carrying all your gear and waiting to run off the landing boats, like this one, into the surf and toward the enemy guns.
The Germans had fortified some sections of the coast more than others. They had bunkers and guns protected with concrete.
Seeing the coastal terrain and imagining the courage that it took to climb toward enemy guns is staggering. And then there is the American cemetery. The first time I visited, when I was 16, we were the only ones around and we (whole F Family and I) went into the chapel there. JJ said a beautiful prayer of gratitude for these young men. I have never forgotten the feeling of reverence that I had for their sacrifice at that moment. This is truly hallowed ground, bought with the blood of tens of thousands.
At the end of the museum tour in the cemetery is a final exhibit asking that we do not dishonor the freedom that they paid so dearly to protect. And a French tribute which translates to:
We drove through Paris on our way to our last airbnb so that A could say that she has seen the Eiffel Tower. I think there is so much more to France than this iconic symbol.
A's favorite part of CDG airport were all these escalator tunnels. It looks like a water park.
Headed home. Photo over Greenland.
Almost home!
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