The train to Mont St. Michel was absolutely beautiful (I know I keep saying everything is beautiful but that’s because it is!). I stared out the window as the amber and emerald French countryside slid past the window. The train was pleasantly devoid of passengers, a nice change from the crush of the Parisian metro. We got on the train at about 8 am. It was an early morning after staying up till 2 am saying goodbye to all my classmates.
We had a layover in Folligny for about an hour. We walked a little ways from the train station hoping to get something to eat. Unfortunately there was nothing to this town but a few houses so we headed back to the station. I wanted to use the bathroom but they only had one of those porcelain holes in the ground that I saw all over Egypt and Turkey. No thanks! I have no idea how to use those things. They seem like something that would take A LOT of practice. Here are a couple of pictures of Folligny.
Can someone explain this to me? It's a guy on a beach with a lighthouse in the backgrond. Is he kicking the sand? Is he dancing? Why isn't he wearing a shirt? Why would you paint this on the side of a truck? It was airbrushed by the way. Borderline amazing.
This is what there is to see in Folligny. Also, they have chickens. That's Beth on the right.
Finally our train to Pontorson arrived. I was shocked to see it had only one single car – about the size of an RV or bus. It was such a funny little train – really I didn’t know that they existed. From there it was only about 1 hour to Pontorson. We arrived to find a cute little resort town and we hopped a bus to the Mont. I had read repeatedly in guide books that Mont St. Michel is overrun with tourists but I guess that I didn’t really expect the hoards we encountered. The Mont has only narrow streets and alleyways for pedestrians. It was like Disney. You had to fall into a queue to get anywhere. Regardless of the crowds the trip was definitely worth it. The Mont springs from the sea surrounded by salt marshes as far as the eye can see. It’s built atop a rocky crag with the abbey at its summit. We had lunch and toured the abbey, cemetery, and shops then made our way back to the train station on a bus. We actually ran into two of our classmates on a tour of the abbey. Later we ran into another on the streets of Paris. It’s like I know everyone in France!
We had about a two hour layover in Dol-de-Bretagne which was the cutest little Brittany town. This region of France is near to the UK so they have a lot of British influence in their architecture. We sampled some local cider and had a sandwich. We also noticed the cathedral that the center of town and stopped info for a quick look around. I’ve spent some much time in cathedrals and churches in the past 3 weeks my grandmother must be thrilled! On a side note, I will never forget the time I was traveling with her in Greece. We were on the island of Santorini and we stopped in a little chapel to have a look around. My grandmother dipped her fingers into the holy water when we entered the church and crossed herself. Then she looked at me and started chasing me around with it trying to bless me with it. It was hilarious and something I will never forget.
Anyway, so then we took the TGV to Paris. Along the way a terrible storm broke out complete with hail and heavy winds. It reminded me so much of home. Luckily, I was safely tucked inside a train or under the streets of Paris in the Metro but apparently it was quite the storm. We saw a little flooding and wind damage to the trees as we made our way back to the hotel. Lightning lit up the sky every now and then. The thunder here sounds so funny echoing off all the buildings. It sounds hollow and it echoes on for a long time. It’s almost like when you put a shell to your ear and it sounds like the ocean. Very strange.
When we got to the hotel around 11 pm (long day!) we had a few problems checking in. We first room we were assigned didn’t have the beds made. The second was still destroyed by the prior guest. Finally the third room was clean and we collapsed into bed.
Today I slept in a little then headed out to run some errands in preparation for Jessica’s arrival. Hit the post office to ship some more things which turned out to be really easy. It was a hard process in London even without the language barrier. I was worried that Le Poste would be impossible. Turned out to be a breeze.
Should have known I was pressing my luck though. I went to the local lavarie to do laundry in preparation for the next leg of our trip. I accidentally shoved my laundry into a washing machine that had a black bathroom rug in it that belonged to some French guy. Of course I looked in the washing machine before I put my stuff in but it’s a front loader and I guess this rug was stuck to the roof of the machine so I didn’t see it. I should have shoved my arm in it and felt around before I put my clothes in. I’ll never make that mistake again. So anyway, I have no idea the rug is in there and this French guy comes in and starts trying to pull open the door of my washing machine and pushing all the buttons. I said, “Oh that’s my washer.” He spoke a little bit of English and pointed to this giant black rubber thing swirling around the washer along with everything I own including my unmentionables. This guy is pissed. Luckily there are two women from Montreal in the Laundromat who speak both English and French and they intervene and calm him down. At this point, there is still 30 minutes left on the wash cycle and we can’t get the washer to open. We were going to have to wait it out. I apologized profusely and the guy grimaced at me and left.
Fast forward 30 minutes. The wash cycle ends and the guy comes back. I pull out the rug and it’s the kind that you see in the doorways of buildings. We have them at the library. They are rubberized and are usually used commercially. This thing was mingling with my clothes for over 30 minutes creating some kind of disgusting bacterial marinade. I pulled out some of my clothes and they are covered with grit and hair. It is beyond gross. Obviously, I’m washing them again. Not the way I want to spend the day. They are just finishing their cycle now and I’m hoping that nothing is ruined. Everything I have with me is in there except for the clothes on my back.
