Mounting the Mont

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.

Whew! After the second wash, everything came out just fine. Off to the Carnavalet Museum then to Charles De Gaulle to pick up Jessica!

Now that all my classmates have left and freed up the internet a little I finally got some pictures to post! Hooray!! Now i just have to go back and add pictures to all the Paris posts. I'm not sure when I'll have it finished but I'll be updating everything so make sure to take a look.

Peter Pan Syndrome

That it does! Bye bye London

Kensington Gardens

Today we took a leisurely stroll through Kensington Gardens. We started off at Princess Diana Memorial Playground and then walked through the park taking pictures. We finally ended up at the Peter Pan statue. We saw a lot of dogs and pretty park landscapes.

I know its kind of creepy to take pictures of strangers' children but today I couldn't help it. These kids were so cute and had a tiny British accents to boot.

This girl was very into jumping in puddles and she knows how to dress for the occasion. Her mother had to physically restrain her from throwing herself into the fountain nearby.

This kid helped me to get the coveted pigeon actions shots I love. Thanks for being hyperactive and kind of mean to animals anonymous kid!

Later, I split off from the group to do a little shopping by myself. It’s so fun to walk around London. I popped into Harrod’s and Harvey Nichols to have a look around. As I mentioned before, there are very large sales going on. Everything at these stores was on sale which was great but they were stocked with designer labels. Even at 70% off things were still well over 200 GBP for a shirt. Oh well, off to H&M where I fit in. Lovely.

After I was finished shopping, I jumped on the tube and met an interesting Iranian man who offered to show me around the city. As much as I love hanging out with strange old men I declined. He was very nice though. We talked about San Francisco for a while then I got off the tube at Leicester Square. I did a little more shopping determined to spend the last of my pounds. I couldn’t find anything!!! I picked up lunch at Pret a Manger (delish!) and decided to stop in one more little boutique to have a look around. I found a great shirt! Yeah!

Today is our last day in London so I have some packing to do. I finally decided to ship the some stuff home. I packed up everything and headed to the post office. It’s amazing how daunting things are when you have no idea how a country works. You kind of just hand them your stuff and hope they know what to do with it. Come to think of it though, the post office in the states is kind of a mystery, too. Anyway, they were very nice and I managed to get a whole lot of stuff off my hands for a reasonable fee. Heads up everyone at home, two packages marked “Royal Mail” should be showing up at my house in around a week. Yeah!

Tonight we are going to have “goodbye London” pints at the wonderful Marlborough Arms. I’m very sad to leave London. Everyone is. If Paris is half as wonderful as London has been I will be a happy girl. I already am a happy girl.

Tomorrow I conquer the British Library and the Eurostar to Paris. Eiffel Tower here I come!

Best Loo In Town

Saturday July 4

I will never tire of the Tube! London's subway system is the best, most efficient and interesting method of city travel. It's so interesting to people watch and look at all the signs. You get this glorious breeze from the tunnels and it feel so good. London is a very walkable city but sometimes its nice to get on a train and "have a sit" as the Brits say. There are street musicians in almost every stop playing almost every kind of instrument you can think of from guitar, to sax, to keyboard, even the harp. Today we came across someone playing one of my favorite George Michael songs called "Careless Whisper" on the clarinet. I gave him a few pence because he was so good.

Chihuly Sculpture

On Saturday, we visited the Victoria & Albert Museum and had a lovely lunch in their cafeteria. Again, the collection was beautiful and overwhelming. They had a fashion exhibit that was amazing and a Dale Chihuly sculpture in the lobby that was incredible. They also had a portion of the museum that was dedication to replicas of famous monuments and statues. They had Michelangelo's David and Trajan's Column to name a few. Of course, you think replicas no big deal but then you find out that most of these replicas were made at the tail end of the 1800's and are still older than most of the "old" things in the states. They also had a jewelry vault that was insane! Huge elaborate rings, tiaras, broaches, necklaces, and even swords with stones as big a grapes or larger. They also had some mourning jewelry that was really cool.

There is a courtyard in the center of the museum with a little cafe and a wading pool for the kiddies. These two little boys were having a ball. There was also a sign that asked you to please refrain from removing your clothes while visiting. Hah!


Lunch was so nice. The cafeteria is situated in a beautiful room with tilework and palms. It kind of looks like a solarium from a mansion. They had a pianist and he played the entire time we ate. He even played one of my favorite songs "Strangers in the night". The food was great and they had free tap water that we just couldn't get enough of. We girls are getting easy to please.

Joanna, Megan, and Michele enjoying a fancy meal at the V&A

We hit the bathroom on the way out. It was unisex which was odd but then we discovered that each stall had its own vanity area. It was so clean and nice it looked like a beautiful hotel. I know its strange to be to excited by a bathroom but I have got to tell you that most bathrooms here are tiny, dark little spaces with barely enough room to turn around let alone freshen up. This place was like an oasis. It also had some tile work on the walls that said "V&A" on it and had a crown pattern. We took about 15 pictures in front of it. The V&A is a must see if ever you are in London.

Tower of London

Later we visited the Tower of London. I think I had spent too much time in the land of Disney and renaissance fairs because I had a really hard time looking at this place as a real historical landmark. They have done such a great job preserving it and figuring out the best way to funnel tourists through it that it doesn't quite look real. The torture aspect of it was a little over the top but it was really cool to think about the fact that we were standing in the place were royals and criminals have stood before. We took a look at the crown jewels which were beautiful but not quite as elaborat as the jewelry exhibit at the V&A. The best part was the Henry VIII exhibit. It contained a lot of the suits of armor he had made during his reign. It's hard to believe that these things are still around. Since they were made precisely for the king we are able to get a very good idea of the man's stature at different points in his life. They even had a couple of suits of armor that were made for children.

Etchings made by prisoners held in the Tower of London

We left the Tower and walked across the Tower Bridge headed for The London Dungeon. The Dungeon turned out to be more hokey and less historical than we were hoping but they did talk a little about Jack the Ripper and the Black Plague which was cool.

Tower Bridge

Another beautiful day in London. As much as I am looking forward to Paris I am already sad about leaving the UK. I think its going to be tough not being able to read the signs or speak the language in France. Living without that language barrier has made London so accessible and fun. I know that Paris will be a different world -- daunting but very exciting.

I have also accumulated some new belongings and realized some of the things I've brought from the states are unnecessary. I really want to ship some stuff home but it is PRICEY. From what I've seen it will be at least 50 GBP to get this stuff shipped. I can't decide if I should ship some things or just throw it away. What to do?