Mont Saint-Michel 360 deg.

Last week we took our annual beach holiday on the Normandy coast with our grandchildren, to get away from the sweltering heat of Lyon. This time, we took a cottage further down the coast, instead of in the vicinity of Honfleur, which we usually do. The sleepy village which got to experience the full blast of our three granddaughters throwing tantrums and generally raising hell was Dragey-Ronthon. Poor perishers. 

Dragey-Ronthon is in the Bay of Saint-Michel, just 16km as the crow flies from the celebrated island-abbey of Saint-Michel, the second biggest tourist attraction in France after Eiffel Tower. 

Blandine found us this lovely Norman cottage, which we hired for the week...

Here we all are, our first look at the beach, a short drive from the cottage. It is cloudy and a cool wind is blowing, a refreshing change from the baking 32C back home.

Here is our first look at Mont Saint-Michel, across the bay.

Mont Saint-Michel, as you might know, is a 9th Century Abbey on a semi-island that gets completely cut off from the mainland at high tide, but can be accessed by a pathway at low tide. We did drive down to Mont Saint-Michel one day, obviously. But we did not enter the walls of the abbey. We had already toured it extensively a few years ago, when I first came to France, and the thought of entering again those narrow, claustrophobic lanes bursting at the seams with tourists was enough to quail the stoutest heart.

Instead, we did something we hadn't done the first time. We joined a guided tour of the mudflats surrounding the abbey at low tide. You need a guide as the mudflats are full of sinkholes and you can quickly get trapped if the tide comes in too quickly.

Here are the photos I took of Mont Saint-Michel from all directions during our tour. Barefoot, I might add, toes squishing in the gooey, slimy mud!

First, here is a shot of Mont Saint-Michel across a meadow with haystacks while we were driving there.

Here are shots from various angles, during our walk around the abbey.

A little hillock from across Mont Saint-Michel, that has a romantic legend associated with it. It is supposed to be the grave of a princess who committed suicide in the bay when she got news of the death of her beau in a battle sometime during the 100 Years War between the French and the English.

Here is a shot from the garden of a farm not far from our cottage, where you can enjoy the most delicious farm-made ice cream while admiring Mont-Saint-Michel and the bay. By the way, if you are in this region, don't forget to check out this farm. It's some of the best ice cream I have ever had, outside of Italy. It's called "Sol Roc glace de la ferme"

Here is the Google maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/tZ4m1XTRzykWCos38

Another couple of shots from the beach near our cottage, at low tide.

Bec Abbey and the village Le Bec-Hellouin

Day 2 of our trip to the Bay of Sommes. Just before hitting the coast of Normady, there was a beau village on the route. The abbey village of Le Bec-Hellouin, built around the  11the century Bec Abbey. This Abbey was destroyed and rebuilt many times, notably during the French revolution and WW2. 

Rouge Perriers - Pretty village on the way

Second day of our trip to the Bay Somme. Starting from Chartres, we made a spidery line for the Normandy coast, going by the prettiest and longest side roads possible instead of the big ugly autoroute we had used for the first leg. On the way, we were stopped dead by this incredibly pretty village in the middle of nowhere. The signboard at the entrance said Rouge Perriers. Nope, this isn't on the official list of "The most beautiful villages of France". But for my money,  it ought to be. I stepped out of the car for a couple of quick photos...

(next post: we stop at another nearby village that is on that official list).

Some lovely old cottages with thatched roofs, using a special technique that I believe is unique to Normandy. The thatching is done using a reed that is grown in this region for this specific purpose, unlike straw used elsewhere. This is what gives the Normandy thatched roofs their unique look. The best part is the plants growing at the top!

Chartres, Cathedral Town

On the first leg of our trip to the bay of Somme, we stayed the night at the cathedral town of Chartres. Before the sun set, we checked out the old city, with the 12th century Cathedral of Chartres, said to be one of the best preserved Gothic cathedrals in France,  and the other historical monuments such as the Église Saint-Pierre de Chartres, the old marketplace, the alleys and byways of the old town, and my personal favorite, the breathtaking interiors of the church of Saint-Aignan (13th century).

Montargis - Venice of the Gâtinais

Summer vacation time. We haven't been to Italy in ages, because of this covid disaster. The border with Italy is open again. So we head to Italy? Natch. Other than the Latin charm of the towns and countryside, Italian food just doesn't taste the same outside of that kicking foot jutting into the Mediterranean. Even a simple tagliatelle in a pesto sauce in a modest Tuscany wayside tavern beats a Michelin-starred pasta joint anywhere else. 

But where in Italy? Blandine and I have one of our marital dust-ups. Blandine wants to revisit Venice. Yet again. I want to drive around the little villages in Tuscany.  Yet again. We arrive at one of our usual compromises. We decide to head to the North of France instead. Equal distribution of discontentment.

So here we are, heading to the Bay of Somme. Site of WW-I battles and the Hundred Years War battles and all sorts of other battles down history. Appropriate. When halfway across the face of France from Lyon to the coast of Normandy we hit this signboard:

Montargis la Venise du Gâtinais

Gatinais, by the way is a former region of France, somewhere below Paris. So a Venice in the middle of France. Will this make up for our Italian disappointment? We check it out.

Montargis is a bit like Venice. Sort of. It has canals flowing through the old city. And not-unpretty houses on both sides. And big red barges in those canals instead of gondolas. Oh well. It sort of makes up for not making it to Italy due to our mutual pig-headedness. In the evening, we have a pair of industrial pizzas from one of those buy-1-get-2 places.

Next post: Chartres.

Chateu de Joux

OK, last post on our Swiss trip. This one is actually on the French side of the border, on our way back. Now it is an unwritten policy on all our road trips that we will cover at least one beau village and one chateau on each trip, me being a chateau and beau village freak. The beau village was done (see the second post in this series) , but I had a dissatisfied feeling about the chateau. The one that we saw in Switzerland had been a complete washout (see the post about the Cheesy castle). So what do you know, the moment we crossed the Swiss border, on the outskirts of the village of La Clause et Mijoux, we saw this cute chateau peeping over the hills...

Check it out? You betcher. We took the side road leading to it and discovered that it was the Chateau de Joux. An 11th century castle, that was built in the middle ages and later improved at various times by the famous French military architect Vauban and later by Joffre. As far as I could tell from the info boards, it had not been involved in any major conflict, but it had played a political role and had held a couple of famous prisoners. Check out more photos below of the towers, gunpowder room, prison cell  and fortifications: