Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Mont-Saint-Michel


Hi, I'm glad you're back for an other episode of "Wandering Around the Little White House".

Today, I thought I would take you with me to the Mont-Saint-Michel.

Je suis contente de vous retrouver pour un nouvel épisode de ballade autour de mon cottage. Aujourd'hui, nous partons pour le Mont-Saint-Michel.

I bet this is one of the most famous places in France and one of the most visited as well, so rather than giving you the whole tour and the whole history of the abbey like I did for the Fort La Latte, I thought I would only select from my readings a few fun or interesting facts (I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you won't find them boring).

Comme c'est un lieu très célèbre et très visité, plutôt que de vous en retracer toute l'histoire, j'ai choisi quelques petites anecdotes en espérant qu'elles vous distrairont.

1. Tug of war. Le Mont que tout le monde s'arrache.
Both Britons and Normans want the Mont Saint Michel to be theirs! It's located right on the border of the two regions. 

Les Bretons veulent que le Mont soit breton et les Normands le disent normand! Situé juste à la frontière, il fait officiellement partie de la Normandie.


 
The Mont-Saint-Michel was part of Brittany at some point in history, but it didn't last that long and today it is officially part of Normandy. The Britons have a saying about that: "The Mont might be Norman, but it's from Brittany that you can see at its best".

Les Bretons se consolent en affirmant que c'est de leurs côtes que l'on a les plus belles vues sur le Mont. J'aimerai vous le prouver, mais cela va demander d'autres ballades que cette dernière virée à Cancale où l'on ne faisait que deviner le Mont dans la brume. 



I really wish I could prove you the saying is right. But the only picture I have was taken on a very foggy day. It was taken in Cancale, a small charming harbour near my parents’ cottage. In the far distance, you might see a small darker shadowy triangle: this is the Mont-Saint-Michel.

2. The Legend. La Légende.

You may remember the legend I told you about the Mont-Dol. The giant Gargantua shook his shoe and three rocks fell down, creating the Mont-Dol, the Mont-Saint-Michel and Tombelaine (this is the smaller island you can see off Mont-Saint-Michel in the pictures). 



Peut-être vous souvenez-vous de cette légende selon laquelle le géant Gargantua secoua sa chaussure: en tombèrent trois cailloux, le Mont-Dol, le Mont-Saint-Michel et Tombelaine.

3. The Truth. La Vérité.

During the tenth century, monks living there were very rich and they indulged in all kinds of earthy pleasures that had nothing to do with their calling. When Maynard, the new abbot, decided to apply the rule of Saint-Benedict to the abbey, only one of the monks stayed!



Au Xème siècle, les hommes de l'abbaye étaient riches et vivaient une vie de plaisirs terrestres qui faisaient scandales. Le nouvel abbé, Maynard, décida d'appliquer la règle des Bénédictins: un seul moine resta, les autres préférant continuer leur vie dissolue loin du Mont.

4. The Hundred Years War. La Guerre de Cent Ans.

The Mont-Saint-Michel was a symbol for the French as it was never lost to the English, though Tombelaine was.


Le Mont a été un symbole de résistance car il ne tombait pas aux mains des Anglais, contrairement à Tombelaine.

5. The Prison. La Prison.

It became a prison during the 14th century. Some prisoners were kept in cages hung in the air. At least one of them died in it.


Dès le XIVème siècle, l'abbaye est utilisée comme prison. 

6. The Dark Hours. Les Heures Sombres.

During the French Revolution it was renamed “Mont-Libre”, which is weird, given it was a prison for insubordinate priests.


Le Mont fut rebaptisé "Mont-Libre" pendant la Révolution. Bizarre dans la mesure où c'était encore une prison accueillant les prêtres réfractaires. Il semble que les conditions de détention y étaient très difficiles.

7. Straw hats. Chapeaux de paille.

In the nineteenth century, the church was used for workshops for the prisoners. One of them consisted in making straw hats… until the straw took fire and the church with it!


Au XIXème siècle, l'église de l'abbaye a été transformée pour accueillir des ateliers pour les prisonniers, y compris un atelier de confection de chapeaux de paille... jusqu'à ce que la paille prenne feu et l'église avec!

8. The Omelette.L'Omelette.

Finally, after the fire, some architects were sent to save the Abbey. One of them came to live for a while there with his wife, his daughter and his maid. The said maid fell in love with the baker’s son (M. Poulard), they got married and they opened an inn. Her omelette became famous and many people, including actors, politicians and singers made a point to come and eat THE omelette of La Mère Poulard when visiting the Mont-Saint-Michel. Today, the inn is still very famous. 


Enfin, après l'incendie, des architectes furent envoyés pour sauver l'abbaye. L'un d'eux s'installa au Mont avec sa femme, sa fille et sa femme de chambre. Cette dernière tomba amoureuse du fils du boulanger, M. Poulard, ils se marièrent et ouvrirent une auberge. Son omelette devint si célèbre que tout le monde (acteurs, chanteurs, hommes politiques) se pressait pour goûter cette fameuse omelette en venant au Mont. Aujourd'hui, l'omelette vous attend toujours lors de votre venue au Mont.

9. A Nice Memory. Un beau souvenir.

The Mont is a little more than an hour from my parents'. But my mom, being away from home a lot for her work, hates going out of her garden when she's finally back home. So when I visit, it's usually very quiet. One morning, as I was getting down for breakfast, still in my pjs, she said: "Hurry up, I've decided we'll visit the Mont-Saint-Michel today, your father is already in the car". It was a very, very cold day (that's me in the picture with the hood), but it's a lovely family memory, especially because once we were ready to leave, it began pouring and we ran though the rain towards the car... We made it to the car completely drenched, laughing hard and happy.



Cette journée au Mont-Saint-Michel reste un souvenir inoubliable. D'abord parce que c'était inattendu. J'en avais envie depuis un moment et puis, un jour, mes parents m'y ont emmenée et on a fait la visite en famille, ce qui était très agréable. Ensuite, parce qu'ils faisaient un froid de canard, c'est peut-être idiot comme bon souvenir, mais du coup, on n'était pas trop nombreux. Enfin, parce qu'au moment où l'on s'apprêtait à quitter le Mont, il s'est mis à pleuvoir des cordes. On a couru comme des fous, mais cela ne nous a pas empêché d'arriver trempés et morts de rire à la voiture.... Cela fait aussi partie du souvenir pour moi!

 Thanks for tagging along with me around the Mont-Saint-Michel. Here was the first sign of spring, right outside the Abbey.



Merci d'avoir arpenté le Mont avec moi, je vous laisse sur ce signe de printemps découvert à la sortie de l'abbaye. A bientôt.

See you soon!



PS: The two pictures that are not "tagged" are from Wikipedia.


I'm sharing this tour with:

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia                Join Me on Tuesday for                 CLICK TO JOIN LINKY PARTY    

 Share Your Cup Thursday             New Link Party

30 comments:

  1. Hello,
    Thanks for the tour. I plan to travel to France in a couple of years, and this is one of the places I will be planning to visit. I love your blog. Thanks again.
    xo
    Betty @ My Cozy Corner

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  2. What an amazing place, such a history it carries, and what a location. Reminds me of the Ivanhoe-movie.

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  3. I loved this episode! I am sure your blog is my favourite now shhhh! Ann

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  4. I loved hearing the history. thanks so much for sharing it and your beautiful photos.
    Hugs,
    Laura

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  5. What wonderful views! Thanks for stopping by my blog and taking time to leave a sweet comment :) Greetings from Australia♥ ~Pernilla

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  6. Thanks for another armchair tour! I love reading more about your country. Our history here seems so relatively new!

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  7. Les photos sont belles et les anecdotes savoureuses. Il faudra qu'on y retourne un de ces jours et on ne mangera pas l'omelette !!!!

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  8. I have never made it there, but I have always wanted to go. My daughter did go, when she spent an entire summer living in France (lucky girl) and loved the trip to Mont-Saint-Michel. I need to go soon, though, if I wait much longer, I might not be able to handle the steps - lol!! Thanks so much for the information and the tour!

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  9. Oh Magali,
    Thanks for bringing me back there again. I was there once admiring the abbey but never from the top of the hill, where can I see the Abbey from the top?
    I just went up and up and passed many shops along the side and later I went down to the dried low-tided mud/beach? to soak my feet in the water of Normandy. My friend jokingly said that hey, the mud contains the blood of soldiers from WWII.

    But i dont remember seeing the pillars where you stood taking pic in the second last pic.

    I do love mont Saint Michel so much!

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  10. Thank you so much for sharing your trip to Mont Saint Michel with us, Magali--this was wonderful to see! I loved learning about all of the history connected with this place. Beautiful photographs, too.

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  11. So interesting. Thank you for taking on there. I've always wanted to go, but never made it.

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    Replies
    1. I believe one of the best thing about blogging is to be able to travel without leaving our chair!

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  12. Hi Magali!!!!

    Thank you so much for these incredible pictures of the tour!!

    I love history and for you to include the history of the places you visit
    is great!!

    Thank you again!!!

    Pam
    xox

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  13. What a fabulous post you made of Mont Saint Michel - are you by any chance a professional writer? I visited the island ten years ago, and I was impressed because in the cells I could feel a strange energy...

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  14. Tack för en underbar och lärorik resa i ditt land.Det är så härligt att få se så fina bilder och veta så mycket jag aldrig skulle veta om jag inte läste din blogg. Min man är till Reims på fredag, hoppas han hittar det lilla sagoslottet som vi såg en gång för 20 år sedan vi reste den vägen. idag Kör han bussresor till Paris o Frankrike.
    Ha en underbar vecka
    Kram Meta

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  15. What an amazing post Magali!!! ( my favorite kind really - love seeing new places - and love seeing anything in France, period! )
    When I come visit you - we must visit this place!
    XXX

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  16. Boring, not hardly! I enjoyed reading of the history you wrote about Mt Saint Michel. I read some on it before our visit there. Your photos are beautiful and I love the distant snaps that show how amazing this place is. Anyone visiting France should take the time to visit. We spent one night there and it was amazing. Walking all over after the tourist leave for the day. So quiet and mysterious. Thanks for sharing this, you brought back all my memories.........

    ~Emily
    The French Hutch

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  17. I love this series Magali. So much fun to visit from across the ocean!! It was funny for me to see the last photo of the snowdrops as I posted some on my blog from our Easter trip. It looks as though we were in the same place! ;)

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  18. so glad you made a comment about my refrigerator/beadboard wallpaper! i love your blog!

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  19. wow, what an amazing history. The hanging cages sound so eerie! Amazing architeture. I really enjoyed the history too.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  20. quelle belle promenade Magali!
    j'aime tellement cet endroit et si ressourçant!
    nous avons fait avec les enfants la traversée de la baie à pied,c'était merveilleux.
    je vous souhaite une belle journée avec du soleil et pas de neige!!
    Amitiés,
    Marry Poppins

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  21. Thank you for the history along with the pictures. Someday I would like to see it all. But for now visiting your blog will have to do.
    Reuzeit Emporium Blog
    Reuzeit Emporium

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  22. What a fun post! Beautiful photos and interesting history as well! I enjoyed this very much :)

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  23. Hello!
    Very fun to see that place again,we was there for about 6 or 7 years ago on a bustrip.
    But took so few pichtures so now I am so glad see yours!

    Thank you for it!

    Hugs from Metha in Stockholm

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  24. Oh If I were in France that would be a MUST see. The pictures you took are splendid!!!Everything gorgeous. I love the way you tie all your pics with history.
    Ann

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  25. What a fascinating post! I enjoyed reading about all the history connected to Mont-Saint-Michel. Your photos are wonderful!

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  26. I've seen photos of this place but never knew how close to the water it is. It looks like there are times that no one can get there.

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    Replies
    1. Only a few years ago, there was a parking lot really close to Mont-Saint-Michel and there was a sign at the entrance telling you if you could park that day or if the parking lot was going to be flooded by the tide!
      Thanks for visiting.

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  27. Oh my goodness, with how close the water is, these pictures just don't seem real!

    Great to have you be a part of "Oh, the PLACES I have been!"

    - The Tablescaper

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