St. Malo and Mont St. Michel

Saturday, February 21st

We met up with our school group (about 130 people!) at 7:15am and loaded on to three huge buses. The ride to St. Malo was about 3 hours and the bus wasn't particularly comfortable (there wasn't much leg room).
When we arrived, the AHA students who are in the class taught by the visiting University of Oregon professor went off in a small group (there are 9 of us) to have a short tour. We walked on the beach and then went out to the Island of Be, where the writer Chateaubriand is buried. People can only get to the island during low tide, when the walkway is not underwater. The views looking back at St. Malo are beautiful.
St. Malo is a medieval walled sea port that was bombed heavily during WWII. However, it was re-built so that it is very much the same now as it was in medieval times. It is known for its seafood, galettes (which are much like crepes), and traditional Breton pastries. We spent the time after the tour wandering the town and sampling the amazing pastries. We ate lunch with Candice and Miriam in a little restaurant where Maria and I ate galettes and the other two got mussels. Candice and I also tried the hard cider (for which they are also famous).
Next we drove to Mont St. Michel, an island fortress with a beautiful abbey on top. It is truly incredible. The views from the top are amazing--the land surrounding the fortress is so flat (it's mostly sand) and it seems to go on forever. I had visited it with my class three years ago, but it was Maria's first time.
After touring the abbey, Maria and I explored around the little stairways (every street is like a stairway...because the whole city is built UP. There are no cars in Mont St. Michel) and tiny pathways. It would be a marvelous place to play hide and seek.
We only had 2 hours at Mont St. Michel, so at 5:00pm we left and met up with Aurore (my exchange student from 2006), who lives about 30 minutes from there.
-Natalie