We woke early today in time to hear the beautifully sung morning prayers of the abbey's munks and nuns.
Following the prayer service, our group had breakfast together then met our local guide. We walked back up the steep steps, and had a wonderful tour of the grand abbey.
Around lunch time, we sadly said goodbye to the beautiful Mont St. Michel, and began making our way to Bayeux.
In Villedieu-les-Poêles, we had a short lunch break. Many of us enjoyed food from the local outdoor market
We arrived in Bayeux later that afternoon and had a short orientation walk, including a look at the cathedral. We then went to see the treasure of Bayeux -- the Tapestry.
Later we drove to Arromanche to our next hotel. Our group dinner was next, following a nice champagne toast on the beach.
Miles Walked: 4.38 Steps Walked: 10,466
Morning Prayers and Walking Tour
Today, over twenty of our group woke early to attend the 7:00 morning prayers of the monks and nuns in the Abbey of Mont St. Michel. Some others who had made a pilgrimage here, as people have been doing for 1,200 years, also joined us. It was a very moving experience to hear Psalms song in French so beautifully in this centuries old building. The abbey was begun in the 700's after a bishop heard the voice of Archangel Michael tell him to build here. It's a combination of churches -- current Gothic style buit over Romanesque, built over Carolingian, with many levels and is even more spacious than it appears outside. Our of respect, we did not take pictures during the prayers, but later were able to during our walking tour with the local guide.
Goodbye Mont St. Michel
A few final pictures of Mont St. Michel as we made our way back to our bus and drove away.
Bayeux
Above are pictures of visit to Bayeux. We took a brief walk through the town, stopping at the huge Notre-Dame Cathedral that dominates the center, then made our way to see the famous Bayeux Tapestry displayed at the Bayeux Museum. The 70 yard long tapestry from the year 1066, tells that story of William the Conquerer's victory during the battle of Hastings. We enjoyed the interesting audio tour that described each of the scenes of the tapestry as we viewed them.
Hotel & Group Dinner
We made our way to Arromaches, which would be the base for our Normandy touring. Hotel Marine was very comfortable and overlooked a beautiful beach. Our group enjoyed some sparkling wine together before dinner, as a treat from our guide, Antoine. We also took the time to take a few pictures together in this picturesque location. We enjoyed ocean views and a seafood dinner tonight -- fish soup, cod, and rice pudding were among the choices.