Wednesday, June 21
Day 10 included one of our longest drives of the trip: Commes to Toulouse by way of Mont Saint-Michel, which amounts to about nine hours of driving time without any other stops, traffic, or complications. But of course, there were complications! Thankfully, not all complications are bad.
Mont Saint-Michel
We left Commes around 7:30 a.m. and arrived at Mont Saint-Michel near opening at 9:30 a.m. We opted to take the shuttle bus from the parking lot in order to save time and energy. And boy am I glad we did. The walk is quite long and the sun was blazing. The shuttle bus is free, however parking cost us about €15 for 4-5 hours. Entrance to the island is free but admission to the abbey cost €10 per person. We also spent about €20 each on lunch.
The tiny island now known as Mont St. Michel, was originally called Mont-Tombe. In the year 708 the bishop of Avranches, St. Aubert, had a vision of St. Michael, in which the archangel commanded Aubert to build a monastery on the island. Since then the site has been a popular pilgrimage center for both religious and non-religious people. You can read more about its interesting history here.
I heard somewhere that the best way to climb to the top of Mont Saint-Michel is by using the ramparts along the outer wall, so that’s what we did. This path offers stunning views throughout much of the climb. It’s quite the uphill trek and not for the faint of heart! I am glad we went early because not only was it cooler, but the crowds increased steadily throughout the day.
We took it slow, giving our bodies time to rest at various viewing spots, and reached the abbey in under an hour.
This is where the abbey once received deliveries via a large chain and pulley system. In the photo on the right, note how small the people on the rampart appear. That is where we were standing when we took the photo on the left.
To enter the abbey cost €10 per person, which we thought was worth it. If you’re going to climb all that way, might as well go to the top!
I don’t have a lot to say about Mont Saint-Michel that the pictures can’t say for me. The combination of natural and human-made beauty in such a concentrated space is striking and moving.
I can see how this could be a spiritually moving space. I say “could be” because I struggled to find a spiritual connection while there. As someone who loves the beach, practices Centering Prayer, and spends more time with the words of monks and mystics than most, I had a special interest in this seaside abbey that once belonged to the Benedictine order. But try as I might, even while sitting quietly in the church, I struggled to find that great Silence, to feel the great Presence.
This doesn’t mean God was any less present – only that the conditions within myself (excitement, anticipation, anxiety) and without myself (the chaos and bustle of what has now become a major tourist attraction) made it difficult for me to experience His peace in a way I had hoped. And I suppose that’s the crux of it: expectations. I must have created an expectation that I would have some feeling, some experience, something to separate the mundane from the miraculous.
But if I really think about it, what is more miraculous that knowing that He was there, as He is everywhere, right in the middle of it all, regardless of how I “felt” at the time?
On our way down, we admired the architecture, stopped in various gift shops…
…and ate lunch at a little spot overlooking the sea. We didn’t do much research about eating gluten-free on the island, and walking through the little village is a bit confusing as you’re literally walking in circles. So we just found a place that looked doable.
Our meal at Les Terrasses de la Baie was not terrible but it wasn’t great either. And while it had a nice view of the sea, the blazing sun and glass windows combined with a crowded room and no air conditioning, made for a hot and stuffy lunch. So if you are looking for a place to eat, all I can say is, I have to assume there are better restaurants on the island.
Apologies to anyone who has an awkward shot of us in the background of their photos reenacting a scene from one our favorite TV shows, New Girl. “No, I have the fastest butt in the land!!!”
All in all, from arrival to departure, our visit to Mont Saint-Michel took a little over five hours. This included riding the shuttle bus to and fro, touring the abbey, eating lunch, and stopping for plenty of photos. I will never understand those websites that claim you can see everything in two hours!
Complications
So at 2:30 p.m. we began our 7.5 hour drive to Toulouse, hoping that with stops for gas and dinner, we might arrive around 11:30 p.m. Ahhhh the best laid plans!
Doug wanted to go a little out of the way to make a brief stop at La Rochelle, where some of his ancestors lived. The drive across the French countryside was absolutely beautiful…
…but as we were approaching La Rochelle at around 7:00 p.m. traffic was congested and the GPS kept rerouting us because multiple roads were closed. After a quick google search, we discovered that there was a music festival in town, so we decided to leave and head straight to Toulouse, which was still four hours away.
Of course, this left us in need of new plans for dinner. Christina recommended Bordeaux where we could grab a bite while visiting the famous Miroir d’Eau (Water Mirror) and Place de la Bourse. We all agreed and Jacquelyn booked us a reservation at a restaurant with good ratings on Find Me Gluten-Free. Imagine our surprise, we when we arrived in Bordeaux to find yet another music festival!!!
La Fête de la Musique: Summer Solstice Festival
After more google searching, Jacquelyn learned that the Summer Solstice is essentially a holiday in France (I guess we’ll always remember what day we were in Bordeaux!) celebrated with music festivals all over the country. Kind of crazy that in ALL our plans for this trip, we never, not once, came across anything about La Fête de la Musique!!!
Needless to say, our first half hour in Bordeaux was very tense. Doug even attempted to turn around and leave. “WAIT!” I said. “We already wasted at least 30 minutes getting into the city and it will be another 30 minutes to get out and we will still need to find dinner somewhere in this unfamiliar country!”
He was reluctantly convinced and we started looking for parking. It was so insane that people had started parking on center islands and in no-parking zones. We, however, could not afford to have our rental car towed! Now, I don’t do this often but in desperation I prayed “Lord, if you want us to stay and have dinner here, please open up a parking spot for us.” And I kid you not, we turned the corner and someone was pulling out of a spot right in front of us. AMAZING! Thank you, God!
From there it was about a 15 minute walk to our restaurant which was in the heart of the festival. And let me tell you, it was WILD! I have never experienced anything like it. Not only was it wall-to-wall people, but everyone in the streets appeared to be under 35. There was no hope of blending in for Doug and I. But walking among those crowds, between 18th century buildings, everyone talking in another language, booze flowing, music blaring, felt utterly and fantastically foreign. It was a AWESOME!
The restaurant, Max a Table, was not quite what we expected given that they took reservations and came so highly rated. It was just a small burger joint and bar – and on this night, the emphasis was on bar. Oh and their single bathroom, which was apparently one of the few bathrooms in the area open to the partying public!
When we mentioned our reservation to the guy behind the bar, we watched as realization dawned on his face: “Now it all makes sense!” he seemed to think, “I was wondering who was crazy enough to make reservations tonight. But aha! It’s these Americans who have no idea what they are doing!!!!”
He and his coworker poked fun at us in French (in what seemed to be a good-natured way) and then showed us to our table in the back. The service was decent all things considered. We ordered on touch screens which were under the glass table, and our food came quickly. If I remember correctly, we all ordered burgers and the food was good. Ultimately, our longest wait was for the bathroom because, as I mentioned, there was only one, and it was open to everyone.
I don’t feel like I can give the most accurate review given the circumstances, but I can say that there were gluten-free (and corn-free) options, the staff was attentive, friendly, and helpful even in the chaos, and the food was decent. It wasn’t the cleanest restaurant at the time but given the crowds, how could it be?!
From there, we walked back to our car by way of Miroir d’Eau and Place de la Bourse. It was after 10:30 p.m. and the crowds were bigger and drunker, too! We also discovered that the area by Place de la Bourse was where the rowdiest people were hanging out. Not only was the air thick with the smell of booze and weed, the people there seemed to have a special affinity for smashing glass bottles on the pavement.
After walking all around looking for Miroir d’Eau, we realized that we couldn’t find it because we were actually standing in it! Normally, the ground you see in the photo above would be covered in water, creating a reflection of the surrounding buildings. However, in what appeared to be a wise move, the city of Bordeaux drained the water before the event. Otherwise, it likely would have been full of revelers and shattered glass.
While there, we did see some fireworks, the Monument aux Girondins and a glowing blue ferris wheel.
Yes, everyone kind of wanted to ride the ferris wheel, but we had still had HOURS to drive that night and a long drive the next day. As it was, we didn’t get back on the road until 11:00 p.m.
While this La Fete de la Musique “complication” was time consuming and exhausting, it was one of my favorite moments of the trip. Such a totally unplanned, authentically French, wild and foreign experience. I wouldn’t change anything about it, even with the late night ahead of us.
Thunderstorms and Nearly Running Out of Gas
Shortly after leaving Bordeaux, we found ourselves in the middle of intense thunderstorms. This was stressful enough, especially in unfamiliar territory, but things got worse when we couldn’t find an open gas station! In France (at least this part of France) most gas stations aren’t open overnight and the ones that are don’t have attendants. For most people, this isn’t a problem. But for Americans with credit cards, it can be.
We aren’t certain why our credit cards didn’t always work (Yes, we were using international credit cards.) but we think it had something to do with French credit cards requiring a PIN much like US debit cards. So some machines seemed unable to process our credit cards which have no PIN. For this reason, we often had to pay inside at a register. This was not an option at 1:00 a.m.
When we finally found a station with pumps operating, the machines wouldn’t recognize our card. As was our habit, we kept trying different credit cards because sometimes, without rhyme or reason, one credit card would work while another wouldn’t.
When our final card was rejected, Doug was frustrated and ready to drive away. But something about the way the machine reacted to that last card led me to think it was just a reading error. I told Doug, “No, wait. We NEED gas. Who knows when we are going to find another open station! I really think we should try another pump. I think it was just a reader error.”
So he moved the car and tried another pump and PRAISE THE LORD, IT WORKED!!! The relief in the car was palpable. Our fear of being stranded on the side of the highway was no more.
Not-so-pro tip: Fill up before gas stations close, and only plan to drive as far as one tank can take you while still leaving enough gas to get to another station in the morning.
We made it to our hotel in Toulouse at about 2:30 a.m. We were wiped out to say the least. After check in, while Doug and I were in the girls’ room confirming plans for the next day, we heard a knock at the door. It was the front desk manager with a bottle of wine for Doug because she had noticed it was his birthday that month. We assume this was related to his Marriott platinum membership. Whatever the case, this woman was determined to get this loyal customer his birthday present, even at three in the morning!
We slept hard that night.
Next up: Carcassonne, Mary Magdalene’s Grotto, Nice
Lightning Bug 
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