FRANCE - DAY 6

We had to get up at an unholy hour this morning to catch our bus tour to Mont Saint Michel.

We caught the metro and exited easily. Then it started to go pear shaped. We got turned around and couldn't find the right street.

As we raced through the dark streets of Paris to make it to the tour company on time, we began to have doubts of making it. Luckily we asked a pedestrian who pointed us in the right direction and we managed to make it just in time. We later found out the that the helpful pedestrian actually worked for the tour company.

As we travelled towards the coast, our tour guide, Caroline, explained about Normandie and their agriculture. Apple orchards are plentiful in Normandie, which they use to produce an apple brandy called Calvados. If produced at home it can have an alcohol volume of 70%, however the store bought product only has 40% alcohol content. They also make la cidre, which is an apple cider that children drink in the afternoons. It has an alcohol content of 4%. The apples are used for cooking, la cidre and apple brandy as they are no good for eating.

The bus trip took 5 hours but it was well worth it. When we arrived we had a three course meal at a local restaurant that served the local egg omlette and it gave us a panoramic view of Mont Saint Michel.

After lunch we boarded a bus that could be driven from each end and headed for the island. Once there Caroline took us on a fabulous tour around the abbey. The abbey was built on top of the mountain starting back in 708AD. Its ramparts and fortification resisted all English assaults and as a result the island has never been occupied by the British.

During the revolution the abbey was used as a prison.

This was a brilliant tour, even if it made for an extremely long day, as we only got back to Paris at 9:30 and then had to travel by metro back to the hotel. Obviously the girls were exhausted.