Exploring Mont St. Michel: Day-4 in France

Day-4 in France my wife and I have checked into the Mercure hotel near Le Mont-St-Michel Abbey. I wake up in the morning to see dark grey skies and continuous drizzle of rain. Bad weather to walk down the 2.5 km long stretch from the hotel to the Abbey, but I have no choice, as we’re here for one day only. After a hearty breakfast at "Le Pre Sale" restaurant, out come the umbrellas, and we begin our walk to the Abbey. Soon the rain starts coming in gusts, and I turn back to see a Peugeot sedan approaching. I’m pretty sure no one would give a lift to a foreign couple on a dark and rainy day like this, but I still make the universally accepted sign with my thumb asking for a lift. We’re in luck, the car stops, and a French couple, who cant speak a word of English, give us a lift. We were really grateful to this helpful couple; without their help, we would have been walking in the rain for at least 20 minutes. We thanked the couple with heartfelt "merci beaucoup’s", when we reached the Abbey.

Destination Mont St. Michel: Day-3 in France

My third day in France, I leave Paris, the city I could not yet explore to my heart’s content, and head off to rural France. My destination is Mont St. Michel, a church which has a history dating back to the 8th century A.D. The church is dedicated to St. Michael, the arch-angel. The unique thing about this church is that it’s built on a finger of land jutting out into the Atlantic ocean. But before I leave, I have some time so a visit to the Sacre Coeur Basilica, which was a short walk from the hotel. As we walked, we crossed a very charming part of Paris. Nice little restaurants like the one below, markets selling oysters, clams, mushrooms and different kinds of hams and cheese. 

Le Basilic restaurant.

Montmartre, on the way to Sacre Cour

 
Sacre Coeur
The Sacre Coeur Basilica is a slightly steep climb up the Montmartre hill. Once up, there is a beautiful view of Paris, and you can even see the Eiffel Tower from here. The Basilica itself is quite awe-inspiring. It’s a towering structure.

Sacre Cour

 
It is said that during a siege of Paris, the Montmartre hill was used to bombard
the city using cannons. There is a plaque on the wall, but since it’s in French,
I could not understand it completely, except for the fact that during a siege,
this particular point was used for cannon artillery.

View from the hill.