Perhaps a Bit Overdue

Okay, maybe a lot overdue. But don't worry - you're about to be caught up.

The week before last was a week-long break for Les Vacances de Toussaint. Toussaint is a French holiday which is basically equivalent to All Saints Day. It is a day during which the French pay respect to family members who have passed, as well as their relatives and of course the Catholic saints. That being said, though, the break isn't really a vacation - we were assured many times by the International Relations director, José, that it is a "pause pedagogique," meaning it's a break for students to study and get caught up on schoolwork. We didn't do that, obviously. What do you think this is, school? Nah. It's just study abroad.

Ginny and I (by now it should be obvious that she's my trusty travel partner) began our week with a trip to Mont Saint Michel with Club Ulysse. Two other American girls, Amber and Emily, also came on the trip. We departed at 6:15 am on a Saturday morning and didn't arrive there until... 1 pm maybe? I honestly don't remember. I actually slept on the bus. It was a miracle.

Mont Saint Michel is an "island" located on the border between Normandy and Brittany that's not quite on land and not quite on sea. It's home to a charming village and a beautiful abbey which were built in the Middle Ages, and it is said to be the birthplace of the omelette. Immediately after arriving we went in search of somewhere to try one. We couldn't afford the famous Mère de Poulard, unfortunately, but found somewhere I can only hope is just as good. I had a three course lunch which included a traditional omelette (which is a bit different - the eggs are almost frothy), fresh salmon and a salted caramel crepe.

After enjoying our meal we headed up to the abbey for a free tour. It was amazing to consider that this building is older than our country. MUCH older even.

The architecture of the abbey was beautiful, as well as the views from the top. We spent most of our time in the village wandering its halls, and considering we only had about five hours there, I'd say it was time well spent. Here are some pictures of the abbey:

After our tour we spent a bit exploring the tiny village, and then hopped back on the bus to head to our hotel.

The next day we visited two other towns in Normandy: Honfleur and Etretat. Honfleur was rather small, which was good because we only had about an hour there, but it was incredibly charming just the same. I bought a book about the legends of Mont Saint Michel in one of its tiny book shops.

Honfleur

We had a larger chunk of time to spend in Etretat. The town of Etretat itself is somewhat unimpressive, but visitors truly come for the beach and cliffs that overlook it. Our first stop when we arrived was the stone beach. The views were incredible; it's not really possible to capture the beauty on camera.

After spending a bit of time on the beach, Ginny and I decided to grab some lunch and try a few of the specialties Normandy has to offer. We had moules-frites normandes, which are mussels with cream on them, a bottle of cider, and crème brûlée for dessert.

When we finished our relaxing lunch, we decided to walk up to the top of cliffs to take in the view from there. I got some amazing pictures but they still don't quite do it justice. Ginny kept saying it was the most beautiful place she'd ever been.

Our day ended watching the sunset on the beach, and finally (begrudgingly) getting back on the bus to Lille. Once back, we had just one day of rest before jetting off to ITALY! Which can be read about in the blog post following this one.