Mont Saint-Michel

We arrived at our lodgings fairly late last night, well after dark. Despite being tired from the long drive and the long day, we drove toward Mont Saint-Michel and parked at a restaurant near the causeway. We walked the kilometer from the car to the abbey and spent a bit of time exploring the island.

Mont Saint-Michel is an island in Normandy, France. The island boasts an impressive abbey, monastery, and village. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mont Saint-Michel is currently under some construction in an  attempt to correct the land alterations that have occurred over the centuries. Originally on dry land, Mont Saint-Michel is currently on a rocky tidal island; over the centuries, sea levels rose, and erosion changed the shoreline. Now, the abbey is connected to the shore by a causeway. The idea is to turn Mont Saint-Michel back into the island it was before the built-up causeway changed the landscape dramatically in a fairly short time. The causeway is currently still intact; the project is meant to be finished in 2015. By that time, the causeway will be removed and only a small bridge that allows water to pass under will exist to link the coast to the abbey.

We went back to Mont Saint-Michel this morning to visit the abbey. I don't know exactly why, but the entry happened to be free today.  Somehow I managed to plan to be here on the right day!  We spent some time touring the abbey and the surrounding village before we left to make our way to west to Dinan then south to Amboise where we would be spending the night.

Despite the construction, the island is both impressive and beautiful. I had originally seen Mont Saint-Michel on a list of the top 10 or top 20 most beautiful places in the world several years ago. Since then, I've been dreaming about coming here. I feel incredible to have had the opportunity to finally see Mont Saint-Michel and to be able to mark it off of my list of places I want to see.

Dinan: A Taste of Brittany

After visiting Mont Saint-Michel in Lower Normany, we drove a bit out of the way to visit Dinan. Dinan is a medieval town in the Bretagne (Brittany) region that still retains its walls and half-timbered houses. Some of the buildings date back to the 1200s! Because the hour was getting late, we only had about an hour or so to explore the city. We still had to drive all the way to Amboise, a more than four hour drive.

We parked the car several blocks from the old town center and walked to the sights. The houses in particular were impressive. Apparently, hundreds of years ago, property tax in this region was based on the square footage of the ground floor. Therefore, citizens began building houses where the 2nd story juts out. In addition to lower property taxes, this style of building also provided shelter from the rain. Shopkeepers were able to sell goods from the front of their houses while standing under the overhang. Building laws changed in the 1700s, and houses can no longer be built in this style.

After wandering around the cobblestoned city, we walked toward the Château de Dinan. Built in the late 1300s, the château consists of two connected tall cylindrical towers, a moat, and a drawbridge. While I took photos of the castle, G explored the ramparts.

Since time was running out on the parking meter, we walked back to the car. We still had a long journey ahead of us.

European Car Rental

Knowing that we wanted to visit some out of the way places, G and I rented a car in France. G and I booked our France car through Avis. G normally drives when we go somewhere together at home and I didn't want to, so we rented the car with G as the only driver.

It's rare to find an automatic transmission vehicle to rent in mainland Europe. I advised G to work on his manual driving skills by watching youtube videos and maybe some video games. I don't think he did.

The process of picking up the car was about the same as it is at home in California. We would have been able to rent the car with just a US license, but G went ahead and got an international driving permit. The permit costs $15 plus 2 passport photos, and it's available through AAA. Basically, the international driving permit translates your current US license to other languages. G never actually had to provide this permit, but it was easy and fast to get. You get the permit the day you go to the office, and it's good for a year.

Understandably, G didn't want to rent the car in Paris because he was concerned about driving with a manual transmission. We took a train to Rouen so that we were in a smaller city when he started driving. Additionally, we both had to get the hang of the new signs and driving customs, and doing that is so much easier when the city isn't quite so busy.

G with the Toyota we rented

We were not interested in trying to navigate with paper maps. Since I would be navigating, I wanted to have some sort of GPS-enabled device. We took my iPad to Europe with us and bought a mini SIM data card in Paris - 3G service cost about 30 euros total for the 2 weeks we were there. It is possible to get a worldwide 3G plan through AT&T, but it's more expensive overall. We had 2 gbs for our 30 euros vs. 150 mb for 30 dollars from AT&T. Unfortunately, purchasing a mini SIM card abroad only works for an AT&T iPad. It did not work with G's iPhone.

I'm so glad we rented the car. We are free from train and bus schedules and fares. For the two of us, I think that having the car will be an economical way to tour the country, especially since we will be visiting some out of the way places.