Day 10: Mont Saint Michele

We left ESA this morning at 6:00 sharp, bright and early. We headed out on the coach bus to our first destination, which was a sheep farm on the west coast of France. Basically, in a nutshell, the farm is located on about 200 hectares of land that has a high content of salt in it's soil because of it's geographical location. During high tide, the parts of the land are flooded with salt water, and during the low tide, those fields grow grass. The farmers in this area put sheep on the land to eat the grass. Because the grass pulls a high amount of salt from the soil, and the sheep ingest the grass, the sheep are said to have a very high-quality flavor them that is differentiated from others. These sheep are marketed very strategically and sold at a premium on the market. There are also a strict set of rules and guidelines set by the government that these farmers must follow. Off in the distance of the sheep fields, we could see a beautiful landmark reaching into the sky; our next destination, Mont Saint Michele. Upon our arrival, my immediate notice was that Mont Saint Michele (a monastery) was on it's own small island and surrounded by high walls. Because the tide was low, the entire area was surrounded by nothing but beach. As we walked inside, an immediate impression of Renaissance style architecture hits the visitor. The monastery is surrounded by small streets winding up to it's entrance with various gift shops, bars, and crepereés. We hiked our way to the top and found the best view, above all. Crystal, light blue water hitting perfectly tanned beaches skimmed by the vibrant green shoreline. It was a site! By far, one of my favorite sites thus far. The monastery was interesting, lots of cool architecture and crosses. Overall, the concept of Mont Saint Michele, built for the archangel Michele, left one in awe as it stands lone along the coast, isolated, reaching into the sky. I loved it!