Paris-Scope: Is this Wisconsin or San Diego?

The shores of Normandy reminded us so much of San Diego or even Oregon, with the cliffs going down into the sea. We looked north to see if we could get a glimpse of England, and realized how close we were (we couldn't, obviously). I viewed the famous "Bayeax Tapestry" in a museum, which is 230 feet long, telling the story of William the Conqueror's invasion of England. Lyle visited a church instead, but I know he would have liked it......maybe another time!

We drove through the Normandy countryside with its rolling hills, cows, and wheat fields, reminding us now of Wisconsin. Is this why the Vikings came here back in the 9th century? Normandy is known for their cheese and apple orchards and have a "hard" cider called Calvado, which is sold everywhere.

"Now, WHERE are we staying?", says my hesitant husband. Not another chateau......

"It's a mill. It was built in the 17th century", I replied.

And we arrived to this........

Yeah, it was an actual mill that the owner had taken three years to completely renovate. Inside the entry were still the gears from the grindstone....

It was such a peaceful setting, complete with streams, bridges, horses, cows, and flowers everywhere. We looked at her albums at the work she did to make this one of the nicest places we have stayed in.......and one that we would love to return to. This is just a few hours north of Paris and would be a great destination for to bring visitors. She decorated it with beautiful pieces from all over the world.....it was truly a gem. Even Lyle admitted it beat the Marriot.

It was hard to leave Sunday morning, but we discovered that we were a few hours away from one of the top tourist destinations in Europe westward on the Atlantic Ocean between Normandy and Brittany......Mont-St-Michel.

"Shrouded in mist and encircled by the sea" as my travel book put it.......

.....the clouds parted and we drove across the causeway of the receeding tide to walk to the top of this Benedictine monastery founded in 966 A.D. and added to in the 12th and 13th centuries. It was also built and used for defense, using the tides that surround it to keep enemies at bay. It also served as a prison after the Revolution. There are medieval houses, now turned into restaurants and stores, that we walked past, and then climbed the MANY steps up to the top of the abbey, where Benedictine monks still live.