Where are the Zombies?

Bonjour!

This past weekend was the one week-end trip organized by the study abroad program. That basically means we had one weekend packed full with as many activities as possible. We had strict orders to be at the crossroads of Blvd Montparnasse and rue Chevreusse at 7:45am. Despite my tendency to err on the late side, I managed to be early. And when you’re early for something in Paris at that time of the morning there is only one thing you can do: go to the boulangerie! Breakfast consisted of a deliciously fresh-backed pain au chocolat! Délectable!

Once we were all piled on the bus and after a quick swing through Paris to the Arc de Triomphe to pick up Tim (he slept late) we were off to the north. In the weeks leading up to this trip I had had a few people mention to me that as soon as you’re outside of the city there really isn’t much to look at in the French countryside besides the occasional tree. I didn’t believe them. They were right. With the exception of supposedly darling villages that can be seen off in the distance, there is not much to look at on the bus from Paris to Normandy.

Our first stop of the trip was Mont Saint Michel on the Northern coast of France. It lies just on the border of the regions of Brittany and Normandy. The rock formation used to be an island but after a few years of erosion and a road built in the 1800s it’s now currently attached to the mainland. Although there is still a great danger of quicksand and high tides. My friend got caught in the quicksand. Actually it was Tim, the one who slept in late. Only a couple of people mentioned karma ☺ The tides around there come in at a meter a second. Unfortunately we were there at low tide.

When we got there we had an hour to kill before our tour of the Abbey. Yen, Deanna, and I went for lunch. Deanna ended up getting the Mont Saint Michel Omelet. She said it tasted good but it was extremely strange. The inside was just filled with foam. There is no other way to describe it. When she popped it open foam spilled out. There was nothing else there except eggs and foam.

As I’ve mentioned before, I love the fact you can bring a dog into restaurants in Europe. Just as we were on our way to meet the tour group a French couple walked in with a Cavalier (a Sophie/Louie type dog). I got quite excited. I told the man I had two of the same and pet the dog. These type of dogs seem to be everywhere here and that’s normally how I react but this was the first person who didn’t seem to think I was crazy.

On our way to meet up with the group, despite the freezing, end of the world weather, we stopped for ice cream: dark chocolate gelato. I’m in love.

In order to get up to the Abbey we had to basically hike the Mont. What? Didn’t they know what an elevator was in the 900s??

It doesn’t look that big from the outside. That was the wrong assumption. On the inside the place is huge! There are millions of different wings and floors and chapels and dungeons. Our tour guide, who had come with us from Paris, knew the place insanely well. In a sarcastic remark someone whispered, “Does she live here or something?” Not a moment later she pulls out a giant key from her pocket and turns down a passageway and opens a medieval door at the end. With our eyebrows raised we followed her through. The part she took us into is the oldest part of the abbey. The room was a part of the original structure that sat on the island, then called Mont Tombe. It was built more than a millennium ago. When we got into the room there were a few men filming a documentary about the place but they let us stay and watch for a bit.

I am so glad the Abbey was so big; it kept us out the horrible rain outside. Every time we went out on a balcony or into a courtyard it was a battle to concentrate. Somebody up there seemed to be amused, switching between gusting winds, rain and sleet.

After the tour we a couple of hours before the bus left. Yen, Deanna, and I opted for finding a crepe place and getting some hot cider. There are only so many tiny alleyways one can explore in such weather. We found a cute little place with great views of the Channel. We ordered a liter of hot cider to share and hunkered down with the crepe menu. We went for a nutella/whipped cream one to share. The waitress hated us from that moment. We’re tourists. Her glare seems to say, didn’t we know we’re supposed to order exuberant amounts of food and not skimp? We got guilty and ended up ordering another crepe, this time strawberry jam. Despite our attempt at amends she still didn’t seem to like us very much. When we paid she left our change (more than 2€) in all 1 and 2 cent pieces.

We used those monnaies to buy Chupa Chups (ridiculously good Spanish lollypops.)

Just as we’re about the pile back onto the bus the sun comes out and the clouds go away. Dare I say I actually felt a few moments of warmth?

The next stop was Granville, a small town about an hour up the coast from Mont Saint Michel. It’s a very cute seaside town but we were only there for the night. Our hostel seemed to have a large function going on. Thomas tested the waters buy trying to be the stupid American who “accidentally” wandered in. We ended up eating the slightly more questionable cafeteria food.

After dinner we went out to the rocks to watch the sunset. As night fell we decided to head out to explore the town. The original purpose was to find the beach. Who knew it could be so difficult to find a beach in a town situated on it? We couldn’t seem to get away from the marina so we headed up the hill to, where it seemed, the rest of the town seemed to be situated.

The place was like a ghost town. We couldn’t figure it out. There were cars parked everywhere but there wasn’t a soul around. All the bars were closed (on a Saturday night) and the restaurants, the ones that were open, only had a few people each. With the setting sun and the rocky cliffs that lead down to the water it was the perfect setting for a bad zombie movie.

The next morning, after a breakfast of more cafeteria food, we were back on the bus. I went to sleep. When I awoke three hours later we were on the other coast of the peninsula of Normandy. This day would be more somber. The first stop was one of the five landing beaches from D-Day: Omaha Beach. The beaches still retain their code names instead of the original French names. We walked out onto the beach in the pouring rain. The barbed wire, foxholes, barracks, and machine gun platforms still exist. Much of the coast is eroding and they’re afraid most of it will fall into the ocean within the decade. One of the most precarious points is where a memorial statue is located. You can’t go near it for fear of immediate collapse.

Next we headed a few kilometers up the coast to the American cemetery. When we got off the bus this time it was sleeting. The cemetery is situated right along the cliffs as well. The field is an expanse of ghostly white marble crosses and stars of David. They mostly all have names although many seem to be marked with something along the lines of, “Only God knows.”

When we got back on the bus it was snowing. We were originally supposed to have a picnic on the beach near the town of Arromanches but due to the weather we decided to have it on the bus. Not to mention, according to the group leader, we were still running late.

We ended up stopping in Arromanches for only fifteen minutes, just enough time to pick up a few souvenirs and catch a quick glimpse of the ocean as we were ushered back onto the buses.

Next stop: Bayeux to see the Bayeux Tapestry. This 230ft long cloth has entire museum just for itself. It’s incredible in person. It depicts the events leading up to and including the Norman invasion of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror. On the little handsets we got I listened to the narration in Spanish since I haven’t been speaking it that much lately. Afterwards, while talking to a few people about the tapestry, we figured out that different languages translate famous and royal names. It makes sense now that I think about it but I guess I had always assumed that a name is a name. After the tapestry there was a whirlwind tour through the Cathedral in Bayeux and then a run through the now falling hail to the bus. The second reference to Zombies in the weekend came with the weather change. It was creepy end of the world weather. But it didn’t matter, we were still late!

As soon as we were on the bus I went to sleep. I was tired and it was four hours back to Paris. I woke up around the Luxembourg Gardens. We had spent so much time running to catch the clock that we had surpassed it. We were early in arriving.

So today is April 13th. I will be home June 13th. (Yes, I will be traveling on Friday the 13th). What happened to this year? I can’t believe it.

Until next time,

Kate

Ps. Look!!! I’ve finally caught up on all the blogs!!

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