chapter 69: MONT SAINT MICHEL

4:45 AM - up and out

5:30 AM - catch the metro for a 30 minute ride north of Paris

7:00 AM - find the train on a lower deck and ride the train to Rennes for 2 hours

9:00 AM - Ride the bus to the base of Mont Saint Michel for 2 more hours

A long journey leading to a magnificent site!

We hiked up to the top of the church and actually got to see a live sacrament ceremony. We found our places in the congregation and stayed up until the sacrament was distributed. We learned about the history of the church and saw a miniture model of the castle during different phases of construction. After the tour of the church, we snuck away and walked up a narrow hidden staircase where we sat and had our sack lunch.

{made it to the top}

{inner chapel}

{chapel courtyard}

{secret secluded lunch spot}

{archer-man}

{trying to be sneaky, but Ben said I looked like a monk...}

{check out the ponytail! had to take a pic..}

{thought this would be fun to paint when we got home}

We loved being able to relax after that long hike up and look over the endless see ahead of us. A lot of visiters hiked out into the water and there was even a group of tourists on horseback, taking a tour around the island.

We made our way back down and caught our bus to start the long trek home {that is.. after a beyond rude American tried to cut in line and then started shouting and complaining when I boxed her out. Not the day to mess with me.}

4:00 PM - catch the bus back to Rennes

6:00 PM - ride the train back to Paris

8:00 PM - arrive in Paris

After arriving back in Paris, we decided to eat at an 'off the beaten path' resturant called the Terrace. Ben had the lamb with salad and a hot chocolate for dessert. I had chicken in a delicious I-don't-know-what fantastic sauce, peach juice and pudding for dessert. Definatly our favorite resturant so far. We tried very hard to be 'french' and eat extremely slow and take our time sitting even after we were finished.
{we didn't take pictures at this restaurant because it was SO fancy and we didn't want to feel like tourists}
We then rounded the courner for a little walk after we ate and were suprised to see the Eiffel Tower! Every inch was lit up and it was jaw-dropping amazing. We took pictures that didn't even come close to capturing it and just ended up laying, basking in its glow that seemed to just eminate from it - no source to be seen.

{HAD to take a kissy pic}

Having made our goal of 'staying out all night' one night, we rode the metro home and fell asleep instantly.