Lads and lasses we are on the tail-end of our first journey across the lovely and dog-friendly country known as France.
We began the journey with a bit of exploring in Calais then off and did some sightseeing at the castles in Alsace and then up to the Normandie region for the D-Day experience. We are now going to finish this trip in style with an adventure on the tide island of the legendary Mont Saint-Michel.
Mont Saint-Michel is called a tide island because when it’s high tide the place becomes an island. During our visit the tide was low so we were free to walk over the flats.
I remember how excited I was and my tail wagged so quickly when I laid eyes on this majestic landmark. Even from a distance you can see how remarkable the island is. It didn’t even seem real to my eyes! My human also agreed that it looked like an illusion!
The tide island is very tiny and so it’s not accessible by car which meant we had to park at a designated spot about a mile or so away and then we had the choice of either hopping on a bus, walking or taking a horse-drawn carriage.
The bus was not dog-friendly so then our choices were walking or horse-carriage and horses are one of the few things that make this strong bull terrier a little afraid. Neither of us felt like walking so we chose the horses. Their giant galloping and loud neighing and whinnying makes me nervous and makes me tremble a bit. So in order to calm my nerves, my human carried me in the carriage until we finally made it!
It was as if we were entering a royal medieval village but one filled with visitors from all over the world. Makes sense because after all Mont Saint-Michel is a UNESCO world heritage site! I wonder how many of these I have already visited. I must come up with a list at some point!
Anyway, I was so excited to be setting my paws on Mont Saint-Michel and I couldn’t wait to sniff every corner of this island commune. Indeed once inside we couldn’t help but marvel at all the breathtaking architecture around us.
Despite the island’s relative small size, it houses almost everything you need. We stumbled upon quite a few bed and breakfasts, hotels, cafes and more! I also learned that people do indeed live here and that the monastery is still home to monks.
Even for a strong bully like myself, I still get pretty winded and I need energy! So we stopped by and grabbed some pizza at a nearby restaurant. As I said earlier, there’s a surprisingly vast amount of restaurants and gift shops on the island.
After the long trek upwards it was time to walk back down a different path and see different monuments. We also found a great garden area to rest in and take in the sun. Not bad right? An island and the sun.
We entered quite a few shops and walked through many gardens but I wasn’t allowed inside the churches, however I did get to see the courtyards, which were all magnificent!
On the way out of Mont Saint-Michel we stopped by a gift shop where we found a small French flag that I used as a bandana to show how proud I was to take part in an adventure in this lovely country!
As we walked out of Mont Saint-Michel we saw that all horse carriages had already departed so we had to walk the 1 or 2 miles back to our car! An exhausting endeavor, so I decided that if I were to exhaust myself walking, I might as well dirty myself up too and go all out! After all, I’ve got to do my Rocky dance in every city I go to!
Au Revoir my friends! I loved Mont Saint-Michel but I don’t have to tell you twice! Just look at the beautiful photos of the island! Next time I’ll recount some of my favorite moments in France as I depart the country with a little visit to Dunkirk.
Until next time fellow travelers!
Rocky the Traveller