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| nuthatch | profile | all galleries >> France >> Near the Mont St. Michel Bay | tree view | thumbnails | slideshow |
 heading south out of Normandy, we stop at the ruins of Hambye abbey |
 built in the 11th and 12th centuries... |
 ...the building was sold by the state after the Revolution... |
 ...and used as a stone quarry in the 19th-c., slowly becoming a skeleton |
 in the 1930s, graves of a 15th-c. couple who defended Mont St. Michel were found under the ruined floor |
 then in the 1950s a couple bought the abbey and land, and started preservation... |
 ...which continues today |
 on to Mont Dol, a granite bubble in the low coastal plain... |
 ...on which a few stone structures look out over the bay and farmlands |
 well, on a clear day, anyway |
 seems we won't be seeing Mont St. Michel today |
 all the forests around here are filled with chestnuts |
 down in the village of Mont Dol, the 12th-century church awaits |
 the stonework everywhere in this area is amazing... |
 ...even in the floor |
 this church is known for its 12th and 14th-c. frescoes |
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 but the 19th-century glass is also stirring |
 outside, a memorial to US WWII airmen who died here a year before D-Day |
 then we visit nearby Dol-de-Bretagne, once the bishop's seat in Brittany |
 half-timbered buildings abound in the old town... |
 ...some of which were once owned by the Scottish House of Stuart... |
 ...but there are architectural treasures all over town |
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 we are reminded that the bay of Mont St. Michel is the source for the mussels we eat in Paris! |
 the cathedral was built in fortress style from the 12th to 16th centuries |
 it has a large and elegant porch on one side |
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 inside, the decor has been revised occasionally... |
 ...but here and everywhere in town, much of the antique survives |
 the stonework continues to impress us... |
 ...such as this 9.5m megalith outside of town! (it's behind Tom) |
 Tom and Jay head into the chestnut woods to look for... |
 ...another megalithic structure, this time a funerary chamber |
 legends tell of the beings who inhabited this 'house of fairies' |
 Jay finds no fairies at home |
 curious shapes carved into the stones |
 even the historic marker is historic! |
 now we are on to Dinan... |
 ...with its walled old city preserved on the banks of the Rance |
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 the clock and tower date from the late 15th century |
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 half-timbered buildings project over the streets... |
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 St. Saviour's church was built starting in 1120... |
 ...and portions of the original remain |
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 this chapel gathered prayers of families for their sons sent to fight in the Great War |
 outside, we pass thru the English Garden... |
 ...to take in the view down the Rance toward the Channel |
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 back in Dol-de=Bretagne for dinner |
 the next day, the sky is finally clear enough to head for the bay... |
 ...and at last, a good view of Mont St. Michel |