Mont St Michel A Few More Details and a Walk

Seen here are a few architecural gems of the Mont St Michel abbey. The views from near the top are incredible. There are walking tours of the bay at low tide with guides. If you would like more information on this, I found a great blog site that explains how it works. Classic Journeys low tide walk

Mont St Michel seen from above

Abbey seen from below

The walk up is super steep and strenuous. I would not recommend it for anyone with mobility issues. Our guide walked fast, but she did keep checking to be sure we were behind her.

Absolutely amazing place, but again I would love to see it less crowded. 

Mont San Michel Chapel & Abbey

Chapel inside Mont San Michel

Mont San Michel was a place I have been wanting to visit for a lot of years. I finally had that opportunity last month, and it did not disappoint. The only hard part was that the guide told us all the way there on the bus how crowded it would be, and she was right. She also wasn't really able to give us enough time to really enjoy it. Warnings about not eating at any of the restaurants ... we wouldn't have enough time. So I arrived in a panic about getting back. It wasn't really true either. I definitely could have eaten there. The problem is the little buses that take you to the site are a very long wait, so we were unsure how long it would take to get back. In the end, we waited for the bus to arrive for a while.

The only downside of the tour was the guide. Other than that, Mont St Michel is just beautiful and amazing. Truly though, if I was to do it again, I would definitely go there and stay in one of the hotels - enjoy it by day and night, and take my time. The feeling of being rushed almost ruined the excursion.

Our guide

Mont St Michel first impressions

Approaching Mont St Michel

For years, I have been wanting to visit Mont St Michel. On a cruise that went from Barcelona to Dover years ago, I tried to get on the tour but it was sold out. I have heard incredible things about it. It is an abbey and monastery in Normandy, France. But really it is so much more.

Another view of Mont St Michel

As we approached, I couldn't believe my eyes. Here stood this magnificent structure from the 8th century AD. But who would believe such a structure would be built on a piece of land that the ocean surrounds it every day? The tides come in and out. Sometimes you can walk to the abbey and the near by islands. But by 2pm in the afternoon, the signs in the parking lot tell you that you better have moved your car ... as that area will now be under water.

Parking lot that by 2pm is under water

You can get to the abbey by walking, taking a bus or taking a carriage with horses. The bus is the fastest way, but the lines are long for the bus.

Angro do Heroismo

Angro do Heroismo Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Founded in 1478, Angra do Heroismo is a gorgeous jewel of a town with the most beautiful architecture. Like Lisbon, the streets are made of pieces of volcanic rock with patterns.

street of Angra do Heroismo

It makes walking a bit of a challenge, but they really are beautiful. There are some great YouTube videos if you just google "what the streets of Angra do Heroismo are made of." 

We arrived on a Sunday, so basically nothing was open. Same thing happened to us in 2014 when we arrived in Horta. But it was nice to just walk the streets and enoy the architecture.

We did a walking tour of Angra for about an hour and then were given some free time. Note how the second stories have these lovely small balconies with intricate iron work. I saw a shoe shop.

Shoe store in Angra de Heroismo

A bit later we came upon the Se Cathedral, also known as the Church of Santissimo Salvador. Very gorgeous, the only sad thing was we didn't get to go in any of the Churches.

Church of Santissimo Salvador

Terceira Island: Part of the Azores

Terceira as seen from Mount Brasil

I really had no idea what would actually kickstart me to go back and post on my blog. It seemed like nothing. I went back and realized it is now the beginning of June and I have not posted anything at all so far this year. But what is weird (funny) is that whenever I speak to friends about travel, I reference something I did and need to go back and check the names/dates/places on my blog, so if for nothing else, it can serve as a personal reminder of my trips. 

I had decided to do a transatlantic cruise again. Kind of a silly ideas as I typically travel solo, and this would be a lot of time on a ship and out to sea by myself. I picked the brand new ship from Holland America, the Nieuw Statendam, which I thought while planning was a good choice. How bad can brand new be? Well I found out, it really wasn't the greatest choice but I will leave that for another post.

The first port we came to after some rather glorious days at sea was the island of Terceira in the Azores. We docked at Praia di Vitoria and I went on an excursion called Terceira Island Highlights with Lunch. 

Botanical Garden, Terceira 

The island is lush and green. It tends to rain or mist every day in parts of the island, which gives it its emerald green grass color. Just beautiful. There are more bulls and cows than people on the island of Terceira.

Bulls on Terceira

They have some unusual customs that include a very odd type of bullfighting and ceremonies that they say are not religious, but surely look to be. I will write another post about that. The island is so unique, I really wish I could go back and check it out more.

Our group from shore excursion at the Adega Lusitania restaurant

But for now suffice it to say, if you have a delicate stomach, avoid the dish called Alcatra. It is meat marinated in spices for 12 hours. I ended up in bed for 2 days after with my stomach out of sorts. It is not that it was bad, just bad for me. The restaurant where we ate was really charming and very old. It was called Adega Lusitania and the sign outside says it is a typical fish and shellfish restaurant that has been there for 50 years.

Outside of the restaurant where we ate on Terceira Island