Brit-Lit: Out to the coast of France

He took all eight of his kids here and was so engrossed
in painting before the light faded, he was knocked
over by a wave and lost his art for the day!

   

 There's more to France.....













      Not to say that Paris is lacking, but there's even more to France than the city. After getting a taste for interacting with the people in remote areas like Vernon and Giverny, we were  excited to check out the coast. We visited Etretat where Monet painted The Manneporte 

Monet's manneporte

    We dove into some great children's books Monet Paints a Day and Linnea in Monet's Garden. One thing about children's books is they do a good job of explaining the obvious that, in our typical rush to snap that picture, may to take the time to think about.

  
 









 Mont. St. Michel
 













         .....   And Mont. St Michel - the monastery on the beach.This place is so huge, you have to look at the tiny dot of black at the bottom to compare it to people. It was cold and windy there. I don't know how the monks live there with no real heat.  This landmark dates back so far in France's history that it's on the Bayeaux Tapestry showing William the Duke of Normandy defeating King Harold.   While we were there, they were building the boardwalks for the Tour de France that was just about to start.

 Of course there's always a gift shop and the bottom of the island is a town wrapping around the monastery. Crepes and trinkets everywhere!  

     In relation to this place, we read A Time of Miracles by Anne-Laure Bondoux about a refugee suffering from civil war in the Republic of Georgia. His guardian always told him that his real mother lived at Mont. St. Michel. It just added to the mystic feeling of refuge - especially in the garden at the top of the monastery.






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