Mont Saint Michel

The team gathers as usual on time and heads on the journey. Today's destination is a small island off the Normandy coast called Mont Saint Michel. About 1400 years ago a Benedictine monastery was established on this rocky outcrop, the story goes that the local Bishop had a vision of St Michael telling him he must build a church there. Eventually he built a small chapel and the monastic community grew and grew. 

The Benedictines have had a topsy turvy existence on this site but despite this it is amazing what they have built. Words can hardly do justice to describe this amazing place so let's use some extra pics to tell the story.

On our return journey we say prayers on the coach and many are inspired to go in search of galettes and crepes for our dinner back in Caen.

Bayeux and the Normandy beaches

Today has a more relaxing start with the coach rolling off at 10 am to Bayeux. Several of us take advantage of the pleasant morning to make a quick visit to the local Castle, once the home in Caen of William the Conqueror. We also visit the adjacent church of St Peter which was heavily bombed during WW2. 

Bayeux is only about half an hour's drive, or as Pernille calls it "a short hour" away. Our first stop is the famous Bayeux Tapestry, after queuing for our tickets and headsets we are able to enjoy the commentary and this remarkable piece of mediaeval art. This was apparently commissioned by the Normans to explain William's victory at the Battle of Hastings. We learn that this embroidery/tapestry is really a political comic strip of its time. After our tour we enjoy the film that further explains many of the scenes of the tapestry. The group are of one accord that we love this experience and show our appreciation appropriately in the gift shop.

After lunch and exploring the beautiful village of Bayeux and its wonderful Cathedral we board the coach and head for the Normandy beaches, and in particular the US Cemetary at Omaha beach. There is  a lot to see and do here exploring various sites, the memorial, the Visitors' Centre and the thousands of graves, the chapel and the magnificent gardens. 

Now we move further along the beach to Pointe du Hoc which was the vital place held by the Germans but strategically the turning point of the Second World War with the invasion of Europe after the Americans managed to capture this stronghold. There is no doubt that the Germans stationed here had nowhere to hide. The landscape still bears the scars of a massive bombardment.

So today has been about battles, Hastings and the Second World War. We reflect on these things as together we offer our prayers back at the Hotel in Caen.

Caen via Chartres

Today is Sunday and Ray has arranged to celebrate the Eucharist in the bar complete with black and white, very French, furnishings in our hotel lounge. Most of the group make the early start, we move quickly because our first stop of the day is just down the road at the Beaune Hospice.

This turns out to be one of the great surprises of our pilgrimage so far. The flamboyant hospice, the Hotel Dieu, is a masterpiece dated from the 15th Century. More than just a decorative building this was a charitable institution that provided hospital care for all stratas of society and at the same time produced rare wine to provide funds for the hospital. People come from all over the world to look at the architecture and to appreciate its decor and magnificent rare art including the altarpiece - 'The Polyptych' by Roger van der Weyden. What a fantastic start to another big day of driving.

Our next main stop is not until after lunch at Chartres. We had taken lunch at an autogrill along the way nevertheless we are very pleased to stretch our legs and walk through this beautiful city to the Cathedral. Our guide, Pernille, has organised an audio set for each of us and she is able to take us on a guided tour around the Cathedral. Today is a busy day as it is part of a long weekend in France so there are lots of tourists. The Cathedral is undergoing major restoration work and so a good deal of the interior is under scaffold. Nevertheless we can see how the restoration is progressing and it will surely be an amazing building, soaring columns and the best stained glass in the world. Towards the end of our visit we are able to sit for a few minutes and listen to a large choir singing Bach.

Now it is getting late in the afternoon and it is time to push on to our destination the City of Caen in Normandy.  On the way the group listens to relevant stories of William the Conqueror and how his success in battle is depicted in the Bayeux tapestry. Ruth gives an address and Peter follows with some interesting relevant comments and then recites, beautifully and impressively, a poem about the Battle of Hastings. This is met with a rousing ovation in the coach. Arriving at Caen and our hotel we are met by Marcus Alexander the 23rd and final member of our group. We quickly freshen up and go down to dinner at a nearby local restaurant. 

Aosta to Beaune via Lyon

Today is one of our big driving days, but first we must wait for the arrival of our French bus. The well trained pilgrims gather in front of the Hotel and the coach appears on time much to the relief of our Group Leader.

Soon  we are making the gradual ascent through many lengthy tunnels towards the French border and the foothills of the mountains. Mont Blanc towers above the highway over 11,000metres high, it and the numerous other snow capped peaks are simply breath-taking. The tunnels and bridges that traverse this part of the world are engineering masterpieces.

We enjoy a DVD "France beyond Paris" by Ian Gutheridge which helps the rest of the morning and our journey to the great city of Lyon. After dropping one of our two drivers at the train station and negotiating with the other driver who spoke no English we head for our destination of the Cathedral. This is not so easy we discover for our non English speaking driver also has no idea about traffic movements in the city and how to ascend the mountain to the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral of Lyon.

Happily we make contact with our local guide, Nicholas, and meet him at the bottom of the mountain and he is able to guide the driver. After a quick lunch we begin the tour of this amazing Cathedral. We began by touring the massive crypt which carried themes of sin, heaviness and darkness. It is brilliantly done because the architecture and art are perfectly matched.

The main church is extraordinary. Every inch is decorated with meaningful windows, stories of 2,000 years of Christianity, murals in Murano glass and tiles depicting some of the great events of church history. The artisans knew a great deal about the careful use of colour and gold highlights. It is hard to tear ourselves away from the Cathedral and the magnificent view we have from the lookout.

Our drive to Beaune is uneventful and pleasant, we arrive with a few minutes for some of the group to explore the town, they bring back to dinner reports of a delightful village. We all enjoy a raucous evening, great French cuisine and a drop or two of the local specialty!

After dinner there is time to explore the town on foot, but we wish we could stay longer...how often have we had that thought in the past week? 

Torino to Aosta

We arrive at our hotel with time to relax and refresh prior to our rural degustation at the farm. Before our wonderful dinner we take a tour of the farm, we enjoy time with goats, chooks,geese, shetland ponies,cows and horses. All the food and drinks are made on the farm or locally. What a meal!

Friday morning and we have an early start and we are off to Turin to take our place in the queue to see the Holy Shroud. We are struck by the atmosphere in the cathedral and feel fortunate to see the Shroud, it is on display so rarely. Our local guide, Roberta then takes us on a great walking tour of the city, it is fantastic - so much to see and enjoy, beatiful squares and buildings.

Our aim in the afternoon is to visit the birthplace of St Anselm at Aosta.

We arrive late in the afternoon and are blown away with this lovely little town and the historic Cathedral.What a joy to be able to say our prayers in the crypt of this very special place.

A group photo outside the Cathedral and then stroll down the main street, lots of happy people are mingling and strolling also. After a short trip back to the hotel we freshen up for our farewell dinner in Italy and say our goodbyes to Claudia and Mattau (our guide and driver). This all takes place in our lovely hotel not far from the Castle, another historic site visited by some of the group.

Tomorrow we are off to France.

Genoa - Aosta

Today is destined to be a fairly long drive with one major stop at the city of Genoa, home of Christopher Columbus and the maritime capital of Italy.

We arrive at the port city late in the morning and make a hasty dash for the cathedral of St Lorenza (Laurence). We need to make the most of our time in the cathedral because the doors are shut for siesta at noon. It is beautiful but very different building because of its unique striped facade, not dissimilar to Sienna. The interior of the building is superb, highly decorated in the sanctuary and various chapels. Frescoes adorn the walls and ceilings and there are marble pillars and floors reflecting Italy's great marble resources which are quarried not far away at Carrera. 

We have time to quickly explore some of the architecture of the streets and alleys close to the cathedral and the local shops. We are soon rolling again heading north to our destination in the Aosta valley stopping for a well earned lunch break. This was delayed because we struck a hail storm and consequential traffic jam due to a road accident on the icy freeway.

Soon our journey takes us into brand new territory with soaring mountains and lush valleys the architecture of the tiny towns along the way is changing dramatically. Stone buildings and shingled and slate roofs are replacing the ochre and terra cotta of the seaside towns where we started our journey today. Claudia is keen to tell us about the castles and fortifications along the way. She also teaches us some basic Italian gesturing for good measure.

We arrive at Fenis and our lovely chalet accommodation for the next two nights and find we have a lovely view of the castle - Il Castello Di Fenis - and look forward to our dinner tonight which we are told will be at a local farm just a few minutes walk from the hotel..

Cinque Terre

We enjoy a slower start to the day and with options before us most of the group decide to go with Claudia to the seaside village of Monteroso one of the five 'lands' of the Cinque Terre. Unfortunately the weather is too rough for us to travel by ferry so our driver takes us to La Spezia where we catch the local train. The platform is crowded with tourists and sets the tone for our travel during the day - battling large crowds on the trains.

Claudia our wonderful Italian Tour Guide at Monterosso

Monteroso is the biggest of the five towns and there is plenty to discover. We enjoy a light lunch and a stroll, taking lots of photographs. The weather is warm enough for holidaymakers to be seen sunbaking on the gravel beaches. There is a lot of discussion about what to do next. Most decide to board the train mid afternoon and head south to the village of Vernazza. 

The spectacular village of Vernazza

This is even prettier but smaller.  It has a small harbour surrounded by colourful buildings built up the face of the cliffs. Paul heads to the top of the village to do some of his extraordinary photography. Others sit under an umbrella and enjoy liquid refreshment while Ray pulls out the watercolours and does a quick painting. Steve Smith gets the gold star today as he arrives having walked the distance from Monteroso on foot.  All that heat training in Dubai has obviously paid off.

Steve Smith and the village of Manarola perched on the cliffs

Our final rendezvous is further down the line at Manarola. This is again a small village - Claudia leads us to the top of the cliffs to watch the waves crashing in. Then we amble through the shops to the tiny little harbour where boats are launched via a large steel pole with ropes. It is too rough and small in that harbour for boats to stay at anchor.

Finishing our dinner at the Trattoria

Dinner has been arranged at La Spezia at a Trattoria, again an abundance of food and wine. We particularly enjoy the pesto penne entree. It was a big meal and by the end there is a coach load of tired pilgrims ready to hit their beds back at Hotel.

One last look at the great view from the Hotel Della Baia