L'ambiance de Ma Bouche

Today was, well, an adventure, to say the least. It was, by far, the best day of the trip, but this morning was also the worst.

As we were preparing to check out of the hostel this morning, we learned that the hostel couldn’t hold our luggage for the weekend, as we’d originally planned. We tried to store our luggage in lockers at the hostel and pay for the long-term storage, but there weren’t enough lockers, so that didn’t work either. So, with only an hour until the train for le Mont Saint Michel via Rennes was to leave, we rushed from the hostel to la maison chez Mme Clay to store our luggage there for the weekend instead.

Getting our luggage through the subway was an absolute nightmare.

We had one-time use passes for the metro this morning because our metro cards don’t start working until Monday. Well, when some people tried to drag their suitcases through the entry gate (you know, the three-armed when you have to walk through), they got stuck, so the doors closed on them and wouldn’t let them through. Of course, all of this was happening in the midst of the morning rush hour. Luckily, Elizabeth (my roommate) figured out how to slide the suitcases beneath the arm so that we could crawl beneath the entry gate and through the little automatic doors at each entry point. With her help, I got through the gate and started helping other people slide their suitcases through. (This was while my purse was unzipped from getting my subway card out with my wallet sitting on top because it wouldn’t fit, with my camera, a jacket, a scarf, and 2 water bottles in one hand.) So here I am trying to keep the full hand on my bag so my wallet or camera  wouldn’t get stolen, while dragging others’ suitcases and bags through the gate. Stressful? You betcha!) Meanwhile, Elizabeth and another girl Alex were trying to get Alex’s suitcase through the gate. I missed what happened exactly, but the next thing I know, Alex is bench-pressing her 50-something pound suitcase over a 7 foot security gate between the subway exit and entry points. Elizabeth caught it on the other side and Alex jumped over the security gate, ninja-chopping her way through. They both deserve an Olympic gold medal.

(In hind-sight, I’m sure our antics were hilarious to any onlooker, and while we could laugh about it later that morning, it was quite an experience at the time. At least now I know that I can keep my cool under pressure while traveling!)

We finally made it to Mme’s apartment and carried our luggage up 4 flights of very narrow, very curvy stairs, only to rush back across Paris (in another direction) to miss the train to Rennes by about 3 minutes.

Luckily, we were able to get “seats” on another train, although we ended up stealing vacant seats because the area where our little flip-down seats were was consumed with a string bass (I know, right?) and two huge duffle bags.

THEN (oh, it gets better!) we had to franticly take our bookbags to the hotel in Rennes and buy bus tickets to le Mont Saint Michele. We had to delay the bus because we lost Mme, but we finally made it all on the bus and le Mont Saint Michele. (I’d picked up a quick lunch for Elizabeth and I at the gâre in Renens, and while I thought I’d ordered an olive, feta, and tomato sandwich, I got a tomato and bell pepper sandwish instead. Luckily, Elizabeth used to be Vegan, so she traded sandwiches with me. So thank you for saving me from a vegetarian sandwich, Elizabeth!)

Once we got to le Mont Saint Michele, the day got immensely better! (Well, the abbey workers were on strike—c’est France—so we couldn’t tour the actual abbey, but we enjoyed casually walking around le mont and taking fun pictures. Alex found a lizard and named it Robértt! He hung out with us for awhile, but we eventually put him back so he could continue his normal life as a dragon. (Yes, the French word for lizard is dragon!)

Elizabeth and Robért

Because the abbey was closed, we had some extra time to explore, so Alex, another girl named Keller Anne, and I split some sorbet gelato. We got one scoop of passion fruit and one scoop of raspeberry. YUM! The passion fruit was to die for, but when you mixed it with the raspberry, it was heaven. My mouth was super happy. (Thank you, Michael, for coining the phrase “mouth moods.")

Michael "Planking" in front of Le Mont Saint Michele

Alex, myself, and Keller Anne having fun at le mont

When we got back to Rennes, we ate dinner at a little crêperie. Instead of having a crêpe for dinner, though, I ordered a gallette, which is like a crêpe, but it is made with buckwheat flour instead of normal flour. My Gallette de Mois had this super-yummy melted cheese on it with potato chunks. IT WAS TO DIE FOR! (I’ll write a separate post about my gallette experience soon because I simply must tell you all of the yummy details.) Then, for dessert, Elizabeth and I split a banana and chocolât crêpe, which was also to die for! I’m not sure if it melted in my mouth or if my mouth melted. I think both. (Mme ordered a lemon juice, butter, and sugar, crêpe that was also very good. It wasn’t too sour, but it had a refreshing flavor.

After dinner, we went to Darling’s little Irish pub down the road from our hotel. It was there that I ordered my first Guinness!!!! Yes, it was worth the 6 euro because it was SUPER exciting :) (Yes, Daddy, you can still buy my first Guinness in the U.S.) We chatted in the pub for a while savoring our drinks, (yay!) and it was the perfect ending to what turned out to be a wonderful day.

Off to Tours tomorrow! Au Revoir!