( Mont Saint Michel after the high tide )
( Mont Saint Michel before the high tide )
( Oyster farming in the sandy bay )
VISIT TO NORMANDY REGION OF FRANCE ( JUNE 2025 )
Normandy is known for its moderate climate, milk production , fruits, magical tides arising from the Atlantic and greenery. It is always in the news on account of hosting some event essentially International Film Festivals .Situated in north-west France, Normandy is famous for its medieval and 20th-century history, Impressionist art, regional cuisine, beautiful landscapes and picturesque towns. The inhabitants of Normandy are known as Normans; the region is the historic homeland of the Norman language. Large settlements include Rouen, Caen, Le Havre and Cherbourg.
It was in Normandy that the Allied Forces under the command of General Eisenhower landed to liberate France and drive away the German occupation army .It was a combined land, sea and air assault perhaps biggest in the military history of the world . Code named OVERLOAD, the combined troops started action in June 1944. This colossal military assault became the subject matter of many Hollywood movies . After World War II, many European poets used word 'Normandy ' as metaphor to describe human victory in a struggle . Our own Firaq Gorakhpuri wanted end solution to human misery of any kind and anywhere when he said,"Sipaah e Roos hai Berlin se aur kitni door? " . He was also inspired by the victory of Allied Army in World War II. In World War II, the three great Allied powers—Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union—formed a Grand Alliance that was the key to victory.
Normandy has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Mont-Saint-Michel, Le Havre and the Vauban fortifications in Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue Granville Carnival, the Bayeux Tapestry and Alençon lace are also listed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.The six largest cities and towns in Normandy are Rouen, Caen, Le Havre, Cherbourg, Evreux and Dieppe. Seven of the France’s most beautiful villages are located in Normandy: Barfleur, Beuvron-en-Auge, Blangy-le-Château, Le Bec-Hellouin, Lyons-la-Forêt, Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei and Veules-les-Roses. Rouen’s 151m Notre-Dame Cathedral is the tallest in France. The city also boasts the second largest number of listed buildings in France after Paris.There are four Regional Natural Parks in Normandy: Meanders of the Seine, Cotentin and Bessin Marshes, Normandie-Maine and the Perche.
With 350 miles of coastline and beaches, and richly varied landscapes, Normandy gives you a wonderful choice of scenery and culture: the stunning beauty of the cliffs of Etretat, the historic coastline stretching from Caen to Sainte-Mère-Eglise. It is region of orchards and half-timber houses. Stones and timber is extensively used in buildings everywhere in this region.
Joan of Arc ( the well known shepherd girl who guided the French in the 100 years of war ) , artist Claude Monet , short story writer Guy du Maupassant , author and philosopher Marcel Proust, artist Eugene Boudin, artist George Braque, and writer Maurice Leblanc are among some prominent persons from Normandy .And Mount-Saint-Michel in Normandy counts among France’s most stunning sights.
It took us 2 hours to come to Rennes( falling
in Brittany region close to Normandy) from Paris by a TGV train. For the night , we stayed at Rennes( pronounced as Renn in French ) , a city of colleges and universities and rented a self driven car to come to Normandy . It was about an hour's smooth drive .Normandy, with its rich history and rich heritage, has several UNESCO World Heritage sites . We visited " Mont ( Mount ) Saint Michel. . " Mont( Mount ) Saint Michel " and its bay have been listed as a World Heritage Site since 1979. The rocky islet, on the border between Normandy and Brittany, is a marvel, especially during high tides of Atlantic ocean, when the Mount becomes an island again with water all around it. One can access the Mount via a foot bridge that blends well with the landscape. More than one thousand years of history, faith and human talent have shaped Mont Saint-Michel , also known as the "Wonder of the West" , which remains an integral part of the history of France. The landscapes over here evolves with the tides. One can go up by stairs or cobble stoned narrow path on foot to see the old Roman church that houses many items of significant archeological importance . A statue of Saint Michael placed at the top of the abbey church rises to 157.10 meters above the shore.There is a Church at the foot of the fortification. The fortification of the mount done in stone many centuries ago is still intact .I side the fortification, there are restaurants offering pan European delicacies. Mont Saint-Michel also attracts cameras from all over the world, with around forty films shot there. These include ,"At the Speed of a Galloping Horse " by Fabien Onteniente (1990) and ,"To the Wonder" by Terrence Malick, shot in 2012.
Oysters are a speciality in this area. One can see oyester farm in the bay in entire Normandy. .Cow is a national symbol of Normandy. Hotels, shops ,parks and public places have cow sculptures. One finds too much of milk , butter and cheese in Normandy.
The guide said that the legend tells that the history of the Mont-Saint-Michel begins in 708, after the archangel Michael appeared to the Bishop Aubert three times in dream. Saint Michael asked him to build a sanctuary in his honour on an island that was known as Mont-Tombe.In 966, Duke Richard I of Normandy installed Benedictine monks on the mountain.As soon as the monks settled down and the construction of the Romanesque abbey church began according to tradition in 1023, the Mount became an essential place of pilgrimage in the entire Christian West. At the same time, the abbey began to produce, preserve and study a large number of manuscripts. It then became a major center of culture during the Middle Ages. A true political and intellectual crossroads, the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel welcomed pilgrims from all walks of life, including several kings of France and England.Strategic point in the heart of the bay, the abbey is also a fortress of the duchy of Normandy during the Middle Ages. During the Hundred Years War, and despite the numerous conflicts that took place in the region, Mont-Saint-Michel resisted every attempt to invade it. It is possible due to the construction of powerful ramparts, which made it a small impregnable city, but undoubtedly also thanks to the ceaseless coming and going of the tides. The Mount underwent an English siege from 1423 and came out victorious in 1434, it then became a symbol of victory for the kingdom of France.In the 17th century, pilgrimages were running out of steam. After the French Revolution, the abbey was gradually transformed into a prison. It was then nicknamed the Bastille of the Seas. At the beginning of the French Revolution, there weren’t many monks left at the monastery and those who remained took their belongings and fled, leaving the Mont abandoned. The first “guests” were priests and Royalist nobles of France .So Mont Saint Michel was a church and place of Christian monks that became a fort and finally a prison.
We saw the dry sandy bay looking like a perfect island after the high tide; a spectacle that visitors come to see apart from going up the historic mount .
After the visit to Mount Saint Michel, we went to the beautiful Cancale ( pronounced as Cancal ) town for the night stay. Cancale is also known for Oyster farming and magical tides from Atlantic.
So long so much on Normandy .I end this post with poem,"The Albatross" by celebrated French poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) translated into English by George Dillon ( from the book ,' Flowers of Evil' )
(The Albatross)
(Sometimes,
to entertain themselves,
the men of the crew
lure upon deck an unlucky albatross,
one of those vast birds of the sea
that follow unwearied the voyage through,
flying in slow and elegant circles above the mast.
No sooner have they disentangled him from their nets
than this aerial colossus,
shorn of his pride,
foes hobbling pitiably across the planks and lets
his great wings hang like heavy,
useless oars at his side.
How droll is the poor floundering creature ?How limp and weak —He, but a moment past so lordly,
flying in state !
MmThey tease him: One of them tries to stick a pipe in his beak;Another mimics with laughter his odd lurching gait.
The Poet is like that wild inheritor of the cloud,
a rider of storms,
above the range of arrows and slings;
Exiled on earth,
at bay amid the jeering crowd,
he cannot walk for his unmanageable wings.)
(Avtar Mota )
PS
The entire trip was planned and executed by our children Jeanne and Shailesh. Jeanne drove the car to various places from Rennes.

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