Mont St Michel following the Cobra Operation

Mont St Michel

You will follow the legends of the rock, such as the Archangel St Michael fighting the devil to Earth death on the Mont-Saint-Michel and the Mont Tomb, places that have been considered sacred by the inhabitants since the third century BC. You will trace back a very famous military operation named Cobra, so famous that the drive to Baghdad during the Iraky War was named Cobra II.

This was the systematic carpet bombing of every enemy position from St Lô site to Avranches. This was General Patton's idea. He landed on Omaha Beach Airfield on July 6th at 11.25 am and stayed the whole afternoon with General Bradley.

It is great to drive throughout St Lô and follow the old route to Villedieu les Poêles site till you get into Avranches from the outskirt road drive down-town to General Patton's Memorial, then to Pontaubault Bridge site and to the Mont St Michel site.

This is where the first sanctuary, now turned into a Christian place of pilgrimage, was built by Saint Aubert, bishop of Avranches in 708 AD. The legend says that the bishop received visions from St Michael ordering him to build the sanctuary on the site and to dedicate it upon his name. As the centuries went by, with increasing numbers of pilgrims coming to pay tribute and offerings, the sanctuary grew rich and a monastery was founded. The sanctuary continually expanded and made ever grander, following the different architectural styles of the times which turned the Mont Saint Michel into what it is today, an Abbey on the scale of which the world has no equal.

You can also wander the steep cobble stone streets of this town, exploring their narrow winding routes discovering treasures around every corner, take a wander through the souvenir shops, try one of Mere Poulard's famous omelettes site, or eat in one of the other restaurants. With two and a half million visitors per year, the Mont Saint Michel is without a shadow of a doubt Normandy's most spectacular single spot to visit, still being considered by the Normans to be the Real 7th Wonder of the World!

Saint Malo

Drift back in time as you walk through the streets of the old town of Saint Malo site, ringed by high fortified walls that offer spectacular views of the port and bay, still looking as they were during the time of the 16th century explorers, such as Jacques Cartier who discovered Newfoundland. When getting hungry, try one of the créperies, much loved by the locals, where you will find the regional specialty, a galette bretonne. Or try the numerous seafood restaurants where you can sample what the fishermen caught that morning.

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