Our second day in Normandy started off with a beautiful sunrise over our questionable hotel:
The it was back in the bus for another hour. We stopped to take pictures once the church came into view, and while we were off the bus we ran into some hunters who had bought some ducks to train their new spaniels and a shepherd:
Finally, we arrived at the immense fortress/monastery and our tour guide, Gilles, took pains to describe every last type of arch and differentiate the various centuries' architecture.
Back in the day, Louis IX called it a merveille, but I think that had more to do with getting the building to stay put on top of the rock. The edifice is immense and pretty austere (as is befitting a monastery, I guess) but there were some very nice touches in the garden and windows of the refectory.
The view was beautiful, but I couldn't capture it through the fog. Besides being very Wuthering Heights, the vast panorama and shifting tides definitely give the rock strategic value, which is why everyone from William the Conqueror and to Patton has used to defend their hold on the mainland.
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