The approach, as the abbey looms ever larger across the fields, is exhilarating. I was first introduced to Mont-Saint-Michel several years ago from the “Making Of” featurettes on the Extended Edition of Lord of the Rings, where it is said to be the inspiration for Minas Tirith, ever since I saw that featurette….I just had to go! Further, the Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay are part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, but surprisingly not even been considered as a Wonder of the world. Thanks to my dad’s good friend, he offered to do a day trip to Mont-St-Michel all the way from his place in Nantes.

Obviously, Le Mont Saint Michel is a must-see for anyone in or near Normandy. Just the thought of how basic manpower managed to create this masterpiece on a 250 ft. high island of granite before the age of technology is truly impressive. Le Mont-Saint-Michel is the closest you will ever get to living in medieval times, and which has indeed a close correlation with Spice and Wolf given that the story is set in medieval time. It seemed perfect for Project Holo where Holo goes back to her medieval surroundings and so decided to take yet again my chances and feature this wonderful landmark. The ride took about 2 hours and luckily for us the weather was clear and behaving after days of heavy rainfall. It is said that Mont-saint-michel gets 1.2 million visitors per year so expected crowds. We tried to get there as early as we could ahead of the tour bus groups that go through here like juggernauts and fortunately we did just that. Making our way up was wonderful and along the way managed to take a couple of shots with Holo, the highlight although everything was the cloister garden which summarizes the magic of the whole place. The contrast of the dark cloister walls, the rough and windy surroundings to the sheltered sunny garden with its plants is startling and not forgetting the Abbey steering the imagination more than others with its wonderful views and architecture.

Im so glad we took the effort and went on this trip. I consider it one of the most spiritual places on the planet (man made anyway). Though others have more history or more glitz or are bigger the abbey and the mont have that special feel. I kept expecting orcs to come running across the flats (not particularly spiritual I know). Unlike those others – St. Peter’s is unquestionably more impressive in scale and finish – it has a real honesty about its spaces. And there’s never a sense of having to feel saddened by the excess or waste. In any case Project Holo’s mission “conquer the Mont-saint-michel” was succesfully completed and I do hope you enjoyed this featurette of this wonderful landmark – head over here for more in-depth information.

Till next time where we will be in the most beautiful city in the world – Paris ~

Perched on a rocky islet in the midst of vast sandbanks exposed to powerful tides between Normandy and Brittany stand the ‘Wonder of the West’, a Gothic-style Benedictine abbey dedicated to the archangel St Michael, and the village that grew up in the shadow of its great walls. Built between the 11th and 16th centuries, the abbey is a technical and artistic tour de force, having had to adapt to the problems posed by this unique natural site