Mexican Food and Mont Saint Michel!

I had an absolutely fabulous weekend. The internet went out Saturday morning, but luckily that was the only bad thing to happen.

Saturday Lydia took the train out, and Michelle and Alison drove out from Ouistreham in a rented car to come visit me in Coutances. Anthony brought me salsa over Christmas break, and a big bottle of it. I figured that 1. I could never finish on my own and 2. It's more fun to share with others anyway so 3. A nacho party would be perfect. 

I showed them around Coutances- all those famous sights such as the cathedral, gardens and.... well, we also went to the movies. We've lucked out with beautiful weather, it's usually around 40-50 degrees, with a bit of wind, but that's a huge improvement over the December weather- or any of the MI weather for that matter, so I've really been trying to enjoy it.

Since we had the car, we took a trip out to Agon-Coutainville- In order: Lydia, Alison and Michelle

We got cookin' and made fajita style chicken, beans, rice, nachos, guacamole and salad, accompanied by several bottles of wines and cider :)  Michelle hosted Thanksgiving- and there's a reason. She is an absolutely amazing cook. We all helped with prep but I let her take the reigns when it came to real cooking because she does it up right. I also bought waaaaaaaayyy too much food so I'll get to enjoy her great cooking for a while. Huimin, Meike and Vika also joined us (Chinese assistant, German assistant, and Belarus environmental volunteer) so it was a full house in that tiny kitchen. It was absolutely fantastic though, added bonus, there were even enough plates and almost enough utensils for everyone!

Meike, Vika and Lydia

Michelle, Alison and Huimin

Lydia, Michelle and Alison camped out on my floor overnight, and despite some sore backs, we headed to Mont Saint Michel Sunday morning.

When my parents visit in a few weeks, we are also planning to go to Mont Saint Michel. I don't mind the repeat visits though because I have a tendency to see/ visit cool places and then learn about them afterward, wishing I could go back with a better understanding. Now I get that opportunity- especially with the children's books I got in the gift shop!

Mont Saint-Michel is so cool! I'll let the pictures do the majority of the talking, and wikipedia can probably do a better job than me on history.

Alison, Michelle and Lydia

These are only a few of the many many steps we climbed up. Mont Saint Michel is 90% stairs and 10% monks

One of the rooms inside

Looking out over the bay. The large flats flood quickly during high tide, providing a natural moat for the Mont

Mere Poulard is heavily advertised throughout. According to legend she started out selling omelets to weary pilgrim making the trip to Mont Saint Michel. You can buy that brand, and many different types of cookies as well throughout Normandy.

Me and Mont Saint Michel!

We knew we would need sustenance on our trip, and it being Sunday and a tourist destination would only have overpriced options, so we brought along some of the leftover Mexican food for a picnic in the parking lot. I don't have tupperwear or paper plates, so we had our mexican picnic in france and ate african style. It was one of my favorite meals I've had so far :D

Our picnic in the parking lot

A fantastic weekend, with some great friends that I'm hoping to see more and more of over the coming weeks, despite crappy train schedules and distance.