On Friday, one of our last full days in Paris, we headed out of the city on a tour of Mont-Saint-Michel (pronounced “Mont-San-Michelle”), a seventh-century monastery that offers, in Kirk’s words, “a pristine portal back in time, a pinnacle of pilgrimage for weary and thirsty souls.”

We journeyed five hours through the Normandy countryside to reach Mont-Saint-Michel, the second most-visited pilgrimage site in the world. Over centuries, rooms and staircases, twists and turns, and even a few secret passageways have been added so that winding through its interior is virtually like winding through a maze!

Such a place really has inspired stories, as Umberto Eco took it as the setting for his recent novel, Name of a Rose. Kirk and I remained awe-struck by the many remarkable surprises awaiting us around practically every corner.

Personally, I loved the cloister walk best . . .