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Titan Science Meeting, June 20-23, 2011!Abbaye de St Jacut de la Mer Titan Science Meeting June 20-23, 2011 Abbaye St Jacut-de-la-Mer Brittany, France ! 1! Titan Science Meeting, June 20-23, 2011!Abbaye de St Jacut de la Mer ! 2! Titan Science Meeting, June 20-23, 2011!Abbaye de St Jacut de la Mer ! 3! Titan Science Meeting, June 20-23, 2011!Abbaye de St Jacut de la Mer ! 4! Titan Science Meeting, June 20-23, 2011!Abbaye de St Jacut de la Mer ! 5! Titan Science Meeting, June 20-23, 2011!Abbaye de St Jacut de la Mer Map of surrounding area Train access The nearest train station is Saint Malo, at roughly 25 km distance from the Abbaye. Direct trains (TGV) run between Paris Montparnasse and St. Malo with an average travel time of 3h. Train times between Paris Montparnasse and Saint Malo are as follows on Sunday (June 19) and Thursday (June 23): ! 6! Titan Science Meeting, June 20-23, 2011!Abbaye de St Jacut de la Mer Transporta2on between St Malo and St Jacut: (1) Shu(le bus We have organised two shuttle buses between St. Malo and St. Jacut: Departure Sunday, June 19 at 18:15 from St. Malo train station to St. Jacut Departure Thursday, June 23 at 11:00 from St. Jacut to St. Malo train station to allow everyone to catch the 12:12 train to Paris (see schedule) The buses will be made available at no extra charge, so do make use of them! (2) Taxi A typical taxi ride from St Malo to St Jacut takes around 30 mins. The simplest option is to arrive and look out for taxis at St Malo station, there should be several taxis waiting there, depending on the time of arrival, but itʼs not guaranteed. If you want more guarantee to find a taxi you may want to book a taxi ahead of time to meet you at the station when you arrive - see below. Expect to have to pay your taxis by cash (more info on prices is given below) Here are two alternative taxi companies: (A) Allo Taxis Malouins Tel. +33 2 99 81 30 30 (from within France: 02 99 81 30 30) http://www.allo-taxis-malouins.com/accue.htm This is a company local to St Malo, so closest to the train station. They run “standard” (regular sized) taxis, make sure you ask them to take you to the Abbaye in St Jacut (not simply “St Jacut”). Normally they are at the station, but if not then you can call them once you arrive at the above number. Thatʼs also the number to call if you want to book ahead of time. You can also book using the web site above (click on link “reservation” and make sure you enter in the big white box that you want pick-up at St. Malo train station). The fare for a one-way trip is roughly €35 (weekdays, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.) and €55 (rest of time) (B) Taxi Gauden Tel. +33 2 96 27 23 18 (from within France: 02 96 27 23 18), Email: [email protected] This company is located closest to St. Jacut, which means that itʼs a good company to use for your return pick-up from St. Jacut to St. Malo (or elsewhere). It also means that if you donʼt find their taxi at the St. Malo station you need to allow ~30 min time for them to arrive (provided they are free to come). Itʼs best to book them ahead of time via phone or email, especially for pickup at St. Malo. ! 7! Titan Science Meeting, June 20-23, 2011!Abbaye de St Jacut de la Mer The company runs mini buses that can sit up to 8 people, so the best option when traveling in a group (and splitting the fare for example). The fare for a one-way trip is roughly €40 (weekdays, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.) and €55 (rest of time) (3) Public bus The bus service is Line 14 from St Malo to St Jacut - visit http://www.tibus.fr/horaires_arret/?rub_code=28&ligne=503$1$210&date= for an online schedule (the bus does not run on many days, including Sundays, and has only few services per day) In case you need any emergency help on location, please call Ingo Mueller-Wodarg on +44-7973-271816 ! 8! Titan Science Meeting, June 20-23, 2011!Abbaye de St Jacut de la Mer Mont Saint Michel On Wednesday, June 22 a tour will take place to Mont Saint Michel. A shuttle bus will leave the Abbaye at 16:30. Some information about the location (courtesy Wikipedia/WikiTravel): Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island and a commune in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometre (just over half a mile) off the country's north coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. The population of the island is 41, as of 2006. The island has been a strategic point holding fortifications since ancient times, and since the 8th century AD it became the seat of the Saint-Michel monastery, from which it draws the name. Forma2on In prehistoric times the bay was land. As sea levels rose, erosion shaped the coastal landscape over millions of years. Several blocks of granite or granulite emerged in the bay, having resisted the wear and tear of the ocean better than the surrounding rocks. These included Lillemer, the Mont-Dol, Tombelaine (the island just to the north), and Mont Tombe, later called Mont-Saint-Michel. Tidal island Mont Saint-Michel was previously connected to the mainland via a thin natural land bridge, which before modernization was covered at high tide and revealed at low tide. This connection has been compromised by several developments. Over the centuries, the coastal flats have been polderised to create pasture. Thus the distance between the shore and the south coast of Mont-Saint-Michel has decreased. The Couesnon River has been canalised, reducing the flow of water and thereby encouraging a silting-up of the bay. In 1879, the land bridge was fortified into a true causeway. This prevented the tide from scouring the silt around the mount. On 16 June 2006, the French prime minister and regional authorities announced a €164 million project (Projet Mont-Saint-Michel) to build a hydraulic dam using the waters of the river Couesnon and of tides to help remove the accumulated silt deposited by the rising tides, and to make Mont-Saint-Michel an island again. It was projected to be completed by 2012. The construction of the dam began in 2009 and is now complete. The project also included the destruction of the causeway that had been built on top of the small land bridge and enlarged to join the island to the continent, and was used also as a parking lot for visitors. It will be replaced by an elevated light bridge, under which the waters will flow more freely, and that will improve the efficiency of the now operational dam, and the construction of ! 9! Titan Science Meeting, June 20-23, 2011!Abbaye de St Jacut de la Mer another parking lot on the mainland. Visitors will use small shuttles to cross the future bridge which will still be open to pedestrians and unmotorized cycles. History Mont-Saint-Michel was used in the 6th and 7th centuries as an Armorican stronghold of Romano-Breton culture and power, until it was ransacked by the Franks, thus ending the trans-channel culture that had stood since the departure of the Romans in AD 460. Before the construction of the first monastic establishment in the 8th century, the island was called "monte tombe". According to legend, the Archangel Michael appeared to St. Aubert, bishop of Avranches, in 708 and instructed him to build a church on the rocky islet. Aubert repeatedly ignored the angel's instruction, until Michael burned a hole in the bishop's skull with his finger.[3] The mount gained strategic significance in 933 when William "Long Sword", William I, Duke of Normandy, annexed the Cotentin Peninsula, definitively placing the mount in Normandy. It is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry which commemorates the 1066 Norman conquest of England. Harold, Earl of Wessex is pictured on the tapestry rescuing two Norman knights from the quicksand in the tidal flats during a battle with Conan II, Duke of Brittany. Norman Ducal patronage financed the spectacular Norman architecture of the abbey in subsequent centuries. In 1067, the monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel gave its support to duke William of Normandy in his claim to the throne of England. It was rewarded with properties and grounds on the English side of the Channel, including a small island located to the west of Cornwall, which was modeled after the Mount, and became a Norman priory named St Michael's Mount of Penzance. During the Hundred Years' War, the English made repeated assaults on the island, but were unable to seize it due to the abbey's improved fortifications. Les Michelettes – two wrought-iron bombards left by the English in their failed 1423–24 siege of Mont-Saint- Michel – are still displayed near the outer defense wall. When Louis XI of France founded the Order of Saint Michael in 1469, he intended that the abbey church of Mont Saint-Michel be the chapel for the Order, but because of its great distance from Paris, his intention could never be realized. The wealth and influence of the abbey extended to many daughter foundations, including St Michael's Mount in Cornwall.