Day Eight - Enough of All This World War II Stuff....Let's Go Medieval

The View Looking Up from Just Inside the Entrance

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Thankfully there were no admission charges to get inside. They probably made enough money with the parking fees anyway. Our hotel rooms for just this one night were as much as we paid for the 4 nights in Arromanches at the Normandie. But on the plus side we did get breakfast included and parking was also covered.

To the Shopping District

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Actually the entire town is a shopping district. To get to the shops we had to pass through the main town gate into this open courtyard then on in through a secondary opening in the walls which led to the narrow street full of souvenir shops, restaurants, bars and hotels. Defensively this was a perfect area to entrap the unwise invader with intentions of making their way up the single narrow road up to the abbey with its wealth of art and gold. Once past the first gate and in this enclosed area they would be easy targets for the defenders up on the walls.

I Must Be Getting Hungry Again

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We had reached Mont St. Michel just after noon. I am not normally a fan of pastries but our supermarket breakfast was hours before and these seemed to be beckoning me. As things turned out, we found plenty of other treats to satisfy our hunger after we checked into our hotel.

And Now the Third Gate Into Town

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The inhabitants of medieval Mont St Michel were not exactly welcoming visitors back in the day. This third gate featured a mini-moat and drawbridge and a big iron porticullis that could drop down to seal off the village.

Our Splurge Hotel

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It didn't turn out to be the best place we stayed at our even my favorite, but for atmosphere and quaintness this was hard to beat. We were right in the center of town and had gorgeous rooms. Trip Advisor reviews almost scared me off a couple of times and I very nearly decided to rebook ourselves into one of the much cheaper accomodations around the MSM parking lots. Gail talked me out of it. She said we had waited so many years to finally go here. We deserved to live it up a bit. We weren't able to check-in yet because our rooms were being cleaned, but the cute little French girl at the front desk took our bags and stored them for us while we did some sightseeing.

Again, Not as Cold as it Looks

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Even those these goomers looked like they were going on an Arctic expedition the weather still seemed almost balmy to us. Back in the States temperatures had been in the twenties. Here we were basking in the mid-forty degree fog and mist.

We're Going All the Way Up There?

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This tourist attraction was certainly developed with American visitors in mind. No escalator to the top? But if Grandma can make it up there so could I.....barely.

Is There an Oxygen Bar Up Here?

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I made it to the top first. I win. Seriously, I need to get in shape. I was bushed. The thought of going up any more steps was enough to make me consider faking a pulled hammie. Fortunately, there were only another 50 or so once we walked into the abbey.

Fake Out

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Can you believe we were suddenly hit by a nasty snowstorm once we reached the top? Nope. When we got to the abbey entrance there was a big line waiting to pay the steep admission price to go inside. Having been through maybe a hundred European churches, abbeys and monasteries over the past thirty years or so I voted to pass on wasting any more time at the abbey. Cassie quickly made the vote 2-0. Gail and her mother apparently had seen enough as well. It seemed like all the tourists parked in the immense lot had gathered up here at the abbey. We went straight into the abbey's art museum where I took this photo of a photo. I didn't see the "no pictures" sign until later. Oops.

Saint Michael Keeps the Dragons at Bay

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According to what I could semi-interpret from the French placard in the museum, this is a reproduction of the Saint Michael statue atop the steeple of the abbey church.

The View from the Top

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Looking East from the heights of the abbey complex we got a pretty clear view of the tidal flats around the island town. Back when this castle/abbey.town was relevant even during low tide trying to get troops to the city gates would've been nearly impossible with the silty muck surrounding the island. Without clocks or watches they would have no inkling when the next high tide might come rolling in.

I Won't Go Into the Long History of Renovation

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It's pretty obvious from this view of the abbey that there were multiple periods of building and rebuilding going on through the centuries. Our green Michelin guide went into great detail describing all the work done over the years, but not even I had any interest in reading through all that.

Roc de Tombelaine

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I had to wait until we got back to our computers and the internet to learn that this tiny rocky island just North of Mont St Michel is called "Tombelaine". Naturally there is a local legend about this second oddity in the tidal basin pf the Cotentin Peninsula: the tale is told of a beautiful princess or queen being secretly laid to rest here along with her treasure. It was probably made up by the local fisherman who were looking for an excuse to half a Boys' Weekend away from the ball and chain. Wikipedia also says that two monks from the monastery at MSM were exiled here. The English occupied the island during the Hundred Years War in an effort to capture Mont St Michel but they still failed.

A View from the Gardens

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After leaving the gloomy confines of the museum and the adjacent giftshop (where we passed on buying anything thinking that we'd find more competitive souvenir prices down below in the town), we walked down into the abbey garden. Once again a misty drizzle fell on us but by now we hardly noticed. It was nice to get away from the throngs of people pressing up on us everywhere inside the buildings.

Let's Face It - I'm Bushed

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When I saw a big hole in the hedge and nobody else around I asked Gail to take my picture inside the hedge. By the time she got her camera out and the picture taken a bunch of other tourists came onto the scene. They were not amused by my American sense of humor. When they continued to give me dirty looks I reminded them who won the War for them.

Lunds Having Fun

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We got wierd looks from the staid (boring) Europeans all around us in the garden when we sat my camera on the rock wall and set the timer to snap our group photo. I thought this was a brilliant idea. Too bad we had to stoop to get ourselves into the frame.

The Girls Vamping for the Photographer

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I just wanted to get away from the severely judgemental and angry Europeans wandering around in the gardens but Gail demanded I get a good shot of the three of them.

Let's Get a Little Closer

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Loving my zoom once again