Mont St. Michel - Tres Magnifique!

---

We added Mont St. Michel to our trip at the last minute and I am so glad we did. It was on the front cover of the travel guide we were using and looked really rare and it truly is. It is a big rock island just off the coast and in the 8th century AD a monastery was first built there. Before that even, it held fortifications since ancient times. Over time, the monestery grew and became an Abbey and a town was built up surrounding the Abbey. The cobble stone roads on the island(only for walking on) zig zag upward toward the Abbey with little hidden doors and entrance ways here and there.

Before arriving, as we were driving along the winding roads getting nearer and nearer to the coast we could see this small castle-like shape in the distance. Along the road side we passed cider stands and stopped at the one that said free samples (those are one of my favourite things.) After sampling and playing with the beautiful and gentle farm guard dog, we set off with our bottles of cider.

We arrived at the perfect time! The tour buses were pulling out of the parking lots and it was as if we had the place to ourselves. Now, at night, the tide comes up and turns Mont St. Michel into an island by covering the road in water. Is it very important to be parked in the right place, as you can imagine. Also, there is quick sand in the area that is said to have swallow many fishermen throughout history. Picture how we felt when we could not understand the instructions given to us by the people working at the gate. They sent us down to an area that did not look tide safe. We returned and finally they realized we meant we were staying on the island all night and we were sent to a much better spot higher up.

Mont St. Michel can get very touristy in high season and it is laden with its fair share of tourist traps, but the history and beauty out weighs those negatives. We luckily didn't have any problems with tourists as there were so few people staying on the island over night. It felt like we had it to ourselves and it was such a magical dream world. It felt like a place dreamed up in someones imagination. Many authors have gone there for inspiration and I could definately feel that energy.

We went out to the car to grab something we'd forgotten and got to see a wonderful view of the Abbey all a glow in the darkness of night. We headed back and had a yummy dinner and wandered the island until it was time to sleep.

The next morning we woke to streams of tourist filling the tiny streets...we hightailed it outta there!

---