Mont St Michel

We only had a 3.5 hour drive yesterday to get to Mont St Michel. You could see it in the distance for miles. The weather was quite overcast but cleared more as the afternoon wore on. Our hotel is in a fantastic location - it is in the cluster of hotels and restaurants just where the causeway meets the mainland. We had to have a password to get past the boom gate to get to our hotel and we then could either walk or get a free shuttle out to MSM. Online hotel booking was a winner this time!

We had the afternoon wandering around the medieval village that surrounds the abbey. Steps galore!  I'm not very fit but there were some people really struggling to get around. Good on them for at least attempting it though! And took a few pics (massive understatement!) as the light improved later in the day - see above.

Before dinner we went back out onto the causeway to take some dusk/night photos of MSM as its beautifully lit at night. I had packed a tripod in my suitcase and hadn't yet used it. Last night it was worth the space and weight! Then this morning I went back out to get some mood shots in the fog. Not as successful as the night photos but still a different look.

The abbey tour we did this morning was fantastic - probably because we got the audio guide as well and we went early enough so there was hardly anyone there - shown by the photo of the cloisters. I loved the colours in the stone, the architectural design and the story of God's hand on this place. Apparently back in 708, Aubert, the bishop of a nearby town, dreamt that the archangel Michael commanded him to build a church on this rock - "Build here and build high." Aubert doubted his vision and Michael had to appear to him 3 times, even going so far as to drill a hole in the bishop's skull with his finger in order to convince him! That's serious persuasion! Maybe there is a lesson there for all of us!

Tonight we are meeting up with Mike & Viv Jeffs at St Malo, a medieval town just south of here. They've been holidaying in Europe and were also at the CEVMA conference in Spain. Tomorrow we drive to Brussels for the weekend before making our way to Germany, and our home base for much of October.