Today we opted to take an excursion through the ship.  We didn’t know when we would be close enough to Mont Saint-Michel to visit it.  However, when we got on the bus, they told us the ride was closer to three hours than two.  I did not enjoy the long ride. There is always some loud talkers that stop everyone from resting. 

We arrived at Monte Saint-Michel around 11am.  As you may be able to tell from the pictures, it was not a lovely sunny day.  It started raining as soon as we got off the bus.  You have to take a shuttle to the bottom of the rock.  Our tour guide said that sometimes the line is really long. We were lucky and got right on the first bus.  There are three stops.  One is near some restaurants and hotels, one is near the dam and other walking areas, and one is the bottom of the town. 

I was shocked at the number of people out on the sand/mud.  The guide said that it takes six hours to walk from the coast over the mud to the abbey. You have to take a guide because some of the areas have quicksand!  I couldn’t understand who would want to do that.  As we got closer I saw that most of those groups were children or young adults.  Many of them had taken off their shoes and were running in the mud barefoot.  

The sheer number of people walking through the streets on a rainy Thursday in June was unreal.  Later on I found out that you have to have a timed ticket to enter. They are tracking how many people are inside the abbey, but it still seemed like an incredible number in the town.

There is an omelet restaurant at the beginning of the town area. It is very famous for how delicious they taste due to how long they beat the egg and cream.  However, it costs 46 euro!  There are only about 80 people that live on the rock and only about 10 people that live in the abbey: six nuns and four monks.  

The town itself is so neat, but it was difficult to appreciate due to the sheer volume of people.  I felt like I was at a rock concert and we were rushing the stage.  

As we slowly climbed up to the abbey we stopped a few times to catch our breath.  The first was near this small church with a statue of Joan of Arc (even though she apparently never went there). 

This walkway was for the archbishop to easily enter the church for mass. 

Even though it is a hike, it was not as difficult as I thought it would be.  My watch equated it to about ten flights of stairs, but that doesn’t include the ramps we climbed.  

Inside the church itself they started mass right when we entered.  Even though we had earpieces that our guide was speaking to us through, she was not allowed to talk during the service. 

We went outside in the drizzle to check out the views. 

The first was where the monks used to sleep. 

The tide was definitely out while we were there. 

The archangel Michael was placed on top of the spire via helicopter.  

The stones on the patio area all have letters and numbers that you can see clearly, even though it was built in the 10th century.  It’s because it’s granite. They have these symbols to tell which workman placed the stones, so they can get paid for each one. 

This area was the only outside area for the monks. 

The dining hall was massive.  The stone floors surprisingly were decorated.

The story is that the archangel Michael appeared to this monk, Robert, and told him to build the abbey. Robert did not listen and while he was sleeping the angel touched his head and left a hole.  This is a representation of that story. 

This is the area where the nuns stayed. 

There were two fireplaces for cooking.  One was for roasting and one was for boiling. 

There was another fireplace to keep them warm. 

We also wandered through the crypt area, which had amazing giant columns. 

The wooden wheel was the coolest thing we saw.  Apparently it helped roll stones up to the top.  

I took one picture from below. 

In the picture from the window, looking down, I didn’t even realize I had a great picture of the seagull’s baby chicks!

The entire abbey area was an incredible feat of workmanship.  I loved all the stone walls and columns.  The stained glass windows let light in just the right way and it was evident even on a cloudy day. 

I was happy that we had a guide to explain each area to us.  I don’t think I would have appreciated it as much on my own.  I would definitely have a difficult time visiting Monte Saint-Michel on the weekend.  The guide said that sometimes you have to wait 45 minutes to take the shuttle back to the parking area.  The shuttle took about fifteen minutes or so. The walk back would take 45.