In doing my usual wikipedia search to make sure we didn't miss anything I came across something I thought I should include in full...
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]
Yep - that showed him alright.
Mont St Michel is an amazing sight - because the surrounding countryside is so flat, you can see it from miles and miles (or kilometres, we are in France) away, and the contrast with the completely unpopulated countryside is incredible. The island itself is about 1km away from the mainland, and until the last 100 years or so it was cut off whenever there was a high tide. Some of the car parks flood (ALL of them in a spring tide) so there is a notice board to check on your way in to make sure your car is still there when you get back.
We had read the guidebooks which all said it is madness in the the weekend, so we arrived on a friday - and it was still pretty crazy. We managed to dodge most of the crowds, and the abbey itself is big enough to cope with the tourists.
This was a huge highlight of the trip so far for us, and certainly one of the most impressive things we have seen so far.
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| Mont St Michel in the morning - hazy. |
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| ....but the haze quickly cleared as the day went on. The mont is 80m tall, and the church + abbey is 80m on top of that. The whole island is 1km in circumference, so not very big. |
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| Keep standing there buddy, no rush, not trying to take a photo or anything..... |
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| The medieval street that greets you when you enter - hint - take the first left you can. |
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| The abbey itself - the ramp to the left of middle has a cart on it and was used to haul up building material and supplies. |
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| The car park - the coach parking flooded at 6pm. |
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| This is a platform that was left when they pulled down three bays of the church. |
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| The Church. |
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| I think that little island in the distance was mined to supply the building material for construction. |
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| Look how flat the surroundings are.... |
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| The inner cloister. |
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| The main hall. |
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| Looking down the ramp at the cart that was used to bring up supplies. |
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| The hall where the monks used to carry out their study and work, including calligraphy, which is why the illuminated letters are hanging from the ceiling. |
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| You can walk around the outside as well, when the tide is right. They have alarms around the outside to let you know when the tide is coming in. It is the highest tide in Europe, with a difference of 15m and it comes in at 'the speed of a galloping horse'. The sand around the Mont turns into quicksand. |
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| The tide was waaaaaaaaay out - very hard to even see it. |
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| The back of the Mont |
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