Mont Saint-Michel Abbey

Now that we slogged through the sandy hike to Mont Saint-Michel, we spent the next day hiking up the interior. Mont Saint-Michel started as a monastery (monks only) in the 7th century, became an abbey in the 14th century (monks and nuns), then a prison during the French Revolution (1789-1799), then back to an abbey. Now it’s used both for religious experiences and tourism, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.

: We stayed at a charming family run chateau, so small that our group rented the whole ten rooms.

: “Bonne promenade” means have a nice walk.

: A walk along the beach reveals Mont Saint-Michel, way off on the horizon.

: We woke up to the smell of the the most incredible bread, baked in a wood stove just steps from our chateau.

: Mike waving from our window.

: When breakfast has a view like this AND raw oysters, it’s going to be a great day. McDonald’s, eat your heart out.

: Narrow streets lead up to the top of Mont Saint-Michel.

: This gargoyle has a little helper to keep watch.

: Cavernous rooms in the abbey have been used to house both royalty and prisoners.

: Mont Saint-Michel has seen many reconstruction projects since the 7th century. Old stones are marked with letters, because the bricklayers were paid for stones that had their particular mark.

: Beautiful double archways surround a sun soaked courtyard.

: View from the top of Mont Saint-Michel, as we see more “pilgrims” crossing the sand like we did.

: A toast to my favorite travel partner.

: Our Country Walkers group was from Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, California, New York, Washington, South Africa, England and Australia. We were fast friends after 8 days together.