The wifi connection and the clunkiness of the blog site means that I have to enter the day's travels in two parts. We drove 350km today to the North coast of France, stopping at Pontorson where our booking was. The intention though, was to see Mont Saint Michel, which is thought to date back to 708, when a bishop had a sanctuary built in honour of the archangel.
In the 10th century the Benidictines settled in the abbey and a village grew up around its walls. During the Hundred Years War its ramparts and fortifications resisted the English assaults and the Mount became a symbol of National identity. In the 19th century the abbey was first used as a prison, then recognised as an historic monument. It is now a UNESCO world heritage site. At high tide, the sea covers the mud flats and surrounds the island. There is now a bridge to the island to cope with the huge number of tourists who visit it.
The photos have come in out of order but I can't fight it, so I'll let it be! This is a street in the village at the foot of the abbey. It is very touristy and narrow and would be delightful if you could remove the souvenir shops.
The abbey, sitting above the village. What you can't see in the photo is the extensive earth works being carried out on the mud flats.
The entrance to the village was impressive and contained all the medieval reinforcements that we've seen in other places - thick walls and doors, uphill entrances with tunnels and holes for attacking the enemy.
Looking out over the flats from the abbey.
The abbey.
Inside the church, looking forward to the altar.
The abbey.
This door caught Peter's eye. He loved all the thick walls, doors, door furniture and locks and I have many photos that are probably not on every tourist's camera! Looking through the door, we see the cloister.
The cloister.
The internal garden of the cloister with other parts of the abbey in the background.
These windows, at one end of the cloister, have glass in them now. I'm not sure what was in them back when they were built...
Peter is standing in one of a pair of fireplaces which were in a room of the abbey! The chimney tower was very wide and you could see all the way up it to the opening, which was at least a metre wide at the top.
This human powered wheel operated a lift which raised objects on a wooden slide along the outside of the abbey wall. It reminded us of Leonardo da Vinci's drawings.
The abbey spire.
A great day! The trip went well and the toll machine cooperated today, thank goodness. Tolls are expensive in France. Today's trip cost €19,20!
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