Mont St Michel

Tuesday night we arrived outside Mont St Michel, a conical island on the border of Brittany and Normandy known for its abbey and rapid tides (which we did not witness during our visit). Until recently, Mont St Michel has been connected to the continent by a mile and a quarter long causeway, which has now been partially replaced by a bridge which allows water to flow all the way around the island. The old causeway is currently being demolished. The two best times to visit (tourist-wise) being the morning and evening, after moving our stuff into the hotel room we walked over to the island where we had dinner and a meager dessert. Although the abbey was closed, we saw a lot of the island followed by a bright sunset. On our walk back to the hotel, we were repeatedly attacked by a very large flying insect, which persistently tried to nest on our heads. Despite being able to see the bug from a long way off, due to its formidable size, its assaults came from the rear and so by the time we heard it's loud buzzing it was already upon us, leaving us no choice but to flail our arms in futile attempts to drive it away. Fortunately, it must have been a night creature as it didn't bother us on subsequent walks.
The next morning, we awoke early so as to beat the midday crowds onto the island. Even though we were passed halfway across the causeway by the first bus-load of tourists, we were the first ones into the abbey due to having already bought tickets and having knowledge of a little known shortcut to the top of the mount. (TS & NS)

The island viewed from afar

Dismantling the old causeway

Theodore, Maryrose, and mom on the ramparts

The Gendarmerie next to the setting sun 

The sun

The island viewed from the bridge

      

Mt St Michel in daylight. During the 100 Years War, the well fortified island never fell to the English.

Maryrose, the author, and mom

 The main entrance

One wall of the abbey

The first ones into the abbey

The steeple, topped by a statue of St Michael. According to legend, the monastery on the island was built after instructions were given by St. Michael to the bishop of Avranches, who ignored these instructions until the idea was pressed into his brain by St. Michael's finger.  

Looking back at the continent 

Maryrose and mom in the cloister. Note the interleaved columns which minimized the total number of columns needed.

The interior of the church at the top of the abbey

Columns and vaulted ceiling in the abbey

The five sides on this tower makes it easy to defend from attacks from any direction.

When the island was used as a prison, this prisoner-powered wheel was used to transport supplies up and down the mountain.

The track on which supplies were transported

The view down the track. Supplies were attached to a sled which slid along the track.

We ended our visit by circumnavigating the island