August 6, 2024
We docked early this morning in LeHavre, France. We had to get up early because we had an early morning excursion plus, we lost an hour coming across the English Channel, so we had to set our clocks forward an hour. But we got up, got dressed and were ready to go on time.
We boarded a bus and were driven three hours through the Normandy countryside, with one stop for a break. Several other buses stopped at the same place, so there was a line at the restrooms. But we did manage and continued on our journey.
Our destination was Mont Saint Michel southwest of our port. The countryside was gorgeous, but it’s hard to take pictures when you are in a crowded bus, driving fast through the country on the autobahn. I don’t really know what they call them in France, but interstate doesn’t quite fit. Most everyone was very tired from having gotten up early and many slept.
We arrived at the site about 11 a.m. and after some confusion about what to do next and what to do when we get back, we hopped on a shuttle which drove us across the area between the Mont and the mainland. The Mont sits on a rock basically that sits out in the ocean about a half mile. During high tide, it is an island and inaccessible on foot. I do think that has changed a bit because it appears they have built a walk way all the way out to the site. People walk and there were a a lot of people walking, but I was unclear as to whether the walkway is covered by the water when the time comes in. All the pictures I have seen indicate that it is totally inaccessible at that time.
We started walking up. There are 350 steps, but the rest of the climb is cobblestone walkways which are very uneven and at about a 30° slope. It was grueling. Two of our team of four chose not to got any further than about a third of the way. Carol and I continued on up to the top where we entered the Abbey, which is at the very top. It was originally built in the 700’s. It has been destroyed by fire and was rebuilt. It is mostly rock/granite, but there is wood in it as well. It is a beautifully maintained site, with a group of nuns and monks living there.
Our guide was a little hard to understand, but she did try hard. But once we got up to the Abbey, Carol and I decided to start working our way down and catch up with the other two. It took us much longer to go down, mainly because we were following the exit signs and they were taking us to the other side of the Mont. We ended up going completely around it. It has a small village on that side which contained gift shops and restaurants. Four families own all the concessions on the Mont, so prices are high and the same no matter which shop you choose. We stopped in a couple of the gift shops and I picked up a couple more things, including a rosary I will cherish.
We eventually made our way down and out and it started to rain. Not hard. It actually was a welcome relief because we were so hot and sweaty from our trek up and down the Mont. We hopped on a shuttle bus and came back to the visitor’s center and met up with the other gals. Carol and I grabbed a bite to eat at a food truck and then we all sat and visited in the gift shop while waiting till the bus was available. We boarded as soon as we could and sat back for the three hour ride back to the dock.
We arrived back about 6:15 p.m. and went straight to dinner. We wanted to say goodbye to the waiters who had treated us so spectacularly during our voyage. Once finished we ran back to the room as our luggage had to be put out in the hall by 9 p.m. and it was 8:30! But we got that done, got our showers and now we are ready for lights out.
Till next time. . .
Dale
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