15/09/09

Day 7 – September 15
Water seems to be the current theme! We have spent the day at Mont St Michel and I don’t think I have ever seen so much rain in my life!
To start with the weather wasn’t too brilliant, we had a lot of rain overnight and the morning was overcast as we made our way to Mont St Michel. We have pretty much decided that if the weather gets nasty we will head south and seek some sun. Having said all that, we arrived in fairly bright weather and having decided to stay on the aire nearer to the town rather than the more basic amenities by the mount we set off to walk to Mont St Michel. Fortunately we took waterproofs and just as we arrived at the foot of the mount the rain began. We donned said waterproofs, then boy, did it rain! We made our way up the tiny, narrow street thronging with soaking wet French school children and groups of Japanese tourists (they get everywhere don’t they??) and up about 3000 steps (not much exaggeration, trust me!) to the abbey. By this time the rain was coming down in stair-rods. We went through the abbey and at each viewpoint/camera opportunity the mist got lower and lower and the rain got heavier – don’t expect wonders from the photos! The abbey is also an occupied monastery and we encountered two monks in sandals, at which point Peter decided he didn’t want to be a monk as he would always have wet feet – that’s a relief anyway!
The abbey has been on this site since the 8th century and the marvel of it all is how on earth they managed to build it. The architecture is fascinating, with a superb cloister in the centre. It is a lovely place, but surprisingly austere in comparison to other abbeys and cathedrals we have visited in the past.
By the time we left the rain was running down the aforesaid 3000 steps like a waterfall and all the tourist shops and bars on the way down were full of people sheltering from the rain. Good for trade I suppose!
We got back cold and wet but by the time we had changed and had lunch the sun was shining and we were sitting out in shorts and T-shirts – only in France!
The evening has been lovely so we have been back for another look at the mount in the evening sun and it looks stunning. There’s a very red sky tonight so fingers crossed for a good day tomorrow!
Happy birthday to Ross for tomorrow in case he reads this before I have done my daily report - have a great day, we’ll have a drink on your behalf!