On to Mont St-Michel

We pack up this morning, get some fresh bread, pack and load, and we're off to Mont St-Michel. But first,we head up to Longues-sur-Mere, one of the large German batteries, which is just a short distance from Bayeux. We head up through the beautiful countryside, and park in the lot, then head out on foot. These were the largest of the German batteries, with 15mm guns, protected by tons of concrete and steel. On the heights of Longues, they had a full view of the whole area, so this was a fearsome place of defense. The Allied bombings did finally destroy one battery, but the others were preserved with their huge guns. We walk along the trail, and see munitions storage underground, as well as a well-hidden lookout. It is no wonder the Germans held out here a while.

Then we're off to Mont St-Michel, about 90 minute drive through the beautiful countryside of Normandy, lots of cows and sheep and pitcuresque small villages. We stop at an aire for our picnic lunch, and this place has an automated bread machine which is kept restocked 24 hours a day, amazing. We arrive to the tiny village (about 50 people live there full-time) and find the Hotel Vert. It is a bit nicer than Motel 6, not quite as nice as a Holiday Inn, but very serviceable for our purposes. It is very warm here, so we unload, fill our water bottles and take a snack to head for the shuttle bus.

The drive is short, and in a few minutes the amazing Mont St- Michel comes into view, floating above the water. We stop in the tourism bureau for a map, learn that the tide is coming in, and head to the ramparts to watch. It is truly impressive to see the water coming in, mixing with the flow of the river, like the potato patch of the Golden Gate. We also scoped out a good place to watch the sunset. Because of Ascension, a holiday in France, many places we saw along the way were closed (this also became a long holiday weekend for the French) and the Abbey closed early. So we explore the rest of the island, climbing many, many stairs, around each turn another breathtaking view of the area around Mont St-Michel. Around 7:30 we look for the Cafe Mére Poulard, and go up to the lovely terrace for dinner. It is so hot still we are not that hungry, so I get moules mariniere and Barney gets a nice lamb casserole, both with wine and dessert. Then we walk back to the place we scoped out for the sunset, which is about 20 minutes away. Others figured that this is also a good place, but we hold our spot to take photos of the sunset. As the sun slips lower and gets redder, more as more people gather, and we take some final dramatic photos before we head back. The high tide was at about e8pm, so only the upper edge of the entry way is dry. We head out, are lucky to get on a shuttle, and go to bed so we can wake up early.