This is an imposing abbey on a rock. There are free shuttles but the line was long and the distance was less than a mile so we decided to walk (although it was about 1.6 miles from the parking area). It was a beautiful, sunny day with a very cool breeze. Perfect!
DO NOT, we repeat, DO NOT visit Mont Saint-Michel on a bank holiday, religious festival day, end of Covid, beginning of summer Saturday!!! Apparently, there are something like 3 million visitors a year. There were 1 million today. The hoards were incredible.
We learned quickly that the French are not like the Brits/Scots. They do not queue. They do not care if you are handicapped. They do not control their children. They litter. Obviously, they were not all this way but the contrast to what we had been experiencing was quite noticeable.
Enough of that.
The abbey was 900 steps to the top (302 feet above sea level) which sometimes got very interesting. There are virtually no handrails so Marilyn walked with her stick in one hand and the other hand on a wall. Some areas were fairly narrow and the hoards tended to just push through. We decided the order for these monks was the Order of the Enlarged Thighs. Marilyn said she thought they just never came down.
The rock on which it is built.
Proof that Marilyn made it! And, is still standing.
To read about the abbey’s interesting history, click here. We did NOT walk back. Bob probably would have without Marilyn. Instead, she sat on a bench near the shuttle stop while he stood in line. What a good husband!