A beautiful day.

From 5/29:

Today I rented a bike and rode out to Mont St. Micheal: The Mont is a spectacular abbey and city that was built in spurts since 600 AD. The abbey is a three story monastary that wraps around the peak of a little mound in a bay. The abbey is still inhabited by the Brothers of Jerusalem. While I was there I was able to sit in on part of their service. It was all in French, which made it a bit hard to understand.

The mound that the abbey is built on is actually an island. When the tide is out, cars park in a lot where water flows when the tides are in. Although I think so much silt has collected that high tide doesn't turn it into an island anymore. They are working on a big project that is supposed to fix that, but it seems like it might be too late. Even during low tide, there are magnificent views of the bay from the top of the abbey.

The rest of the little tourist town wraps around the bottom of the mound. I spent a long time wandering the stone streets and climbing up and down stairs, but even on my way out I found a new passage with a new view. Oh, and I ate my ice cream! 1 scoop of strawberry, 1 scoop of dark chocolate in a cone. So far France so has England beat on the ice cream front.

Biking was really good. It was nice to do something active that didn't involve my pack. The path to the Mont isn't very well marked and I'm not sure if I was even on a path on the way out there. There was a narrow mud path cut into the grass next to the river that I followed. It was a little bumpy but it got me where I wanted to go. I also got lots of good pictures of the country side from the bike which I will post when I get a chance.

And now I'm back in Pontorson where the town is already asleep. But even though it is still light outside (it doesn't get dark till 10 or 10:30) I'm ready to go to bed too. Goodnight!