Paradise Lost

This afternoon we drove to Mont St Michel on the way to our next 2 nights resting spot along the Brittany coast in Dinard, France. As you can see from the photo the Mont is an awesome site from outside the walls. The problem for us was that once we got inside it was just swarming with busloads of tourists, kids from schools visiting for the day, and of course us. It was standing room only – inching our way up the narrow cobblestone medieval streets – lined with one souvenir shop after another - almost over come by the ever present chain smokers.

It seems that a lot of people in Europe have not heard about lung cancer or just don’t care, and while I sure support their right to kill themselves if they wish – it was still pretty hard to take sometimes in tight quarters. Oh well we just grin and bear it as part of the cultural difference.

After about 1/2 hour of this circus we finally called it quits and got out of dodge. It seems that the beautiful Mont have become a victim of its own beauty. Perhaps we were just there at the wrong time. It was worth the visit just to see it from outside. I would suggest that perhaps getting there first thing in the morning might be a better option before the crowds get there.