Part 1

Thursday to Friday May 24-25

Flight good - upgraded seats (Air Transat) are more comfortable for sleeping. Food was good with lots of wine and booze available. Medical emergency in seat behind and a talking man in front made sleep harder. However, probably worth the extra money. New subway in CDG from T3 to T2 made the transfer to the train very easy. Took TGV to Rennes.

Saturday May 26 Rennes

Saw Saturday Market. Bought lunch at the market - bread, fromage de brebis and yogurt. Also milk beer, Lactiwell. Next, a city walking tour. Interesting contrast between half timbered (survived a fire in 1720) and stone buildings - one city square is half and half. Dinner at Leon le Cochon. We were very impressed by the Thabor Gardens. It is a pleasant garden to walk in and have a coffee but it also has an area with roses and many other perennials that have name tags! They claim to have over 3000 named rose varieties.

Sunday May 27 Rennes

Slept in till 10. Had lunch at a crêperie. Wandered the old town - the sun started to shine - it had rained all night and this morning - all day in fact. Did laundry. Ate at "Amour de Pomme de Terre". Oven baked spuds with liqueur, meats, fish etc. Good.

Monday May 28 Rennes

Still cloudy. There were 120 km/hr winds on the coast yesterday - 2 people killed! I think this was further west than we will be walking.

Went to Vitré today. Slept in again so we took a late train. Saw the old town, castle and the St Nicolas museum. Came back to Rennes to eat. Good meal at Tire Bouchon. R had Rillettes of Mackerel - very good - must find out how to make them!

Tuesday May 29 Rennes to Granville

"Visit of the old city, a military fortress built on a rocky promontory which ends at the Roc headland. "

Train to Foligny then autocar (minibus) to Granville - very easy transfer since it is a small station. Walked around Granville, had lunch in a bistro in upper Granville. It was cooking with a wood fired grill. The set up had two grates: one with coals being made ready; the other with the grill (complete with wind up lift). R had grilled sausage - probably home made - which were delicious.

Saw the Dior gardens (Christian Dior’s old home) - very splendid views of the St. Michel bay. Granville is part at sea level and part up cliffs - R says he will never again say "It will be flat", especially when going to the seaside.

When we walked past the docks, the boats were all lying on their sides on the sand. They were attached to an overhead "clothes line" - a mooring line - so that when the tide rises they will be able to float up and still be there. The line must have been 10 m above the sand.

Ate at La Citadelle - fish soup, dorade & chicken. Good meal, €19 menu.

Wednesday May 30 Granville to St Jean le Thomas

Pedometer: 22 km (18 km on Gmaps Pedometer)

"You will follow the coast, crossing the beaches of St. Pair-sur-Mer, Kairou, Jullouville, and Carolles. You will continue along the Champeaux cliffs, the only points of height which dominate the bay and offer splendid views of Mont Saint Michel. "

A challenging day! We ate lunch while walking - no place to sit and it was raining anyhow! We climbed a rocky path with thunder overhead - and the path turned into a stream with the heavy rain. On the other hand, the roast pork from a charcuterie / boucherie stuffed into fresh rolls was excellent.

Rained all day, arrived soaking - and then the hotel told us the room was 1 km down the road in the annex! They found another room at the main hotel. The meal was good - oysters gratinee, smoked fish, scallop lasagne, Normandy cheese - camembert, Pont L'Eveque and Levereau (good). Bottle of Muscadet, Glad this was not the first day of our first walking trip - we would never have done it again! However we had a lovely view of Mont St Michel from an old lookout post.

Thursday May 31 to Avranches

Pedometer: 21 km (20 km on Gmaps Pedometer)

"Following the coastal line, you will cross vast beaches and sand dunes, punctuated by sparse vegetation, until – drawing nearer to Mont Saint Michel ...You will walk up the mouth of the Sée, which cuts a path through the vegetation. This stretch of grassy land, where sheep graze at low tide, will be covered entirely by the sea at high tide. "

Shortcut from la Chaussée to Gisors (cut out le Groin du Sud).

Rained most of the day - not as wet as yesterday but a lot of the GR223 was a mud puddle. Our walk yesterday and today recalls the joke about the dog running away from home in the foothills of the Rockies - you could see it going for 3 days. Yet again today we had views of the Mont but we don't get there until tomorrow. We walked on the hard packed sand of the beach below the tide line. The side of the sheep fields were very wet underfoot due to the rain. The foot bridge over the Sée was closed for repair so we had to walk on the main road to get into Avranches.

Dinner was good at the hotel, an old coaching inn. R had rabbit in an aspic tart, F a roll of prosciutto filled with cheese. F had monk fish with pea puree and R had bass with lavender and green lemon sauce.

Friday June 1 to Mont St Michel

Pedometer: 12 km (10.5 km on Gmaps Pedometer)

"You will follow the coast across vast prairies toward the Pointe de Roche Torin. From here, you will see Mont Saint Michel in all its splendor. Once beyond the Pointe de Roche Torin, continue along the seawall which protects the polders and their culture. Here, you will be fascinated by the obsessive beauty, unable to bring your eyes from it. "

Before we left Avranches, we visited the scriptorial museum this morning. Lot of information about restoration of manuscripts, the tools monks used and the inks and glues (fish, lamb, flour …). Saw the 15 manuscripts that were out this time - each manuscript is allowed out in the light on rotation to keep the documents well preserved.

Dry day today - approached MSM via the sheep meadows - very wet in patches - sometimes we crossed to the other track at the top of the sea wall when it looked more passable. The last part of the walk along the causeway was exhausting.

Our hotel is on the island itself with an upper exit to the ramparts. Good mussels at hotel in cream sauce. Lamb from the salt marshes was also good. Frances is so tired and stiff that she went right to bed after dinner with Tylenol and Motrin while Richard took a look at the Mont by moonlight.

Saturday June 2 to Vivier-sur-Mer

12 km (8 km on Gmaps Pedometer)

"The day begins with a tour of Mont Saint Michel and the abbey. The abbey stands as an architectural masterpiece. Technical daring, finesse and elegance combine and make it worthy of its title of “The Wonder of the Western World”. The visit of the city holds its own charm with high ramparts, narrow and twisting streets, hidden corners and a small church."

We were feeling remarkably good this morning but Frances was still considering asking the taxi driver to drop us closer to our destination for the day.

We spent the morning looking at MSM abbey - a real warren of a place. Vaults to hold church - made the mountain shape into a flat platform. Lots of layers of buildings. The top is a cloister, below that a refectory and then below a gust reception room. Outside looks like a fort. Lots and lots of steps. The crypt has massive pillars holding it all up. Masses of tourists, though, especially by lunch time.

Taxi to Chapel St Anne. The taxi driver persuaded us that it was a great day for a walk. Walk to Vivier -sur-Mer. A beautiful day - sun shining but not too hot. F's cold and sore foot seem better and we made the hotel in good time with a break for coffee.

Strange shellfishing boat vehicles trundling along the road. Lovely sunset at 10 p.m.

Good dinner - shellfish plate (oysters, langoustine, winkles, cockles etc.). Lamb and skate okay, dessert good.