Le Mont Saint-Michel

It has been a busy few days since last post. As we left Omaha Beach we spent much of that day hugging the coast line. It was absolutely breathtaking! The weather was georgous and the winds mostly at our backs. (what more can a cyclist hope for)

We turned south at Grandcamp-Maisy and rode to Saint-Lo. Lots of climbing once we left the coast. It was either up or down but the country side and little towns that we rode through easily took our minds off of the hills. It is just so beautiful and gives you a sense of peace. St Lo was a very very busy place and a little overwhelming. After spending the prior 5 days in quite areas the big city is a bit nerve wracking. To make things even more unsettling there was no camping. But again the French people stepped up to the plate! The tourist office called a cycle tourist who lives in St. Lo and he invited us to make camp in his garden. Daniel and his daughter made us feel very welcome. We spent a lovely evening talking about the differences and similarities of our two countries, practicing our french and their english and making good friends. We slept well, had a great breakfast sitting in the garden with our new friends and got on the road.

Our destination for the day.....Le Mont Saint-Michel!! Another glorious day with winds mostly at our backs but again a LOT of hills!! In the first 30miles we climbed 1000ft! By the end of the day our thighs were burning or should I say MY thighs were burning. Bob is like the Ever Ready Bunny he just keeps going and going. Our route took us through the town of Avranches which, thank you very much, sits at the TOP of a mountain. The final climb to town was over 3 miles long with the final 1/2 mile registering 10-14percent grades.

Le Mont Saint-Michel is the most amazing thing I have ever seen and Bob feels the same way. We had not heard of it before but it is considered the most visited place in all France. If you have not heard of it we encourage you to look it up on the internet. abbaye Du Mont-Saint Michel. Built in 1100 it sits majestically at the edge of the ocean all alone. Surrounded only by water and sand. The timming of our visit was perfect. Durring the month of July the Abbaye is open to visitors until midnight. We rode our bikes out last night after dinner. The road to the Abbaye is approximately 2km and the whole way you are gifted with the spectaculat view of the town/abbaye illuminated by the setting sun!

We continue to meet new people every day. Last night we shared our dinner with a cycle tourist from San Sebastian, Spain. Urtzi is a school teacher. He teaches englis to 4 & 5 yeart olds. We thought it was cool that we met a teacher who is teaching english to spansih children and Bob daughter teaches spanish to english children. Urtzi invited us to visit him when we get to San Sebastian!