Le Mont Saint Michel

French Journal Day 171 (Travel Diary Day 251)

“Yes, officer” I replied. 2 other police officers looked on while two more searched our bags.

I looked over at the lowering sun and wondered if the GB sticker on our car was the reason we’d been pulled over.

It was the second time that French police had stopped us. This bunch were particularly friendly. After verifying that I wasn’t a bushy-haired lunatic on the run, they let us go and kindly informed us that we’d better make haste (within the legal boundaries, of course) if we were to catch the sunset at Le Mont Saint Michel.

Re-united with Betsy, we’d set off that morning with the intention of getting settled in our accommodation in Brittany in the evening time and visiting Mont Saint Michel the following day. Rachel duly informed me, however, that it was going to rain the following day. We quickly changed plans and made for the north in the hope that we could arrive at our lodgings with enough time to get to Mont Saint Michel on time.

Our brief rendezvous with the police slowed us down but we kept our fingers crossed and hoped the 6 hour drive up north wasn’t wasted.

We arrived at the designated car park at LMSM but spent 5 minutes trying to figure out how to actually get in – we weren’t being idiots, I promise.

We knew it was a longish walk from the car park to LMSM. Along the way we found an ATM with an attitude/Alzheimer’s. From inserting our card to finally getting it back (without cash) it took 15 minutes. I was convinced it had stolen our card. I resigned myself to calling the machine bad words, hoping that somewhere deep down it had feelings and that I was hurting them.

When we finally arrived at LMSM. If ever there was a place that could slow your pace and make you forget about the small challenges you may have faced on the road, it would be Le Mont Saint Michel. You can see the spiky island long before you reach the coast. It’s jagged peak and medieval architecture excite the imagination before you even step foot on the isle.

The tiny, narrow streets, similar to ones we’ve found in other ancient towns in France, beautifully add to the almost surreal, film-set atmosphere there.

This is off-season – we weren’t inundated with tourists. On the other had, huge restorations are taking place that made photographing the island in its entirety an impossibility. Tractors, fencing, cranes and scaffolding were almost everywhere, foiling any chance of a clean composition.

Waiting for the sun to set and blue hour to take over we sat in a tiny cemetery, surrounded by slim buildings with oddly spherical windows, and read the headstones on the graves.

As night began to roll in, the island grew quieter, only a couple of tourists were still walking the streets. The temperature was fresh but not too chilly. With the change in light, I was excited to put my camera to work. Earlier I’d noted a few good spots that I returned to and shot away without interruption.

When we were finished we slowly sauntered off the island towards Betsy feeling mightily relieved that we were able to see this wonderful place before the rain set in.

It was late and we were hungry. We found a fast food burger place somewhere in Rennes before heading back and collapsing into unconsciousness.

Tomorrow we will make our way to the stunning Loire Valley.

Today’s Photo – Le Mont Saint Michel

This image was created using a mixture of tone mapping, as seen in my beginner’s tutorial, and manually blending some of the original images back in. Then luminance masks were used to makes specific contrast changes.

Beginner’s tutorial – http://www.hdrone.com/beginners-hdr-photography-course-art-of-hdr/

Luminance Mask tutorial – http://www.hdrone.com/digital-blending-hdr-tutorial-using-luminance-or-luminosity-masks-the-art-of-advanced-hdr/