Today was another beautiful day. We've had so many since arriving in Europe. The week before our arrival was so cold that we brought hats, gloves, and scarves with us, and decided to rely on layers rather than heavy coats only because we were trying to travel light.
(The lady who checked us in at the Orlando airport marveled at how little luggage we were taking to Europe. Two suitcases—one small, one medium; a laptop bag; and a backpack doesn't quite seem like a small amount of luggage to me, but I guess it could have been worse. We were blessed by having convenient laundry facilities on this trip.)
Spring weather is always unpredictable. When we were packing, I never would have guessed that I'd regret bringing only one short-sleeved shirt. We carried our jackets with us almost everywhere we went, because early morning and evening were cool enough to need them, but hiking around at midday was sometimes quite hot. The only rain we experienced the whole vacation was maybe a dozen drops while enjoying a café on the banks of the Rhine. As a Floridian, I know that lack of rain can be a serious problem (we're in the middle of a drought cycle now), but as a tourist, I was grateful that it held off for our visit.
And today we were definitely tourists. Our hosts drove us to Mont Saint-Michel, about two hours away. It was a lovely drive through the French countryside, and the sight of Mont Saint-Michel suddenly there, rising in all its glory from the flat ground, reminded me—though on a different scale—of my first view of Mt. Fuji. You can see a good full view of Mont Saint-Michel at the Wikipedia link above; ours have people in them, which is generally good, but not, as I said, for public blogging without consent.
Janet had broken her glasses in a little accident with a hammock, and our tape solution had to be renewed frequently. When we returned to Switzerland we bought some glue that allowed a much more permanent fix, but in the meantime we were grateful that they could stay together for 15 minutes at a time. Memo to self: never travel without duct tape. And a spare pair of glasses.
Here are some gargoyle shots for my sister
I call these my Tennyson pictures….
This structure predated by oh, about a millenium Porter's ingenious contraption for hauling heavy items to our roof. I bet it was equally handy.
Random views
Sadly, this was our last night at the château. We're now beginning the homeward leg of our journey.
