| Rex |
Sep 23rd, 2002 04:38 AM |
I just came back from a week on the coasts of Normandy and Brittany, and I have quite mixed feelings about whether you ought to try to "day trip" to MSM at all.<BR><BR>First, the good news: Mont St. Michel DID exceed my expectations - - and I had believed that I had grown too jaded to appreciate "yet another wonder of the world". It really is awesome, and I think that you must climb all the way up to the top to enjoy it fully (fewer than one-third of the 3 million annual visitors do this). It really helps to appreciate the effort required to build it, and add to it over the centuries.<BR><BR>The negative side is that it seems to me to be a bad waste of travel time to go so far without spending several days along the English channel coast. There REALLY is a lot to like nearby. I liked St. Malo (and didn't even make it to Dinan, nor Dinard); and to the east, the Normandy "invasion country" makes for an amazing 1-2 days - - plus, then there is Honfleur, Etretat and more. And this is such an incomplete list, not even touching on "inland" Normandy (nor Brittany at all).<BR><BR>I say, you should rethink whether this trip (to Paris) ought to include MSM as a one day "peck" at Normandy. Make it four days, travel by car, and you will be well rewarded.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>
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