We took our first long train ride to the magical village of Mont Saint-Michel.

Mont Saint-Michel is an island commune in Normandy, France. It is located about one kilometre off the country’s northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is 100 hectares (247 acres) in size. As of 2009, the island has a population of 44.

The train ride was three hours each way and it’s a lovely picturesque way to see the countryside. I am still looking for those adorable furry lambs like the ones in Marie Antoinette.

It rained most of the morning but luckily, the sun appeared just as we were driving toward the castle!

We took the Metro to Gare Montparnasse, we got a little turned around and practically had to run to make our train (which was super far from the Metro entrance).

We had to get off and switch to a coach that drives us the rest of the way. It was rainy and cloudy most of the morning but as we approached, the sun came out.

We opted to take the horse drawn carriage across the bridge which fit the theme of heading towards a castle (if it weren’t for the hundreds of other tourists). You can also take a tram or walk for free. There were tons of teenagers walking across the clay colored sand covered in mud, gross!

Shout out to the tourist who we asked to take our picture for cropping out beautiful Mont Saint-Michel for us. I love when someone takes your photo and it comes out horrible but you have to politely say Oh, it came out great to not seem awkward. Luckily, Antz took a selfie with his long arms. We really need to hire a photographer to follow us wherever we go, totally necessary expense.

We Face-timed my Mom and showed her the village. I am so happy we gave her an iPhone and added her to our cell phone plan before moving. She still had a flip phone and I just recently taught her how to text. She now loves to send me random emojis!

This was the clay that surrounds the castle. You can walk across it during low-tide.

The lazy part of me was like there’s no way I was going to make it up the stairs to the top of that castle but fortunately, there is a main road that gradually weaves you to the top. We saw some people taking a rather steep and narrow short cut but they are crazy. 

This kid wanted us to buy her a sword so bad but we were firm, she has three swords at home (in Paris) that she crafted with her Dad. I did pick up a France enamel pin and I bought the kid a gold souvenir coin to go with her collection.

We found a beautiful, small church close to the top. Since the Saint-Michel abbey was full of tourists, we hung out here. Liv asked to light a candle for Grandma Maria and we said a prayer. I haven’t seen a chandelier inside a church like this before. So magnificent!

We had lunch at one of the many Normandie cuisine restaurants. The food was so-so but the atmosphere was nice to take a break from the crowds.

I recommend taking a day trip to Mont Saint-Michel. No need to stay longer, there are only a handful of hotels and you can see everything in three hours or less. The village is overrun with tourists and crowded, so go early. I wouldn’t recommend wearing rubber wellies, after seven hours on my feet, I was done.

Liv’s white dress and detachable ruffle collar are from Little Creative Factory.
Her rain boots are from Bobo Choses.
The fox and rabbit headdress are from Animalesque.
My pink Victorian dress is from ASOS and it’s currently on sale.

We got many strange looks and our waitress asked if we were going to a party. We are getting used to it.

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