Mont-Saint-Michel in March

[Jubilee32]

Will be visiting in March and would appreciate any advice or tips - thanks

[jptsr1]

Will be visiting in March and would appreciate any advice or tips - thanks

do you mean the school?

J.

[StewartR]

Nice one jptsr1. Some of us try to ignore the stereotype of Americans as people who don't know anything about the world outside the borders of their country. But sometimes it's hard. :-)

I think he's referring to Mont Saint-Michel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Saint_Michel), the historic Benedictine abbey on a small rocky island in Normandy (France), rather than to Mount Saint Michael (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Saint_Michael), the Catholic school in Spokane (USA).

[jptsr1]

Nice one jptsr1. Some of us try to ignore the stereotype of Americans as people who don't know anything about the world outside the borders of their country. But sometimes it's hard. :-)


i guess i'm not as well travelled as you are (or wasn't quick enough to look it up on the net). i was referring to the boys school in Mt. Vernon NY, Mount Saint Michael Academy. I thought the OP might be visiting the area (which i am very familiar with as i grew up there). in my defence i hardly think that my asking if the OP was referring to the "Mount Saint Michael" that was closest to me is a demonstration of any stereotype people might have about Americans. further, my asking was only in an effort to verify what location the OP was looking for so that i might help if it was the one i knew of. if that in someway paints me as ignorant to places outside of my own country then so be it. As to others views of Americans I am proud to be one no matter what they think.

My apologies to the OP
J.

[Jubilee32]

Apology absolutely unnecessary, jptsr1, but appreciated. Had I known the difference, I would have been more specific. With my typing ability and sticky keys I could easily have made a spelling error. You asked a legitimate question. :)

NOW FOR THE NEAT PART, I will be in New York this summer and may just look the school up. I am always looking for new places to see and learn about. I might even make it to Spokane this fall on a business trip.

StewartR, your patience is begged and appreciated. Since you obviously know the difference, this American should at least get "part credit" for getting the spelling correct. Different sources disagree about the need/accuracy of the first hyphen. My family and I will, indeed, be visiting Mont-Saint-Michel as well as a few other parts of France. With a last name of Britton, I amcurious as to the "Breton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breton) claims to the mount" from your reference. Perhapsmy"people" own it!!!!:lol:

I have learned one thing through my travels - four continents, 20++ countries and 50 states: Criticism often says more about the critic than the one ofwhom he/she is critical. I try very hard to live by Ralph Waldo Emerson's admonitions: "A man cannot speak but he judges and reveals himself. With his will, or against his will, he draws his portrait to the eye of others by every word." Oops! He is an American.:lol:

[StewartR]

Hey jptsr1, no offence intended. I never doubted that you were trying to help, but I guess my post didn't come across that way. Sorry. And in fairness, in my 10 or so trips to the US I have found a very high proportion of them to be polite and helpful - more so than in the UK I'd say. So that's another stereotype you're living up to. ;)

Sadly for the OP, I haven't been to the French Mont Saint-Michel. I have been to the (very suspiciously!) similar place in England, which is St. Michael's Mount (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Michael%27s_Mount) in Cornwall. There wouldn't be much point diverting your trip to England, however, because - like many historic buildings which are in the care of The National Trust (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_trust) - it's closed between (roughly) Christmas and Easter every year for conservation work. It might be worth checking whether there's a similar regime at Mont Saint-Michel. Of course you can still photograph the exterior.

St. Michael's Mount, like Mont Saint-Michel, is a tidal island. This means that at high tide it's cut off from the mainland, and you have to get on and off the island by boat; it's less flexible and there can be considerable queuing at times. On the other hand the capacity of the causeway at low tide is considerably higher so the place can get more crowded. Worst of all worlds is when the times of the tides are such that people can walk out there but have to get a boat back - the boats can be very very busy! I don't know whether that's an issue for Mont Saint-Michel, but if I were you I would check that out, and find some tide tables if necessary.

Apart from that, the only photographic advice I can offer is the usual - look at maps to get a feel for the good viewpoints, think about where the sun will be, etc. Hope that helps.

[Jubilee32]

Thanks for the added info. I will look forward to that sighgt as well on my next visit. I never would have picked March as my time to visit Normandy - I suspect the weather can be rather bad at times. . . we'll see.

Thanks for the help - tell England, my favorite country to visit, hello for me!

[Krapo]

You will love the place. It's really beautiful.
You want to bring your 17-40 for wide angle shots of the bay at low tide. One of the particularities of the Mont Saint Michel is that the whole bay (huge) gets dry at low tide and that the water is known to flows back into the bay at "the speed of a running horse". While this expression might be exagerated, it is indeed quite fast and people frequently get caught in the middle...
It is a very old place, so there are plenty of nice details to shoot.

From a practical perspective, take a raincoat (it's Normandy...) and have someone who speaks a few words of French in the group (French countryside people are not renown for their mastery of English) :)

Enjoy and post your pictures!

[Jubilee32]

Exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you. I have been worrying what lenses to take to Paris and Normandy what with space limitations and air security. I think I will only take the 17-40 and 28-70 and pack a better raincoat. The 70-200 is pretty large and heavy. I WANT TO TAKE IT ALL!