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2017 10 08 - day 22 - Pontorson - Mont Saint Michel.
We walked into the village via the cemetery where we took some photographs. Some really old headstones. After that we caught the bus to Mont Saint Michel.
OMG! (Mont Saint Michel is an island commune in Normandy. It is located about one kilometre off the coast and is 100 hectares in size.
Since the 8th century, it has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. The structural composition of the commune exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it: on top, God, the abbey and monastery; below, the great halls; then stores and housing; and at the bottom, outside the walls, houses for fishermen and farmers.
The Mont has also been used as a prison. One of France's most recognizable landmarks it is visited by more than 3 million people each year).
What a magnificent and imposing edifice. Our bus dropped us a couple of hundred metres from the entrance on the causeway which goes under water at times.
After entering the complex, you walk up a reasonably steep hill which is lined with souvenir shops, exclusive clothes shops, restaurants, cafes and a couple of hotels.
Then the climb starts, well at least in stages! 450 steps to get to the top! The Abbey is stunning. The whole complex is stunning. Then the walk down starts which takes you through multiple rooms, halls and sections of the Abbey. You climb some more steps, and you climb some more steps and you go down some steps! In total over 1,000 steps.
Tour over, back to our bus stop for the ride and short walk to the campsite.
While travelling in the bus we saw something that I would never have expected to see anywhere! There was a couple walking their dog. (There was heavy traffic so we were stationery for a while). The dog did its business, one of the owner's picked up the business (with pink toilet paper) then wiped the dog's bottom with pink toilet paper! What the? The amazing and funny thing was that the dog just stood there and let her do it!
We were both b*****ed and some of the steep climbs were a bit much for Wayne so the following day would be a rest day.
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