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When I arrived at this place, I gradually realized why the peasants in the Vendée region of Brittany had no reaction to the execution of Louis XVI of the Bourbon dynasty, who had nothing to do with them, during their time in France; and the forced conscription of them led to the rebellion of the Vendée peasants, who fought desperately. ∈↗Top Novel,
In the story of "Ninety-Three", the French nobles who wanted to restore the monarchy were actually "free riders". They took advantage of the Vendée peasants' desperate resistance (the more they were defeated, the more courageous they became) and led these desperate Vendée peasants to fight against the Republican army.
In the book, when the Vendée rebel leader, the Marquis de Landernac, crossed the English Channel and landed in France with the sponsorship of the British royal family, he climbed to a commanding height to observe the enemy's situation at night. That commanding height was the famous Mont Saint-Michel.
Oh, yes, there is one more thing that is special about Brittany. All of France can grow grapes and make wine, but Brittany is an exception. So the specialty of Brittany is cider (cidre).
When you come to Pontorson, Mont Saint Michel is so well-known that there is a comment in travel books that "If you haven't been to Mont Saint Michel, you haven't been to France." I won't introduce how good this place is here, but first talk about how to get there and how to stay.
For tourists who drive themselves, staying overnight near Mont Saint Michel (rather than taking a day trip) will give you the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful sunrise and sunset.
Most travel books recommend staying in the hotel village at the foot of Mont Saint-Michel, which is very expensive. An Qingju and An Chuyu expanded their geographical scope and chose to stay in a small town called Pontorson, 8 kilometers south of Mont Saint-Michel.
In fact, there is a straight road in this town that takes you directly to Mont Saint-Michel, which is cheap and good. It is really convenient.
After strolling around the Normandy beach, An Qingju and An Chuyu drove to Pontorson. This time, An Qingju drove. At first, they were a little nervous because the road was so narrow and they couldn't slow down. An Qingju and An Chuyu didn't choose the highway, just to see the scenery along the road, but the price was that their driving skills were very tested.
Fortunately, An Qingju made his debut. The driving mission was successfully completed... The beautiful scenery along the way was worth the intense driving. There were lush greenery everywhere, and the wind blowing wheat waves everywhere. The road in the countryside was really simple, and in some places, the towering trees were intertwined and completely blocked the road.
But there is a magical pruning car in France. An Qingju and An Chuyu have seen it with their own eyes driving past them. It can trim the road into a beautiful tree-shaded "tunnel", which is particularly amazing.
Despite the sightseeing along the way, An Qingju and An Chuyu arrived at Pontorson at around 3 o'clock, earlier than the scheduled check-in time. They knocked on the door with a try-it attitude. An Qingju and An Chuyu were greeted by a gentle Japanese woman.
She fully understood that An Qingju and An Chuyu had arrived early, and suggested that they walk around first, and then they could check in after she had cleaned up the room in half an hour, which made An Qingju and An Chuyu very grateful. So An Qingju and An Chuyu parked the car and took a general look at the town of Pontorson.
An Qingju and An Chuyu live in the center of the town, diagonally opposite the tourist information center. The town actually has only four main roads, two horizontal and two vertical, which are easy to see. There are large supermarkets such as Carrefour around the town. There are homes, restaurants and shops in the center of the town. Like other towns, it is also very quiet and tidy.
Half an hour later, An Qingjue and An Chuyu came back on time. The hostess was already warmly welcoming An Qingjue and An Chuyu. What a clean B&B. The hostess was Japanese, so An Qingjue and An Chuyu changed into the slippers she prepared for them as soon as they entered the door.
When changing shoes, I found that the hostess's French bulldog was standing in the yard very obediently, curiously watching An Qingju and An Chuyu coming in and out. I suddenly missed the little bulldog named "Pig" at An Qingju's colleague Alley's house:
It was a torturous dinner. At noon, they just wandered around the Normandy beach and ate a little. After settling down, An Qingju and An Chuyu were already hungry. It was already half past five, so they went out to eat!
It didn't matter if I went out to ask around, I found another problem with French restaurants: they don't open until the appointed time. And the opening time for dinner is very late, the earliest is 6:30 and the latest is 7:00.
You want to eat earlier? They won't serve you. Or they won't open at all. Some small restaurants also sell coffee and snacks, and they are just as stubborn. You can only order drinks or snacks before dinner opens. This really worries An Qingju and An Chuyu. They are hungry, and they are turned away everywhere.
An Qingju and An Chuyu had to make the best of a bad situation, and visited restaurants one by one, and finally chose an Italian restaurant (tired, so they wanted to eat something comfortable), and wandered around the small restaurant for a long time, until they walked in at 7 o'clock. Strangely enough, when the time came, diners came in one after another in a very short time, and the small restaurant was full in less than half an hour.
An Qingju guessed that there were probably many people waiting for food like An Qingju and An Chuyu who were hungry. They ordered tagliatelle and spaghetti, which suited An Qingju and An Chuyu's appetites.
After a hearty breakfast at 8:00 in the morning, An Qingju and An Chuyu set out for Mont-St-Michel. Let's first talk about the issue of going up and down the mountain and in and out. First of all, it's free to go up Mont-St-Michel.
You have to pay for the 9 Euros per person to visit the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey. Of course, if you don't pay the 9 Euros, it's like you haven't come, because you'll enter the monastery only 100 meters from the entrance. In other words, the entire mountain 910 meters belongs to the monastery; going up the mountain is actually going to the monastery, which was called "pilgrimage" in ancient times.
In addition, there are 4 private museums that you can visit for a fee. They are all filled with ancient armor and other things. An Qingjue and An Chuyu did not go there.
Let's talk about how to park for self-driving tourists (there are other bus routes for public transportation, please find them yourself) and how to get to the foot of Mont Saint Michel. Mont Saint Michel is an offshore island, and the land is only exposed for less than half a day during the daily high and low tides.
At the end of the 19th century, a dam was built to connect the island and the mainland, which made it easier for people to visit. The hostess of the B&B where An Qingju and An Chuyu stayed said that in the past, tourists who drove by themselves would park their cars along the dam, which was said to be quite messy. Later, the government invested in the renovation and it became what it is now:
Self-driving tourists have to park their cars in a special giant parking lot closest to the dam, with large and small cars parked separately. The parking fee is 12.3 euros a day. This parking lot is about 2 kilometers away from Mont Saint-Michel.
From the parking lot to Mont Saint-Michel, you can take a free shuttle bus to the foot of the mountain, which starts at 7:30 in the morning and runs until 12:30 at night, every 10 minutes.
Look at the process of An Qingju and An Chuyu parking and entering the mountain. When you drive close to Mont Saint-Michel in the morning, you will see the "p" sign, just follow it. The parking lot is very large, and it is divided into many areas such as ah.
When entering the parking lot, you need to press a button and lift the horizontal bar to get a parking card. There are clear fee reminders at the entrance of the parking lot: 12.3 euros for 24 hours; free from 7 pm to 2 am; 4.2 euros between 7 pm and 11:30 am; 6.2 euros for less than 2 hours at other times; free for less than half an hour all day parking.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
When you drive the car away, you don't have to pay the fee, but you have to put the card into the parking machine and pay the fee according to the prompts; the machine will punch the card and send the parking card out. In this way, when the car reaches the exit, you can swipe the card and the parking barrier will be raised. Look, the parking lot is still some distance away from Mont Saint-Michel.
After parking the car, follow the signs to the shuttle bus stop. This bus is very large and wide, and should be powered by electricity. The dam leading to the foot of the mountain is actually very narrow. The shuttle bus cannot turn around, so this shuttle bus can be driven from both ends. When arriving at the terminal, the driver can go to the other side of the cab and drive in reverse:
There is a yellow Chinese guidebook at the Mont Saint-Michel ticket office, which introduces the history of Mont Saint-Michel and provides a detailed tour guide. I won't say much here, just search Baidu if you want to know more.
Mont Saint-Michel has high and low tides. Like the Qiantang River, there is also a tradition of watching the high tides every year, which takes place once in March and September. During these two days, the tides from the Atlantic Ocean will rush in at lightning speed, instantly submerging the quicksand around it. Suddenly, it will be a vast ocean, and even the long embankment will disappear.
This was the case with An Qingju and An Chuyu. When they set out in the morning, the sky was overcast, and when they reached the foot of the mountain, it started to drizzle. When they reached the top of the mountain, it was already pouring rain.
The Mont Saint-Michel seen in low light is not spectacular at all, it looks like an old prison on a deserted island: After getting off the shuttle bus, tourists walk about 300 meters to the mountain gate. The mountain gate is two narrow doors, it is not difficult to guess that it must have been used to defend against enemies in ancient times:
There is a story about Aunt Lamerepoulard. When she was alive (late 19th century and early 20th century), she ran a small hotel on the mountain that provided food and lodging, mainly to provide a resting place for saints who came up the mountain.
The old lady was a believer herself, and it was said that she was very kind. She did not ask the saint if he could not pay for the meal, and her special omelette was definitely a golden delicacy in such a remote place. Later, many famous people came here to rest, eat and stay, and this place became famous.
The aunt's children carried forward this industry, and now almost half of the industry on the entire Mont Saint-Michel belongs to the aunt who used to take care of the saint. There are aunt's restaurants (the signature shop is the one at the entrance, and there are also aunt's restaurants inside), aunt's snacks, aunt's cookies, and aunt's hotels (there are several of them, including some outside the island).
<）The price is about 30 euros, and a box of Auntie's biscuits seems to be 6 euros. Travel "mustgo+mustdo" believers may wish to try it. (The novel "He Came from the End of the World" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, and there will also be a 100% lucky draw gift for everyone! Now open WeChat, click the "+" sign in the upper right corner to "add friends", search for the public account "qdread" and follow it, hurry up!) (To be continued..)