My second day I woke up and took an early train to a little town called Pontorson. I got in at around 9:30 and wa
lked to find my hostel. It was a good bit away from the train station, but ended up being a really clean and nice place. I left my bag with them and walked back to the tourism office to get a map and headed back to the train station to catch a bus to Mont St. Michel. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy and looked somewhat like it was going to rain, but thankfully it wasn't yet.
lked to find my hostel. It was a good bit away from the train station, but ended up being a really clean and nice place. I left my bag with them and walked back to the tourism office to get a map and headed back to the train station to catch a bus to Mont St. Michel. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy and looked somewhat like it was going to rain, but thankfully it wasn't yet.The bus dropped me off close to the entrance to the town, which was nice because the
re were lots and lots of people who had parked and were walking up to the abbey. I started walking up the little lane, which I guess is the only major way up to the abbey at the top because it was absolutely packed with people and all the touristy shops. I kept telling myself that I had nothing else to do that day, so I should be as patient as possible, but I am not real good at that when there are people everywhere pushing through people trying to get to the top as fast as possible. At any rate, I took a little side route and walked up past a church and to a cemetery. It was an interestling little place and probably was the only one on the island because there were headstones that looked like they had to be moved because they were old. It was sad in some respects, but also kind of interesting. I made it to the abbey and found a long line, but I actually only ended up waiting about 15 minutes. I had some very demure Germans in front of me and some very exuberant Italians behind
me. Good times. It started misting a little bit, but didn't have to take out the umbrella, so it was ok. The abbey was interesting, although I didn't do the audio tour, and I missed the tour in either French and English by about 15 minutes. Bummer, but probably good because I made it through in about an hour. After that I sat on a little bench and had a pear and a demi-baguette that had asiago cheese on the top. I had read the book that all of the food on the island was priced for tourists, so I brought my own lunch. I walked around for a little bit long and then checked my watch. It was 12:35. I checked the bus schedule to take me back to the little town. The next bus was at 2:30. Oops. I used my time by walking around the ramparts of the city for a bit and then passed the rest of the time people watching. Whoa. Mont St. Michel is the most-visited attraction in France, so as you can imagine there were lots of peopl
e and lots of interesting people. I kept thinking that I would have loved to be there with about a quarter of the people. I'm sure it is a really cool place to be at night when the sea comes in and the streets are more abandoned.
re were lots and lots of people who had parked and were walking up to the abbey. I started walking up the little lane, which I guess is the only major way up to the abbey at the top because it was absolutely packed with people and all the touristy shops. I kept telling myself that I had nothing else to do that day, so I should be as patient as possible, but I am not real good at that when there are people everywhere pushing through people trying to get to the top as fast as possible. At any rate, I took a little side route and walked up past a church and to a cemetery. It was an interestling little place and probably was the only one on the island because there were headstones that looked like they had to be moved because they were old. It was sad in some respects, but also kind of interesting. I made it to the abbey and found a long line, but I actually only ended up waiting about 15 minutes. I had some very demure Germans in front of me and some very exuberant Italians behind
me. Good times. It started misting a little bit, but didn't have to take out the umbrella, so it was ok. The abbey was interesting, although I didn't do the audio tour, and I missed the tour in either French and English by about 15 minutes. Bummer, but probably good because I made it through in about an hour. After that I sat on a little bench and had a pear and a demi-baguette that had asiago cheese on the top. I had read the book that all of the food on the island was priced for tourists, so I brought my own lunch. I walked around for a little bit long and then checked my watch. It was 12:35. I checked the bus schedule to take me back to the little town. The next bus was at 2:30. Oops. I used my time by walking around the ramparts of the city for a bit and then passed the rest of the time people watching. Whoa. Mont St. Michel is the most-visited attraction in France, so as you can imagine there were lots of peopl
e and lots of interesting people. I kept thinking that I would have loved to be there with about a quarter of the people. I'm sure it is a really cool place to be at night when the sea comes in and the streets are more abandoned. The bus finally came and we had a little hold-up because some sheep were not at all concerned with the flow of traffic and made us wait for a bit to take the only road off of the island. I went back into town and checked into my hostel where I ended up having a room of my own! I took a little nap because I was pretty tired. I think the not sleeping well the first night was the dagger. That night I walked to a little creperie and had a galette with onions, mushrooms and an egg and a crepe with chocolate and mint-chocolate chip ice cream. My grand total for the meal: 7 euro. Best deal for the money on the whole trip. Well done Pontorson!
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