About 10km into today's route I got into St. Guilhem de Desert and the place is so interesting that I decided to stay for the night. My tender city feet made the decision easy.
This may be the most interesting place I've ever been. It's designated as one of the "Plus Beau Villages de France" (I've only been to one other - Conques), A "Grand Site de France", and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The town is in the Gellone Valley which was formed by the Verus river.
It dates back to the year 804. Guilhem was given a fragment of the "True Cross" by his cousin Charlemagne and created a monastery here.
The coolest thing Guilhem did though was to save the village from a terrible giant who had a magpie as a sidekick. Guilhelm dressed up as a maid and fought the giant with his trusty sword, named "Joyful". This has to be true because you can't make this stuff up.
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