Monday after Easter is a holiday in France. Not much traffic. All the better for driving!
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| Clock tower in Amboise |
It was a rainy morning, but we walked around Amboise a bit to see in daylight a few things we hadn't gotten to in the evening. The clock tower, St. Denis Church, and the walkway along the Loire River were worth the stroll. As we walked the rain stopped, and a few patches of blue appeared in the sky.
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| View of the castle/chateau from St. Denis church, Amboise. |
After checking out of the hotel we drove back north, toward Paris, but took a bit of a detour to the town of Chartres (Shart) to visit its famous cathedral. Unlike Medieval pilgrims who came to venerate the Sancta Camisa -- the tunic dubiously claimed to have been worn by the Virgin Mary as she was giving birth to Jesus -- we just came for the art and architecture.
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| Home of Leonardo di Vinci, Amboise |
There has been a cathedral in this town since Rome embraced Christianity in the 4th century. The present one, built on the ruins of those that were earlier, was begun in 1194 after a major fire in the previous church. It was formally dedicated in 1260. It considered one of the finest examples of Gothic style in France, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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| "Cave" homes dug into the cliff at Amboise (reminding us of Nottingham) |
We parked down by the river, where the roads are wider and the parking spaces more abundant, then hiked up hill. The cathedral so dominates this small city of about 40,000 inhabitants, that it can be seen for miles around. No fear of getting lost on the way up hill! And some of the old, old buildings in town made the walk worthwhile.
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| It's not hard to find the cathedral at Chartres! |
The cathedral lives up to its reputation. Unfortunately, renovation work covered much of the rear of the nave, including portions of the famous meditation labyrinth on the floor. The stained glass is amazing -- especially some that was preserved from the previous cathedral. We saw the clouds part and the sun suddenly stream through glass more than 1,000 years old, and it was spectacular.
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| Cathedral interior |
After a lite lunch in a neat little cafe in the lower level of an old, half-timbered building, we decided to return for another round. This time we spent some time walking the exterior, and also spent time looking more closely at the sculptures on the exterior of the choir.
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| West rose window at Chartres cathedral |
The town is so pretty that we elected for the long walk back down to the car, noting a number of old buildings, and visiting a couple other churches. The church of St. Aignan makes the tour books because so much of the Gothic color is intact on the stones.
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| The photo does not do this justice: Stunning sun shining through 1000 year old stained glass, reused from the previous cathedral at Chartres |
Centuries ago, all of the churches looked like this inside, but later generations decided it was too gaudy and scraped off the paint. By contrast, the church of Saint Pierre, just a few blocks down, was stripped of its pain and many of its windows during the French Revolution. Despite its size and 13th century construction, its just not an inspiring place drawing tourists.
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| Carvings around the exterior of the choir were are great, but I loved the Ascension! |
We drove the last 55 miles or so back to Paris. Thank God for GPS! It was slow going in the traffic. This was still the holiday, so I'd hate to see it at rush hour. Once inside the parking garage at Gare du Nord we were without navigation aids, and promptly got lost! It was sort of a comedy of errors, but we finally got the car returned OK.
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| West facade of Chartres cathedral. After a fire, one spire was rebuilt in grander fashion. |
Before leaving the giant rail station we purchased passes for both museum admissions and for use of the mass transit system, so we would be all set for touring Paris.
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| St. Aignan church in Chartres with Medieval painting preserved |
It wasn't our best day for navigating. We took the Metro to the Bastille station, only to be baffled yet again by the huge roundabout with at least 7 or 8 roads radiating out from the center. After much asking of directions, we finally found the correct spoke of the wheel, and from there it was only a short walk to our new hotel, where we will be spending six nights.
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| St. Aignan church in Chartres with Medieval painting preserved |
Following a guidebook recommendation, we walked a few blocks into the Jewish Quarter and ate at a fascinating falafel place, where we must have gotten almost the last table. Then it was back to the hotel to rest up.
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