Channel Adventure Day 5

Day 05 - Thursday, April 12, 2018 – Paris; Day Trip to Chartres; Visit the Cathedral and the Hamlet

As frequent travelers and folks who love lists, we have studied Howard Hillman’s 100 Wonders of the World. Chartres Cathedral, Mont St. Michel, and Chateau De Chambord are three sites in France that we have specifically plotted on our map for this adventure.

http://www.hillmanwonders.com/

After a very hearty breakfast buffet at our hotel, we walked to the Montparnasse Station with our packs on our backs and our tickets in hand for the small town of Chartres. TER or regional trains leave for this popular day trip frequently and the journey takes a little more than 75 minutes.

Although we specifically asked for the direct train to Chartres, we booked the local carrier that made nine stops along the way. The time was about 15 minutes longer, but we were able to get a look at these small hamlets and enjoy more of the local flavor of the countryside.

Approaching Chartres, the two towers of the cathedral stood out from miles away. This imposing structure has brought pilgrims here since 1020 when the first church was established. Arriving at Chartres, we exited the station onto Place Pierre Semard.

The directions to the cathedral were clear on most websites, but in our case, all we had to do was to look up and follow our noses to the church. Our observation is that in France people are so helpful and willing to steer us in the right direction.

The first thing that we noticed when we gazed at the Chartres Cathedral was that the two spires of the church do not match. One spire dates from the 12th century, the other was from the 16th century. Considering the length of time it took to build a cathedral in the Middle Ages, it was a wonder that anything was symmetrical.

There was no charge to visit the church, but many local guides would like to help you by providing a guided tour for a nominal fee. As we have read and studied this destination we chose to enter and look around on our own.

The most fascinating features of the church were the stain glass windows that date from 1205 to 1240. An interesting fact was that in 1939 just before the Germans invaded France, all of the glass windows in the cathedral were removed to preserve them from destruction in the war. Amazing that the people of Chartres had such forethought!

After visiting the cathedral and the grounds we spent a few hours strolling through the little village. The sun was peeking through the clouds and it was actually warm enough to take our jackets off. The temperature was 59 degrees with a slight breeze. It was another beautiful day in France.

The trees were beginning to bloom and the spring flowers, hyacinths, tulips, and daffodils were so fragrant. We also saw many colors of primroses and pansies in the flowerbeds and window boxes.

We talked to several of the school students who were on a field trip from Paris. What an incredible opportunity to study medieval architecture only an hour away from school!

Because we were on our own, we had plenty of time to walk around and duck into small streets and alleys to take photos and get an excellent perspective of the old town. The many old timber-framed homes rival any seen in other places in Europe.

Our tickets were open seating so we went to the SNCF station office to validate our train passes. On the way back to Paris the clouds were gathering and we began to see raindrops on the windows. We put our jackets back on and headed out of Montparnasse Station to the hotel.

At 5:30 we went out to look around the neighborhood for a typical French meal – we stopped at Café de la Place where the after work crowds were already gathering for a coffee before heading home.

For the French it was way too early for the evening meal, but we had not had lunch so we ordered a ham and cheese omelet and green salad. The order came with delicious French (of course) bread. For dessert we had an apricot crepe - bon appetite!

Our Plan A for tomorrow was to meet our friend and former OAT Tour Director, Michel for a day in Paris together. As tomorrow is another Strike Day and he will not be able to take the train into Paris, we talked on the phone. Perhaps another day… we hope we will be able to get together soon.

We spent some time thinking about Plan B but with Paris, there are so many things to see and do, it will not be a problem keeping busy. After going through the photos and finishing the journal, it was already time to turn off the lights.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.

Marcel Proust

Accommodations: Hotel Mercure Montparnasse - - - Meal: B