de Chartres....
We said goodbye to our gite and headed northwest. Before we got to Paris, we stopped in Chartres. As a suggestion from a friend of my dad's we drove through Chartres and stopped for lunch. We ate at a Le Pichet Restaurant, a suggestion from our good buddy Rick Steves.
Chartres, a lovely town, has a beautiful cathedral. It first burned down in 1194, and was then rebuilt by 1260--a very fast turn around. It is one of the best examples of Gothic styles in Europe that includes the architecture, statues and stained glass. Even with a description like that, we weren't sure we were going to go in.
After lunch, we decided to walk around the cathedral to see what it was all about. At first we didn't think we were going to go in, we were just going to get a glimpse, then be on our way to Paris; but after dad went in, he insisted we join him. It was beeeeauuuutiful! The outside was stunning and the inside was even more impressive.
The entrance.
One of the mismatched steeples.
Inside.
They are restoring the inside of the church and this is the already done part. Look how white and clean it looks compared to the picture above.
The candles were so pretty.
I love the stained glass-it was huge.
Also in this cathedral is part of the actual veil that Mary wore when she gave birth to Jesus. It is over 2,000 years old. I'm not sure if I believe it, but take a look for yourself.
While walking back to the car, I had to get a shot with this guy.
We were then headed back to the car in the largest underground parking lot I've ever seen. It took us like 10 minutes to get out and we were driving straight, not like going around and around like a normal parking lot. It was crazy long.
Back in the car, we headed on our way to Paris, but not without the help of Navi-gail our savior of the trip-seriously, we would have been so lost without her. Here's a picture to remember her by.
Next up: Paris!!!!!!
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