"He who would travel happily must travel light." - Antoine de Saint Exupery
***** May 22 *****
We were sad to leave Paris, but also excited to get out into the countryside. We took the train from Gare Montparnasse and a hour and a half later arrived in Chartres. Chartres is famous for its beautiful Gothic cathedral and intricate stained glass.
We checked into the TimHotel and by 5pm we are in the lobby meeting our tour mates and guide. There are 25 people on our tour and most of us have previously done a Rick Steves tour. Our guide, Julie, is an American who moved to France with her (French) husband. She has been guiding tours for nine years. She is thoughtful and exuberant and we are lucky to have her as our tour guide for the next two weeks. We all introduce ourselves over snacks and then head out for our first group dinner. After dinner everyone but Andy and myself and fellow Texans, Bruce and Teresa, return to the hotel, but we brave the cold and the rain to see the light show that is projected onto the cathedral. The show is magical and worth the wait. Back at the hotel we discover a snail has hitched a ride on Andy’s shoe! We leave him on our terrace and bid him goodnight.
We checked into the TimHotel and by 5pm we are in the lobby meeting our tour mates and guide. There are 25 people on our tour and most of us have previously done a Rick Steves tour. Our guide, Julie, is an American who moved to France with her (French) husband. She has been guiding tours for nine years. She is thoughtful and exuberant and we are lucky to have her as our tour guide for the next two weeks. We all introduce ourselves over snacks and then head out for our first group dinner. After dinner everyone but Andy and myself and fellow Texans, Bruce and Teresa, return to the hotel, but we brave the cold and the rain to see the light show that is projected onto the cathedral. The show is magical and worth the wait. Back at the hotel we discover a snail has hitched a ride on Andy’s shoe! We leave him on our terrace and bid him goodnight.
***** May 23 *****
In the morning Julie leads us around the old town and then to a presentation at The International Stained Glass Center. The examples of historic stained glass are very impressive and beautiful. They also have a lovely exhibit of modern stained glass showing new techniques and subject material (Alf for instance!). For lunch we were on our own and were happy to discover La Picoterie. The warm crepes hit the spot on a chilly day. We decided to linger for dessert since it was so cozy and inviting and enjoyed a dessert calvados crepe which was presented aflame!
In the afternoon we had a tour of the cathedral by the man who literally wrote the book on this church, Malcolm Miller. He clearly loves this cathedral and has devoted his life to its study. The stained glass windows are beautiful and ever more impressive that we know how difficult and time consuming the process is. There are renovations at this time, but the results so far are stunning.
In the afternoon we had a tour of the cathedral by the man who literally wrote the book on this church, Malcolm Miller. He clearly loves this cathedral and has devoted his life to its study. The stained glass windows are beautiful and ever more impressive that we know how difficult and time consuming the process is. There are renovations at this time, but the results so far are stunning.
TimHotel6 & 8 Avenue Jehan de Beauce
28000 Chartres |