Road trip

We took the regional train from Montparnasse, 70 minutes of travel west out into the country side to Chartres.

It is my second trip to this amazing place but I still have not seen the most famous stain glass window, the Blue Virgin. The window itself was undergoing some sort of maintenance the last time I was there. This time that entire segment of the cathedral is closed. The cathedral is undergoing a massive renovation project which will take five more years. Even with parts not available the Cathedral is a special, special treat with its massive collection of over 150 medieval stained glass windows, the largest such collection still intact anywhere.

Here's an early look at the renovation, this is the south side of the church showing part that has been cleaned but mostly bits that are still awaiting the rehabilitation touch.One of the main reasons I wanted to go was to get a chance to get inside the church with a better camera than the one I had with me the last time. The results are rewarding. Here is the floor labyrinth.The camera has gathered more light that the eye can in the same conditions. The picture looks brighter than that scene looks in person.

Here is a look towards the altar where work is ongoing. The ceiling has been cleaned and painted. The windows have been cleaned and otherwise rehabilitated.Here is a look back at the unrestored portion of the building, at the pipe organ above the pulpit.We took the Malcolm Miller English language tour and that guy is almost worth a trip to France just on his own. He has been studying the Chartres cathedral for over 50 years. He promises to be there until judgment day or at least until the renovation project is complete in 5 years.

He did a complete explanation of this window, reading all of the panels and explaining the significance.The story begins with the tidbit that the window was donated to the church by the shoemaker's guild (it's right there in the bottom corner panels) continues through the parable of the Good Samaritan and finishes with the story of Adam and Eve.

Yup, it's all there if you know how to read the window. It was fascinating.

Here is the south rose window, donated by a wealthy family in honor of Saint Anne.It tells the same story as the story told by the newly restored north portal. The portal is from the early 13th century and tells the story of the assumption of Mary.For contrast, here is the not yet restored south portal, telling the story of the last judgment.Here is the famous relic inside the church. Throughout the middle ages and up to the current time this relic has led to pilgrimages by the faithful to venerate this piece of cloth, said to be the tunic worn by Mary when she gave birth to Jesus.These last couple are for Wireless and GRider. Here is that church down by the river that we liked so much last time we were there, with the remains of the part of the church that once did but no longer extends across the river.And on the the way to begin the road trip we passed by this boulangerie right outside the Gare Montparnasse.It's the one we used to stop at the first time Wireless brought us to town.