Getting out of town

French country architecture in Chartres

Chartres town square with Bellagio-style fountain show and carousel. Carousels are common in town squares.

These two kids preferred the WWII tank to the pretty ponies.

The Bistro/Tea Room where we had lunch.

Today we took a train trip to Chartres to see the cathedral. We got our tickets at Gare Montparnasse and rode the upper deck seats through the countryside. Nobody collected our tickets in either direction. I guess France is mostly on the honor system. We never saw a conductor in either direction. We took a tour of the cathedral given by an Englishman named Malcolm Miller (I kept thinking of him as Marvin Miller, former president of the baseball union) who has spent his life in Chartres studying all aspects of the cathedral. It was fascinating to hear about all the religious symbolism incorporated into the stained glass windows, some of which are originals dating from the late 12th century. Inside the cathedral it was so cold we almost passed out, although it was sunny and pleasant outside. No central heating for them. There was a labyrinth on the floor of the nave, and one outside in the garden. Restoration work in was progress, cleaning etc. so you had to look beyond the extensive scaffolding.

Later, back in town, we went to a Tibetan restaurant for dinner. Ellen had Marmot(?) for dinner which we at first thought was a dish made with cooked marmots. But it turned out to be a chicken dish. At least it tasted like chicken. -A&E