57043--a tree by the river

[zyzyly]

Today was the "let's both be cranky and not want to do anything, but do something anyway and not talk to each other for an hour on the train, but after coffee warm up and have a good day" day.

We took the train to the town of Chartres, about an hour outside of Paris. We had to take two metro trains to get to the main train station, but it only took about 12 minutes. I so love good public transit.

After two days of rain, we got a nice sunny day. We walked up the hill towards the cathedral and stopped in for coffee and french onion soup at a little cafe. This place had a menu just for the types of coffee they served. I had the Blue Mountain. Mmmmm. So after our coffee and soup we felt better and wandered around the cathedral.



It's a beautiful cathedral, just as impressive as Paris' Notre Dame, but with a fraction of the crowds. Most of it burned down in the 1100s, but was rebuilt. Can you guess which tower survived the fire and which was built later?



In the plaza out front of the cathedral are a bunch of planter boxes, where they grow herbs and other edibles.I'm not sure who uses them, but I thought it was a great idea.

The cathedral is know for its labyrinth and for its stained glass windows. The labyrinth was covered with chairs. The guy there told me they uncover the labyrinth every friday, starting in April, but told me there is an equally good labyrinth in San Francisco at Grace Cathedral.



The stained glass was free of chairs, so we spent some time looking at them. They tell bible stories--kind of a picture book for the illiterate peasants. We wandered around and I told the stories they depicted to Malida, who has never heard any of them. There are also a series of statues (41) that tell the life of Mary, and I explained the ones I knew to Malida. When we were in the gift shop later, she bought a little Mary medal. Later, when we were having coffee again, I dropped the medal in my espresso.

The stained glass windows were removed during WWII and hidden, to protect them. So now they still have over 130 13th century windows.



After opting out of climbing yet another tower, we walked around the grounds for a while.It was a beautiful afternoon. We stopped in for another coffee at the same place, which is where I dunked Mary in Ethiopian coffee. After that we had a choice to head down to the train station for the 3:30 train, or walk some more. We decided to walk in the old village, along the narrow streets.



It is really a lovely little town. There are a couple of really old parish churches in the neighborhood, and lots of little shops. A river runs through it.



On our way back to the train station we met a very friendly one-eyed cat who played with us a little. Somewhere in the back of my mild I feel like I know this cat's name.

We took the 5:00 train back to Paris, got here at 6, and had a nice dinner at one of the places down the street. Tomorrow is our last day here.

Comments

[w. lotus (from livejournal.com)]

Your coffee was blessed. :-)

For some reason I envy Malida having never heard any of the religious stories.

[pinkroo.livejournal.com]

I went to Chartres with my mom, back when I was 29; I had my birthday in France. I want to go back, b/c I remember loving it, but that's all I remember.

I love your stories, so much.

[duccio.livejournal.com]

Grace Cathedral has 2 mazes: one inside and one out. Often the inside one is covered partly with carpets and chairs, the carpet protecting the maze from the chair legs.

Actually, these churches both have labyrinths rather than mazes. The difference between the two similar forms is that in a maze you have choices, and thus dead ends; you must use your memory and your mind to find your way, while in a labyrinth, there is only one path from the entrance to the goal, however long and winding.

The one eyed cat... named Ace, or maybe Jacques?

[thoughtsbykat.livejournal.com]

A nice daytrip. The windows are stunning. I am glad they were kept in safe keeping during the war. Did you retrieve the medal for Malida?

[shutterbug.livejournal.com]

The story about hiding the windows makes me smile. I am also like Malida in that I do not know the Bible stories either. I guess having parents who grew up in Thailand will do that to you.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

In 10th grade geometry, I made a model of the stained glass at Chartres out of cellophane. In the late 80s, my cousin and I took the train from Paris to Chartres. It was great to see the cathedral in person. I am glad y'all have a good time there.

[3-black-cats.livejournal.com]

Stunning photos... next time I go on vacation, could you and Malida please come along and be my personal photographers and travel companions? :)

Also, it is good to be reminded that the whole "be cranky and not want to do anything, but do something anyway" thing is not unheard of.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

When Malida and I were looking at the cat picture later, we both agreed that we knew that cat from somewhere or somehow.

Interesting, the difference between a maze and a labyrinth. Your description of a labyrinth, as being a single path, to a single goal, has a very theological undertone. Which is, I suppose, the point of the labyrinth.

The man I was talking to at the cathedral, grew up in a town in France that had a US military base. He related that he often played with the American children, and this sparked his interest in the US, and this is how he knew of the labyrinth at Grace. He was standing out front of the church, holding a scallop shell, as if he were St. James.

[duccio.livejournal.com]

An "odd twist" to the definitions of mazes and labyrinths, is that in Greek mythology, Theseus entered The Labyrinth to slay the Minotaur. He used a ball of string which he unraveled as he went deeper into the labyrinth so he would be able to find his way out again... Why would he need an aid to returning to the entrance of the labyrinth if there is only a single path? It sounds like the Labyrinth on Crete was actually a maze, unless there is some not-understood aspect of the story that has not come down to us. Or, maybe these definitions are more modern than the Greek stories. The terms maze and labyrinth are normally used interchangeably, and so a distinction was made between the two types of pathways. Perhaps these definitions are opposite of how they should be.

Here is Grace Cathedral's indoor labyrinth:
Information about it.

The man with the shell, maybe he was self identifying as a pilgrim like yourself and Malida. Scallop shells are the traditional badge of pilgrims, worn like milagros.

"Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of engelond to caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke."

Canterbury Tales c.1390

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

All these pictures are lovely. Thank you for sharing them.

[rockbirthedme.livejournal.com]

I will admit to some envy. I studied Chartres in art history, and really wanted to see it while we were in Paris, but we didn't have time. I like cathedrals, and that's my favorite one, except for wanting to see the interior of the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Barcelona.

Oh, well. Maybe I'll get to go back some day.