One of the places my dad definitely wanted to visit on this trip to France was Chartres Cathedral (officially Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres). It is said to have some of the most magnificent stained glass windows in the world and is a ridiculously old place. It was built between 1193 and 1250 and a
ccording to our friends at wikipedia, is in an “exceptional state of preservation”.
We arrived in Chartres on a Saturday afternoon at the high point of one of the day’s rallys revolving around the retirement age. Of course the main area of the town is around the church, so after attempting to find our way to parking, we decided to come back later in the day. But, it was raining later in the day, so we decided to stay in the town where our hotel was, about 25 km outside of Chartres. There were two restaurants to choose from in Illiers-Combray; we picked the one not at our hotel and had pizza and calzones. We hoped that the skies would clear and we’d have bright sunlight in the morning for mass at the church. We were disappointed.
The next day it was at least not raining, so we were able to walk around the cathedral and see its “exceptional state of preservation”….or n
ot. It was really one of the most deteriorating cathedrals I have seen in Europe. I guess it has been standing since the 13th century and maybe the deterioration is a testament to the fact that they haven’t had it redone or anything, but it was not in top form. Sadly though, while we were there, there was scaffolding covering the main entrance into the church and the famous rose window was covered up. Bollocks you scaffolding! We attended a Latin mass in the church, which I’m pretty sure was in French with just Latin songs, and patiently waited for the sun to come out. It didn’t. the stained glass windows were impressive and huge and I can see how the place would be pretty spectacular on a bright sun-shiny day.
ccording to our friends at wikipedia, is in an “exceptional state of preservation”.We arrived in Chartres on a Saturday afternoon at the high point of one of the day’s rallys revolving around the retirement age. Of course the main area of the town is around the church, so after attempting to find our way to parking, we decided to come back later in the day. But, it was raining later in the day, so we decided to stay in the town where our hotel was, about 25 km outside of Chartres. There were two restaurants to choose from in Illiers-Combray; we picked the one not at our hotel and had pizza and calzones. We hoped that the skies would clear and we’d have bright sunlight in the morning for mass at the church. We were disappointed.
The next day it was at least not raining, so we were able to walk around the cathedral and see its “exceptional state of preservation”….or n
ot. It was really one of the most deteriorating cathedrals I have seen in Europe. I guess it has been standing since the 13th century and maybe the deterioration is a testament to the fact that they haven’t had it redone or anything, but it was not in top form. Sadly though, while we were there, there was scaffolding covering the main entrance into the church and the famous rose window was covered up. Bollocks you scaffolding! We attended a Latin mass in the church, which I’m pretty sure was in French with just Latin songs, and patiently waited for the sun to come out. It didn’t. the stained glass windows were impressive and huge and I can see how the place would be pretty spectacular on a bright sun-shiny day. 
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