Chartres

Saturday we had a group visit to Chartres, this town about an hour train ride away from Paris. The cathedral there is famous for its stained glass windows and having the veil of Mary (which probs isn't real, but actually does date from about 2000 years ago so its still legit [how can a piece of fabric last that long?]). We had a tour of the cathedral given by this English guy who has been giving tours there for 51 YEARS. Geez. However, he was really great, which makes sense since he has dedicated his life to studying this cathedral. He explained to us some of the sequences in the windows and told us that you could tell who had purchased the window for the church by the little pictures on the bottom (like little guys making bread meant that the breadsmiths guild had paid for the window). It was also nice to walk around a smaller town, rather than be in the city like we have been. I finally got a pastry- a maple eclair :) Its hard to walk past patisseries and not want to eat everything in the window.

Alas, I do also go to classes (although only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays), so it is time to do some art history reading. Ciao.

Cathderal

Meeee