Somehow Day #4 got lost in the sequence of blog postings for Paris! Day #4 was Tuesday, December 18th, and we all (Doug, Tracy, Reeve, Gabi, Rania, Nancy and I) took the train out of Paris to Chartres to see what's probably the most famous cathedral in all of Europe. The small picture shows the two towers of the church -- one in Romanesque style (to the right), and the other Gothic, and very ornate. What's rather miraculous is that the cathedral escaped major damage from German bombs in WWII, and also from serious desecration or destruction during the Reign of Terror.
The church was built mostly in the 13th century, and due to very effective fundraising and volunteer labor, most of the church was completed in just 30 years. When entering the cathedral (no charge) we noticed immediately that a major cleaning operation was underway. In the picture below, one can see how the both the stone behind the altar had been sandblasted, and the impressive stained glass windows cleaned. (One of the remarkable things one notices about the stained glass windows [172 of them] is the blue colors.) Below that picture is one of Doug and Nancy at the nice restaurant where we all had lunch. - rw
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