Our drivers and guides have been so punctual that we were surprised to hear the driver who would be taking us from idyllic Champagne to Paris was going to be 15 minutes late. No, he did not oversleep. He was caught up in the French workers strike/protest. You might have heard…they are angry because President Macron wants to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Really?????
If this was the end of the day’s delays, it was no big deal. But Nooooooo.
Once we were finally settled into our Paris hotel it was time to meet our guide and driver out to Chartres for an afternoon exploring the lovely village and the other famous Notre Dame Cathedral. The guide was waiting in the hotel lobby but the driver was no where to be found. He was stuck in a protest, unable to move for who knows how long. Thankfully he finally got hold of another driver who was able to take his place and almost 2 hours later we arrive in Chartres, a village about 50 miles outside Paris.
The village is out of a storybook, smallish stone houses, mostly attached on either side of narrow cobble stoned streets. A brook ambles through the town. Many pilgrims visit Chartres, at times numbering 15,000, walking miles. As they come into the village, they finally spot the cathedral up on the hill. I’m sure this vision gives them the final encouragement they need to complete their arduous journey.
The cathedral dates back to the 1100’s. It was begun with one type of architecture but due to a fire, it was finished in the 13th century in the gothic style. The thousands of carvings and statutes interpret biblical scenes many times over. The 167 stained glass windows are captivating; not only for the stories they tell, but for the vibrancy of the colors. The rose windows rival those of Notre Dame Paris.
One disappointment was that the labyrinth was covered with chairs. We were told on Fridays the chairs are cleared and the pilgrims pray on their kneels while traversing the labyrinth….quite the devotion, considering the stones and the unevenness of them.
To me, the most special item in this UNESCO site is the relic of the veil worn by the Blessed Mother at the time of the Annunciation and most likely, when she gave birth to Jesus. Charlemagne received the veil as a gift from a Byzantine empress in around the year1,000. The Chartres website has a much more detailed description and history of the veil. As a person so devoted to the BVM, I was so moved to be able to pray before an item that has been authenticated back to the time before the birth of Christ.
Off to Roland Garros! This trip has been planned around this day.
Very moving!
ReplyDelete