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May 27, 2006

A trip to France: Chartres

I arrived in Paris by way of one of Europe's major discount airlines, RyanAir. Although the fare was half as much as what one would pay on any other airline, you pay for it in the time lost getting to and from inconveniently located airports. After surviving the shuttle bus to Paris and a taxi across town, I made it just in time for a train to Chartres, a city southwest of Paris.

I sat at the edge of my seat during the ride, attentively keeping track of every stop as to not miss mine. The train passed through one small town after another - and just as I began to consider that maybe I had missed my stop, I saw it: The Chartres Cathedral rising out of the rooftops.

The first thing I noticed about the gothic structure was that it has two different steeples - which I found out later had been built at different times. Originally at this site, there was a small church that had burned down. Among the cinders, the people of Chartres found a piece of white cloth, completely unharmed by the fire. It was believed that this garment was the undershirt of the Virgin Mary, worn on the day of Jesus' birth. Seeing as how this was destroyed in the fire, the people thought it a miracle and decided to rebuild the church. Word spread about the situation, and soon religious pilgrims, both rich and poor, came from near and far to help rebuild the cathedral. This was later called the "Miracle of the Carts" since so many pitched in supplies and sweat to build what still stands today.

Aside from the grandeur and history of the structure, the cathedral houses a ridiculously impressive collection of stained glass. Visitors walk for hours, their heads tilted back in awe at the color and intricacy of the windows (though sore necks are common afterwards).

Posted by Kelsea  at 9:02 AM | Permalink

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