France Trip - Chartres Cathedral and Market
Leaving the Château
Katie and I started the day with a quick photo shoot in the pink flower fields. Then we packed the van, met in the kitchen for breakfast and then headed out. We were sad to leave our château in the Loire Valley. It’s been the best trip!!
Walking through Chartres
Cute Ryan and Cassie
On our way to Paris we stopped at the Chartres Cathedral - one of the biggest and best Gothic cathedrals in Europe. We wound our way up beautiful stone alleyways to the side and then front of the façade. Just beautiful! The inside was impressive and it was fun to walk around.
Chartres Cathedral
Arguably Europe’s best example of pure Gothic. ‘Chartres’ old church burned to the ground on June 10, 1194. Some of the children who watched its destruction were actually around to help rebuild the cathedral and attend its dedication Mass in 1260. That’s astonishing, considering that other Gothic cathedras, such as Paris’ Notre-Dame, took literally centuries to build. Having been built so quickly, the cathedral has a unity of architecture, statuary, and stained glass that captures the spirit of the Age of Faith like no other church’. — Rick Steves
The church is officially called the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres. More than a hundred churches dedicated to Mary — “Notre-Dames” are scattered around France. Chris was in heaven walking around. He’s a cathedral guy.
The Market in Chartres
We LOVED the market - especially Taylor!
We picked up fresh baguettes, fruit, cheese, macaroons and all kinds of things from the market, made our way back to the car and ate and discussed finances as we drove to Paris!