Mass at Chartres & Arrival in Paris

January 14, 2001
Chartres (shar-tra) is the capital of the Département Eure-et-Loir, the seat of a bishop, as well as the focal point of the agriculturally rich province of Beauce. But most of all it is world famous for its cathedral. Cathedrale Notre-Dame du Chartres is the first true Gothic cathedral, and is quite arguably the finest example of early Gothic architecture in all of Europe. With its towers and flying buttresses, it embodies every essential physical aspect that defines classic Gothic-style architecture. Prior to the building of the cathedral, Christian churches had stood on the same site since the 4th century. Centuries earlier, Druids held their ceremonies in an oak grove on the same spot. Built on the site where the previous churches burnt down in 743, 858, and 1020, a Romanesque cathedral was begun in 1020. It was destroyed by fire in 1194. Only the south tower, west front and the crypt remained.

The present structure was largely built between 1195 and 1220. There were only a few alterations after 1250 and, unlike other cathedrals, Chartres was unscathed by the Wars of Religion and the French Revolution.
The Western Façade (1140-60) {see photo} was built in the early gothic style. Two great towers dominate it.
On the right is the South Tower (Clocher Vieux) completed in 1170.
On the left is the North Tower (Clocher Neuf, 117 m) with a crown added in 1507-13 by Jehan Texier. Its flamboyant gothic style contrasts sharply with the solemnity of its older counterpart.
Between the towers is a richly decorated Portal of Kings (Portail Royal, 1145-55), which shows Christ in Majesty. Its elongated statues represent Old Testament figures whereas the statues of the south porch (1197-1209) reflect those of the New Testament. It was at this soutern entrance that my comrades and I passed through the doors of the magnificent structure and into the foyer.
We had arrived a few minutes late for Mass and slipped in quietly. Phil went off for few moments of private time. Mike and I found seats and observed the Mass service, which was performed in Latin.
Due to our gross lack of sleep, at one point during the service, I dozed off while standing and almost fell. Mike thought it was funny and laughed quietly, and so did I.
Although I am not a Catholic, I went up for Communion just for the experience.

After the Mass was finished and the priest had put his blessing upon the people, Mike and I found Phil. He was sitting on a seat nearby, sound asleep.
We woke him up and began our tour of the church.
Phil (who had been to the cathedral before) showed us some of the more important aspects of the church, which was beautiful inside.

Donated by the guilds between 1210 and 1240, the glorious gathering of stained glass windows is world famous and without equal.
The artwork and sculptures were extremely detailed. Many sculptures were missing from the various times the church has been ransacked during wars.
Shroud of the Virgin Mary
On display in the cathedral was one of the most powerful relics of the Christian religion.

Behind huge iron bars (so no one could touch it or steal it), encased in a beautiful shrine of gold and glass, was the Shroud of the Virgin Mary. It is alleged to be the actual garment worn by the Virgin Mary at the birth of Christ. To see a relic that is of such significance is an extraordinarily moving experience, even for a non-believer. There aren't words to adequately express how I felt. It literally left me speechless (a moment that did not go unnoticed by Phil). We marveled in silence.After a few moments, Phil and I left and found Mike. We walked around outside, went down into the crypt, and then walked the city streets.Stopping at several shops, we picked up various souvenirs. I got a Chartres patch and a neat bookmark that depicts one of the beautiful glass windows of the Chartres Cathedral. We found a small café and paused for lunch and coffee. Over lunch we decided to take some of the back roads to get a view of the French countryside, so Mike plotted a scenic route to Paris as we ate. We finished lunch and headed to the car.

Pleasant Surprise Taking the scenic route turned out to be one of the luckiest choices we had made. It provided us with one of the coolest surprises of our trip. Phil was driving, Mike (our trusty navigator), was co-pilot, and I was riding in the back. The afore-mentioned lack of sleep, the filling lunch, and the ride in the car teamed up and fought against my plan of staying conscious. I fought the good fight, but there was three of them and only one of me. After a valiant struggle, I succumbed the urge to sleep, but not for long.
I awoke to Phil and Mike, in unison, calling out, "Holy Shit!"
I opened my eyes, looked out the window, and could not believe my eyes.We had literally stumbled across a Roman Aqueduct. It was an amazing structure. It was huge; at least six stories high. The Romans were way ahead of their time.
The only predicament was that it was on private property surrounded by fences, in the middle of a golf course. Still, it was cool to see. We looked at it and talked about it for about five minutes and then continued on our way.

Our Arrival In Paris

Praise of the Navigator ~*~ At this point, I would like to comment on Mike's job as navigator. He was great! Our group never got lost. Not even once. He rocks. No matter where I go from now on, I am asking Mike along to navigate. I would recommend him to anyone. ~*~
Paris is a huge city on the scale of New York and it was beautiful. As we approached Paris, we could see the Eiffel Tower. It looked cool. On the way to the airport we took the freeway and drove through the underpass where Princess Diana met her untimely end. We got to the airport, dropped the car, had coffee, and Phil called the hostel and let them know we were on our way.

We hopped the Metro and headed into the city of Paris. Luckily the train we caught was a direct train into the city with no stops. We transferred trains and finally arrived at our stop: Volontaire. We exited the Metro and we walked the two blocks to the hostel.
The Aloha Hostile, located at #1 rue Borromée, is within walking distance of Paris' most famous sights. The Metro stop is only a few blocks away, making easy to get around the rest of the city. Founded in the early 90's by former backpackers, the Aloha offers travelers a friendly, comfortable place to take a break without breaking their wallets. It is the only hostile in Paris that offers a Free Breakfast, usually coffee, orange juice, and baguettes. The Aloha is nearby a variety of supermarkets and grocery stores, bakeries, and fruit stores and has a fully equipped kitchen for meal preparation. Laundromats, dry cleaners, and other services are just as conveniently close.

The English speaking staff is very friendly and always willing to help out. At night the Aloha serves cheap drinks, plays music, and has special events (like movie night) all in a cool, friendly atmosphere.
We checked in and inquired about Gary and Pete. They were gone, (Surprise!), so, we stowed our gear in our rooms. Mike and Phil shared a room. I shared a room with another traveler named Matt Lambert from Chicago. He was traveling alone, and at first he didn't say much. I started talking to him and he turned out to be a cool guy. We stowed our gear and hopped the Metro in search of food.

Late Night in the Latin Quarter Phil took us to eat in this great area called the Quai Saint Michel in the Latin Quarter. There were eateries of every kind: Greek, Middle Eastern, Italian, French, you name it.

The proprietors of the various restaurants stood outside the doors of their establishments and beckoned us in to eat, all the while extolling the benefits of dining at their shop and not the others.

We walked around for a while and saw the outside of Notre Dame and Shakespeare & Co., which were both closed at the late hour. We took the Metro back to the hostel and we found Gary and Pete in the common area drinking beer. (Surprise!) I met a guy named Matt (from Canada) and a woman named Geraldine (from Ireland). We sat up drinking and singing songs until they shut down the hostel for the night. I went up to my room, wrote in my journal for a bit, and went to sleep.