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Wednesday, August 13 - Paris, Chartres & Versailles
Our day begins with breakfast downstairs and a walk across the street to the downstairs mall below the Louvre to rent a car at the Hertz office. Jacob falls again in the plaza and scrapes up knee #2 to match knee #1. We're getting a bit worried about his ability to safely get around, and spend the rest of our trip calling out every potential obstacle and change in elevation. We rent a 5 passenger Peugeot and begin our side trip to Chartres and Versailles. With only 2 mistakes in navigation (both of which we were able to quickly rectify) we make it out of Paris - no easy feat, I promise you! We follow the road signs to Chartres about an hour or so southwest of Paris. We arrive in Chartres, and the cathedral can be seen for miles away. But driving to it is another story, because we have no detailed map of Chartres, which is a very quaint and beautiful village. So we meander a bit aimlessly, but see the wonderful side streets, courtyards and homes of the real Chartres. We backtrack to the main route and follow the obvious signs to the parking area for the cathedral. We then walk a very short distance to the entrance of this most magnificent and ancient cathedral. It is breathtaking inside. Nancy lit a candle on Zoila's behalf, and we all gaped and walked around this massive Gothic masterpiece. Words are inadequate, but the photos will help. The rose windows and the hundreds of stained glass windows are world famous for good reason. The background organ music added the perfect ambiance for our self-guided tour. Afterward, we had lunch outside at a little café directly across from the cathedral. The food was pleasant, although the sandwiches Harvey and Jacob ordered were skimpy. The salade niçoise was excellent (Nancy's choice) but we had to wait a long time for Marcus and Elliot's main plates. Harvey retrieved the car and we left Chartres for Versailles. Again, we managed to find our way right to the palace without getting lost, again without a detailed map of the town of Versailles. Parking was immediately adjacent to the Palace, and from a distance, the palace is staggering in size and scope, much like the Louvre. The footing is treacherous and we fretted over Jacob all afternoon. Ah, but Versailles is a palace unlike anything imaginable. Gold leaf and dorée bronze is EVERYWHERE! The palace is intensely ornate, and it's hard to decide what is most impressive: the actual architecture of the interior and exterior, the masterpieces all over the walls and ceilings, or the priceless furnishings and tapestries. The Hall of Mirrors and the room dedicated to Napoleon were especially impressive as was the Royal Chapel. We finished the inside and took a carriage tour of the gardens. It was cool and relaxing, and teased us with rain. When our 45 minute horse-drawn carriage ride was over we returned by car to Paris. We'd missed our reservation so the concierge made a new one at an air-conditioned restaurant called Le Gallopin. It was a 15-minute walk, just past the Paris stock exchange. The interior was quaint, the building a couple of hundred years old, and the food delicious. The air conditioning was adequate, but just. We enjoyed the cooler walk back and collapsed from exhaustion. |
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