Thursday, April 15th

The Americans collect at the Nogent High School at 8:00 AM again. The weather is brisk and hazy, and the sun was a brilliant red when it rose this morning. Today we are off to see La Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres. The translation means we are going to the Notre Dame Cathedral in the city of Chartres. This Cathedral is one of the best examples of Gothic architecture in all of Europe. There are parts of the building that date back to the 12th century. I am still getting used to the fact that "old" in the US means three hundred years, while "old" in Europe refers to one thousand years ago.

The bus ride to Chartres only takes about one hour. We arrive at 9:15, which gives us slightly more than an hour to find a coffee shop for a snack before meeting the tour guide at 10:30. I end up having the most intense hot chocolate I think I have ever had.

Malcolm Miller is a most original and entertaining tour guide. He is British and has a wonderful British sense of humor that the students found very entertaining. He is one of the most widely know experts on La Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres. The present church is built on the foundations of several previous churches. Building commenced in 1194 after the destruction of a previous church by fire. The draw and interest in this particular church is that it houses a religious relic. This piece of fabric is said to have been worn by Mary when she gave birth to Jesus. The fabric was given to Chartres in 876 by King Charles the Bald, who had inherited it from his grandfather, Charlemagne. Whatever the origin, the relic is old and holds historic and religious significance. The present day cathedral is actually a composite of several generations of architects and construction. It is even larger than the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The citizens of Chartres were so worried that the church would be destroyed during World War Two that they removed all of the stained glass windows and stored them in secret crypts. Fortunately the church survived the war and efforts continue to raise funds for the restoration and cleaning of the walls and windows.

After the time at the cathedral, Tom, Danielle and I had lunch at an outdoor cafe and did some shopping. I found a McDonalds and logged on to their wifi and was able to upload some additions to the blog and get my email. We collected the students at 3:00, and almost everyone fell asleep on the bus ride back to Nogent. As usual, Jean and Catherine had a fantastic meal of grilled steak. How am I ever going to live when I get back home and have to prepare my own food again?

Next, we spend Friday and Saturday in Paris. I have to be at the train station in Nogent at 6:00 AM. Fortunately, Jean only lives ten minutes from the station. Some of the others are not so lucky. I'll have lots to write about when I get back from Paris.