Wednesday 17th October 2018

It was very misty this morning down by the river Orne at Pont d'Ouilly however after we go going it cleared up and was a beautifully sunny day. We travelled east and stopped for a picnic along the way.

After quite a long journey we arrived at the city of Chartres and parked about 1.5 kilometres from the city centre. We walked into the centre along this river.

Before too long we got glimpses of Chartres' stunning medieval  cathedral pointing up through the nearby buildings of the old centre.

Nothing can prepare you for this.

This building is absolutely immense. 

It is very difficult to get far enough away to photograph much of the cathedral.

Inside is just as impressive.

It is almost impossible to believe that something as vast as this could have been built with the technology available in the 12th and 13th centuries.

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Most of the stained glass is of medieval origin.

The fabric hanging in this closely guarded reliquary is reputed to be that worn by the Virgin Mary when she gave birth to Jesus Christ!  

There is a marvellous rood screen surrounding the choir. 

This old clock forms part of the rood screen.

This is a particularly noted piece of stained glass depicting Mary and Jesus.

There are surprisingly few paintings in the cathedral. This one I take to be of St John the Baptist baptising Jesus.

On the floor of one wing of the cathedral a labyrinth is depicted. Unfortunately it was mostly covered in chairs today. 

Above the labyrinth the ceiling arches away to an almost unbelievable height.

Outside we saw this fine door.

What an amazing building!

Back at our parking place we can still see the cathedral.

It was a really nice warm evening.

After dark the cathedral was floodlit.

Today we travelled 109 miles ( 175 kilometres). We are at N48.43248 E1.49575

Chartres      Street View