Chartres

This amazing cathedral is the main focus of the quaint little French town, complete with cafes and shops and narrow cobblestone streets. It was nice to get out of the city for a day. Paris can be overwhelming, and it's so seductive that you can be lost in it so easily and forget there is a rest of the world out there. I'm glad I got to see another version of France; the simpler, quieter, more peaceful France.

The cathedral is famous all over the world for its stained glass windows, as was explained to us by our wise and elegant British tour guide. Its from the 12th and 13th centuries, and all the panes tell stories of religious happenings.
The cathedral is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary – something I had heard about all my twelve years of Catholic education but never quite pictured the way it was portrayed on the glass.
It is one of my favorite churches in the country because it does not have that restored, rebuilt look of Notre Dame, and it does not have nearly as many tourists swarming its streets like Sacre-Coeur.

The whole building looks like its poising itself for destruction, but I think its seemingly untouched antiquity is what makes it so charming.
The rest of our time in the city was spent window-shopping, eating lunch at an outdoor café that served Italian food, and wondering why the French are not obese with all the delicious ice cream served by street vendors.