7 September 2022 – Chartres

Miles driven today = 66

Total Miles to date = 367

Well we are certainly getting plenty of sleep!  My watch reset itself again last night.  I’ve now realized that I need to set it to Paris time so hopefully we won’t have a hat-trick of late rises tomorrow.

We continued our journey South this morning, by-passing Evreaux on the N154.  The road through Nonancourt had a couple of tight squeezes and, as my friend Emma would say, the road around Dreux was a bit “roundabouty”, but we were soon steaming into Chartres.  The Cathedral here is set high on a hill and was visible for at least 10 miles away as we approached, much like the “Ship of the Fens” at Ely.

On our way we pulled in at a filling station to top up the diesel.  When I filled the van before we left home I paid £1.83 a litre.  Here it’s €1.70 or £1.48 in sterling terms.  Ever get the feeling you’ve been had?!

We are at Camping du Chartres, another great campsite from the ACSI book.  Again it’s €18 including electric hook up so I reckon one more night on another of these sites and the discounts will have already paid for the books.

We arrived at midday, just as the first few spots of rain began to fall but it wasn’t heavy enough to confine us to barracks so we took to the pleasant riverside path for the 20 minute stroll into the town centre.

We passed the Church of St Pierre with its magnificent flying buttresses and headed on up the hill.

The Cathedral was closed for lunch until 2pm but we were hungry so we plonked ourselves down for a couple of plates du jour at a nearby bistro.  A hearty dish of fish and vegetables in a cream sauce with samphire, a couple of roast spuds and a big bowl of crusty bread all for €14.  Washed down with some very quaffable artisanal ale.

While we were eating the rain got heavier and so when 2 O’Clock came around we made a dash for the Cathedral doors to look around the inside first. 

Much like yesterday’s equivalent in Rouen this place is of gargantuan proportions. 

Prayer Candles

The Nave

There is an incredibly intricate choir screen dating from 1514 which goes all the way around the back of the nave.

Choir screen detail.

When we emerged from the Cathedral it was still bucketing down so we did a quick circuit before taking shelter and pondering what else to do until the rain eased.

The Museum of Fine Arts is right next door to the Cathedral so we popped in there for a quick snoop around and to get out of the rain.

Rodin’s piece “La Cathedrale” is on display here in suitably grandiose surroundings.

There was also an exhibition of Charles Jouas’ illustrations.  These are some of his original copperplate etchings.

On leaving the Museum the rain had finally eased so we wandered the narrow streets and alleys for a while.

Then before we headed back to the van we paid a visit to La Maison Picassiette

This place was created by a fella called Raymond Isidore who lived in the small house and garden.  Isidore used to take himself off for walks during which he would pick up random bits of broken glass and pottery.  

He would then take them home and stick them to the interior and exterior walls and flooring of his home and garden to form mosaics. 

He even covered his furniture.

In all there are reckoned to be 4 million pieces of mosaic stuck around the property, weighing some 15 tons.  Supposedly the work took Isidore 29,000 hours to complete.

We are back at the van now and have ordered our croissants and baguette from the campsite shop for the morning.  It’s finally stopped raining but is due to hammer down again this evening.  They illuminate the Cathedral and a lot of the other landmarks around the town at night and it’s supposed to be spectacular but I doubt it’s worth getting another soaking for so it’s a quiet night in for us, planning our next move.

8 September 2022 - On the banks of the Loire