Chartres (May 29)

Imagine mashed raspberries folded into whipped cream - that is the deep pink of my lovely little runabout.  I did a perfect reverse park first time!

This was after finding my way around a town with teeny tiny streets and no map.  By sheer good luck I was in the old town, right on the tourist route, which I followed to the cathedral.  Houses are built right on the water.

 Imagine having lunch here.

 Half timbered houses are everywhere.

Artistic details.

 Lunch was grilled trotter and a local specialty - ice cream with crushed meringues and chocolate.

The view from my table.

The warm weather had a lot of people running through this large fountain area.

I returned later in the day and sat in on the end of mass, then was part of the evening vespers conducted by the Chemin Neuf Community.  Pretty much all of it was sung and it was quite beautiful.  The cathedral closed straight afterwards, and I could hear the organ being practiced as I walked around.  Not far from the cathedral you can see this labyrinth.

I was hanging around waiting for the evening light performance.  A lot of monuments and statues are lit up - you can walk all around the city, but I just wanted to see the cathedral.  It starts at 10pm, but it's not quite dark enough at that stage.  Each session is about 10 minutes long and is repeated until 1am.  I stayed and watched 3 sessions, each getting clearer as the light faded.  It was beautifully done with music to accompany the projected images.