Upon arrival to the Chartres Cathedral, we were immediately taken aback by the sheer height and size of this piece of architecture, and the construction over the front door. Can’t have everything can you?
The Chartres Cathedral.
We all got tickets to go climb the North tower of the cathedral, and in a bout of enthusiasm I decided to go first up the stairs. This turned out to be a mistake. I’m fine with heights, but my knees and stamina decided they weren’t as up for the climb as I was. Many, many people passed me on the way as I wheezed my way up the spiral staircase. It was completely worth it.
Getting there, about half way up.
Up at the top!
Once we got back down, we had a tour with the scholar Malcolm Miller. This man is amazing, he defines ‘font of knowledge.’ His talk was filled with great stories that tied the history of the cathedral with language and iconography. Peter later found us a video of how he used to demonstrate the science behind flying buttresses when he was younger and doing these tours. The initial verbal description was funny enough without the visual.
Inside the Cathedral.
I have a slight obsession with church candles.
After walking around the cathedral grounds, some of us participated in a tour of the Cathedral crypt. Going around in a circle underneath the main building there were mini chapels everywhere, many of which included stained glass windows. There was a modern window as well, which according the guide was barely 30 years old.
Inside the crypt, one of the many, small chapels.
On the way back from Chartres, Chelly and I planned which museum we wanted to go to for the European night of the museums. Free admission to almost every museum in Paris! After doing some quick researching, we decided we wanted to see something that had nothing to do with photography or art; basically, something we wouldn’t have seen on this trip otherwise. The Muséum National D’Histoire Naturelle seemed to fit the bill perfectly. As we discovered from their website the museum’s collection of objects of “palaeontology, geology, mineralogy, meteorites, botany, zoology, prehistory, anthropology, ethnobiology and chemistry are estimated to total over 60 million specimens.” We could believe that upon arrival.
Butterfly and moth specimens on display.
We were lucky that we went early, ish, since it we didn’t have to wait to get in. The main museum space resembles a giant taxidermy display, with a little bit of everything. Also, unfortunately for Chelly, it also featured a very open concept from floor to floor, with glass elevators and bridges. This is not a museum to go to if you have height issues.
On the third floor of the Muséum National D’Histoire Naturelle.
We finished our late evening by wandering up Mouffetard to enjoy some late-night wine and people watching. The latter activity can be very entertaining on a Saturday night.
All photography by A Cook.
No comments:
Post a Comment