Day 8 - Loire Valley: Chartres Cathedral ~ Versailles ~ Return to Paris ~ Overnight Train

We learn a lot in Mrs. Harvey's class. We learn about art, food, fashion, and of course, the French language. However, recently we learned about the Chartres Cathedral and the miracle of its rebirths. So when I discovered that we were going to visit the Cathedral I was very excited. I was thinking of all the cool facts I knew about the place and how I could keep up with the tour guide...I didn't, however, expect our tour guide to be The Malcolm Miller. Yeah, the guy The Davinci Code is more or less based off of. But you need to multiply Tom Hanks by 100 to get Malcolm. He an an elderly, very British gentleman with a very dry sense of humor that surpasses Mrs. Soloman's. Needless to say I was in awe. Maybe I just have a thing for older British men, but I'm pretty sure I was just impressed by him. He would just tell us to take a seat and would go into an extensive lesson about the stained glass windows adorning the cathedral. Apparently, there are double meanings in each window and it is necessary to read bottom to top, left to right to at least understand one. He was a wealth of knowledge and I was so happy to be in his presence. I felt like a little school girl. I would try to sit as close to him as possible even though it made no difference because we were listening to him by earphones. When the tour ended, I rushed to meet him and tell him how much I enjoyed his tour and how I just thought he was amazing. He just gave me a British smile (which looks like a frown) and signed his book for me. I am now the proud owner of one Chartres Cathedral by Malcom Miller addressed to Alex. School girl doesn't even begin to describe me right now.

-Alex Johnson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"For Ava"

 

Ever since the first time I read about Versailles and its lavish gold decorations, I have wanted to see it myself.  I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I saw.  It was hard to imagine the "Sun King" and his royal court parading around the rooms of Versailles when all you can see around you are people snapping pictures and holding little speakers up to their ears while speaking in nameless languages.  I guess it was more realistic than you would think because of the lack of air conditioning and, I should put this lightly, fresh air.  My favorite part of Versailles, however, were the vast grounds.  It was so beautiful to see how the "Sun King" spent his sunny afternoons with his family in the backyard.

- Sarah Albritton