Saturday Photo: Chartres and Other Beautiful Things

Every time we've gone to France Lee has taken the RER from Paris to Chartres, a pleasant 45 minute train trip to the little city on the bluff where one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals sits.

He is enraptured by the place, and the building, and the wonderful human effort that went into constructing it.  At the moment, he's preparing to do a little building himself in hopes that he can pay homage to it.  His plan is to build a bench/table which will echo the soaring lines of the Gothic arches.  On either side he'll carve a bas-relief inspired by the sculptures over the doors on the south and west side.

So far what he's discovered is that this kind of carving has a steep learning curve, and he's been consulting all the sources available in book and on-line to come up with good images to use as guides.

One of the books which we found in the local library is Chartres: la grâce d'une cathédrale.  It's a gorgeous book that I knew would make a great Christmas present, so I found it on Abebooks at a book store in France, and ordered it Dec. 2.  Supposedly it would arrive before Christmas, but it didn't  and by the beginning of this week, I began to think that something had gone wrong.  I shot off emails to the store and to Abebooks, but nothing happened.  Then, just when I had really begun to fume and to wonder if I should try to cancel the order, the book arrived yesterday.  Carefully wrapped, it was in perfect condition and is a great pleasure to read.  The only problem is that it weighs about 3.5 kilos so it's not the kind of book to read in bed!

The photo, by the way, isn't from the book but is one I took on our last visit in 2014.  Too long ago: we should go back!