The gas ran out last night ..quel désastre! We thought it was boiler trouble at first, so we were actually quite relieved when we realised we just needed a fill up of LPG.
This morning we were rudely awakened by the ‘marginale’ who arrived late last night. Engine running at 7am – for heat I presume, shouting and slamming a thousand doors, calling his dog, his mates, his wife ..all at 100 decibels louder than any normal person! 🤯
Just enough gas for coffee and tepid water for a shower 🥶..we got on the road quite quickly so that we could get the cab heater on!
Straight up to Chartres, where we filled up with LPG and put the heating on. It was like a greenhouse within five minutes so Guy then threw all the windows open!
We managed to get into a small car park almost opposite the old town and felt really lucky, until we realised it too, had a few undesirable permanent residents 😬
The Cathedral de Notre-Dame in Chartres is absolutely enormous and dominates the whole area. Guy struggled to capture it even with the wide angled lens. It is being gradually refurbished and most of the inside is now quite stark white against the stained glass windows. Apparently, they have a relic here – the Sancta Camisia (supposed to be the robe Mary wore when she gave birth to Jesus). Didn’t see it as we only learned about it afterwards, but I think it may have been in the crypt.
What I did see, and it really freaked me out, was lots of people very slowly and carefully walking around in circles. There’s a labyrinth on the cathedral floor and if followed, whilst praying, it is meant to bring you closer to God. I, of course, nearly blundered through the middle of it before I realised what was happening. 🙄
A very quick look around the rest of the town ..seems really nice, before we got back on the road north. Stopped briefly at Nonancourt to fill up with water and then continued up towards Rouen. At this point, we discovered that it’s ’All Saints Day’ tomorrow, which means most of the shops will be closed.
We hadn’t bought any coffee yet to take back, which meant stopping at a supermarket. Neither of us were in the mood for negotiating the carpark around what seemed like one of France’s largest retail parks complete with height barriers.
Supermarket sweep as usual, but it seems each year there’s less choice for coffee unless you want to buy those pod things.
Out to La Bouille next, which is just south west of Rouen. Looks like a lovely little place with a free flat bottomed ferry called a bac, that crosses the Seine. Seems idyllic but it is trick or treat night, so we’ll see! 😆
