Chartres cathedral

What a relief after the heat and crowds of yesterday: today dawned overcast and cool, and we headed out of Paris to Chartres to check out the famous cathedral. And not only was it worth the visit, it was practically deserted of the ubiquitous crowds, and free entry! Chartres is famed for the labyrinth set into the floor of the church, and we were surprised to find it covered with chairs, rather than cleared for those who wanted to walk it. We succumbed and joined our first tour group of our trip - the only way to get access to the crypts under the cathedral, so we joined 25 others on a French-only guided tour of the underground chapels, some parts from the 4th century, and 12th century frescos. Together with the incredibly-comfortable first-class train travel, we found today such a pleasant and relaxing contrast to yesterday.