On one of my several day trips over the past week I visited Chartres, which so far is my most favorite cathedral I have seen so far. It is currently being restored and once it is finished it will be magnificent. Every text, be it review, guidebook, or history book has called it a dark, gorgeous, and awe inspiring. All are true but once the repairs have been completed the building will be filled with light. I fear several of the authors who called it dark forget that it has been burned twice and 800 years of candle soot and wars darkened the very pale stone the building is constructed from. The windows do shine magnificently and will completely flood the building in a rush of rainbow colored light. I can't wait for 2014 when it is to be completed. If you look at the choir screen you can see how bright the stone is after being cleaned, and how it will be light filled. I don't think anyone has ever seen the stone in this state, which is quite exciting.
We were able to climb the north tower, the newer taller one on the left, and it is amazing how it was constructed and to see how it was put together, as well as the intricate carving, all the way out of what the observer from the ground could see.
