Friday night we went to a tiny theatre near St. Michel to see 'La cantratrice chauve', a very amusing piece, but my medication started to wear off towards the end, and I started to pay less attention, and doze, but all in all an enjoyable evening.
Yesterday, we were at Chartres with our study group, and while I didn't feel like getting on a bus yet again, the trip was well worth it, mostly due to our guide. The old englishman who has been giving tours of Chartres for over 50 years, used his somewhat sarcastic sense of humor and ridiculous wealth of knoweldge to bring the idea and spirit of the cathedral and its history to life. He would take us through the stories in the window panes, without looking at them, just talking to us, while we gape at the edifice. The walls were basically all stained glass windows, which our guide explained was to bring to mind the heavenly Jerusalem, as the glass reminds all who see it of precious stones. Unfortunately due to reconstruction, we were not able to see the relic that made Chartres the pilgrim site it was and is today. Apparently a gift to Charlegmagne's grandson, and king of the region, the garment Mary wore when giving birth to Jesus is kept at Chartres. The garment's origins have been verified as the right time and place, but who could be sure? All in all, I would love to spend days in the church listening to Malcolm Miller present the secret beauty of the church, to sit and listen and discover all the stories in the art. As he explained, the building is a library of books that would take lifetimes to read. Hopefully I will have the chance to return and read again.
This morning I went to a small Baptist church I heard about in the 7th. Just an FYI they use real wine for communion here. After spent some time trying to finish up homework in the Luxemboug gardens, to no avail as people watching is just more fun.
The apartment hunt is going at high speed right now, as I will have to vacate our current abode in less than 5 days. I have a more expensive, but beautiful prospect as well as a less pricey, but SMALL one. Prayer please.
Love and ancient history from Paris!
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