Outside the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres

I probably got tired of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres rather quickly. After all, this is probably the fifth cathedral that I visited in this trip alone. After a while, they soon start to look alike. I started to head back but I saw a sign which says they have tours of the rooftop. I asked about it but it seems the group had already started and there won’t be any more for that day. I was told it would have been in French anyway, but I didn’t mind. How often do you get to go to the top of a UNESCO World Heritage cathedral. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about it. It was a shame since I didn’t see the sign when I first got in the cathedral.

I decided that that would be it for me for Chartres Cathedral. I stepped out figuring out what to do for the rest of the day. That when I realized that I haven’t really seen the rest of the church from the outside. I walked around and ended up at what apparently is the south facing side of the church. But what I saw looked like there was a totally different church here. The ground level is a beautifully designed portal which sculptures which are typical of gothic architecture. The upper floors is dominated by a rose window or oculus which is typical of romanesque designs. This is certainly a surprise since it really looks like there a two churches in one. I wouldn’t have expected that the side entrance would look just as grand if not more than the main entrance.

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