Today was a magical-whirlwind-fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of day. The morning started before the sun came up. The Eiffel Tower looked like it was in outer space, with purple clouds brushing the bottom of it and the orange seeping into the dark blue sky, still twinkling with a planet or two.
Sunrise from the bus
The quiet morning ride was punctuated by American pop and some techno music.
I brought a book to read for class, but I was too mesmerized by the thick white fog to get much reading done.
It was hard to see where we were headed next.
The fog soon cleared, the temperature dropped, and these funny little statues greeted us as we drove into the small town.
Chartres Cathedral was visible from miles away.
It's a Gothic cathedral, but has Romanesque features from its earlier incarnations. I believe the tour guide said this was the fifth time it's been rebuilt and in the shortest amount of time (less than 30 years). The first time, it was destroyed by vikings. There have also been fires and other wars over the years. Now it stands, displaying an impressive range of architectural styles.
This spires are different. The left one is more elaborate.
The cathedral is devoted to Mary, so blue is the principal color of the stained glass. The three remaining Romanesque windows above have a different, lighter shade of blue. Later, as Chartres was being reconstructed, a darker blue glass was used for methodical and financial reasons.
The swirls on the ground make up a labyrinth, symbolic of life's twists and turns. There are about 260 white stones embedded, which represent the human gestation period. The labyrinth also doesn't just cut off when it ends, but instead leads up the center aisle to the altar.
Every color and image was carefully added from the bottom up. Green is the color of hope. In the three windows below the rose window, the colors change from blue on one side to yellow on the opposite end. This shows the progression from darkness to light.
There are three rose windows within the cathedral.
This window was a gift from the U.S. It has an eagle and skyscrapers.
Baroque style elements
This large carving was done by the man who built the Flamboyant spire. The images show various scenes of Jesus's life and Jesus and Mary.
The back part of the church (apse? ambulatory?) is lighter than the rest because in priests in the past had some of the stained glass windows taken out. They wanted more light to come in. 
The back of the cathedral contains a relic that has survived throughout the previous destruction: Mary's veil.
We climbed back on the bus, warming up from the cold winter air.
We reached another small town, further out in the country.
Our buses barely fit on the narrow roads.
We dined in a medieval castle. Just kidding...I'm still not entirely sure where we were today. It felt like we were at a medieval banquet, though.
This dishes kept coming and the bread baskets kept being refilled (even though bread goes with salad here).
Cheeses: chèvre and possibly brie?
This cake was described to be like "eating a unicorn." It was raspberry and lemon flavored, and light like a cloud (disregard science, please).
We were bursting by the end of the meal. This is a standard sized coffee here.
Once we were full and warm again, we went on a tour of the château.
Very eccentric interior design, full of taxidermy (birds and sea creatures), crowded with portraits, and random statues
Yes, that is a wooden hare carving hanging by its feet.
Red room with creepy mannequins
Blue room with another scary lady
This is the "women's room"
There was a cat figure across from the duck that was even more frightening.
A cabinet full of cabinets!
View from the window. We briefly contemplated what school would be like if we were out this far in the middle of nowhere.
Marie Antoinette with her ship hair
This is made entirely out of hair
Gold cupids on a chariot being pulled by a swan. Told you the décor was interesting.
Back on the bus to return to Paris
