We did not really see Trier as it was foggy in the morning so we had a leisurely breakfast and then set off for Chartres avoiding toll roads. We had seen the red cliffs near the main part of town yesterday through the rain but our route today took us quickly to the motorway and on to Luxemburg.

We had decided our other aim for the day was to find a cache in Luxemburg . We didn't have the information to find one in the Netherlands and just didn’t find one in Austria but otherwise it has added a bit to our travels. This cache probably didn’t. We decided to find one soon after arriving so went of the motorway and looked for the nearest one of reasonable size. We found it in a small area at the side of the road with a park bench but no real view, but then realised we had crossed the river back into Germany. We found also a very large white snail that we duly photographed. We fortunately found another cache which was in a cave at the side of the road, this time in the right country. We could have found some others at the side of the motorway but at least we did get into one of the Luxemburg towns.

We went off the road at another random spot later and found ourselves at Boullin. It appears to be at the border between France and Belgium. At least there was a river in the middle, a fort and a number of signs that indicated this was the case. It was a touristy town with a 'train’ through the town, boats in the shape of swans and lots of kayaking firms . We also saw a lot of scout groups that were camping in the area. If it was the border then we ate on the French side at a pizzeria called The Sixties that had US 1960’s diner atmosphere. We had an omelet and a quiche so that was sort of French.

About ten minutes later we were in torrential rain on the motorway in which case the maximum speed is reduced to 110km/hr. It was ‘eyes peeled and looking’ and much less than 110km/hr as the air con is not great at defogging the windows. We had rapidly learned yesterday that putting the heating gauge on full was the quickest way to instantly fog them up, so we avoided this trap. Opening the windows helped but we were lucky the motorway was not crowded as you couldn’t see the road markings and barely the road borders. We went through a few bands of torrential rain followed by sun until the weather settled as we moved further south.

Although we had intended going on the lesser highways, a lack of time saw us move back onto the toll roads . The view though was still pleasant and we saw a huge pig statue, a memorial to the US soldiers of WW1, lots of crops and rolling countryside and a few rivers. We had booked accommodation in Chartres and are returning the car to Orly Airport to the south of Paris tomorrow – but we still found ourselves on the motorway through the city as we headed south, and it was very, very busy. We have the system ‘sussed’ now though and managed to get through without a wrong exit at any stage. There had been an accident which didn’t help, then we were suddenly moving quickly again on reasonably clear roads. Just when we felt all was good we went to pay the toll at Chartres in the credit card line (which is the quickest) and this one didn’t take Visa!! It was so quiet we could back out and pay cash in the next lane (where we found the attendant did take VISA??).

Our accommodation in Chartres is in a private house with a bedroom and bathroom, along with our own parking space in the grounds. We unloaded EVERYTHING and then repacked. I think John was amazed that we got everything into our original cases with one extra bag for excess food and unwashed clothes. Putting a couple of bags of rubbish in the bin did help. The only thing we couldn’t do was email the people in Paris where we will be staying, but we rang and left a message.

Danielle gave us good information about local restaurants and also showed us a route we could drive to see the town illuminations . She also gave us a booklet but although it had 4 other languages none of them were English. I was pleased to find I could make sense of much of the French anyway. Our first priority however was sorting luggage so we unloaded the car and repacked everything ready to drop off the car tomorrow and train into the city.

We then used the map to go to the cathedral although it was not hard to find. We are right opposite the oldest house in Chartres and on the tourist walking route so we are very central. It was just a small uphill walk to the north side of the cathedral.

Although tours etc had finished for the day (it was after 6pm), the cathedral was open. I love stained glass so it was wonderful to see, and even John thought it was good. There are 172 windows covering 2600 square metres. I wandered around the relatively empty cathedral gawking at the windows. They are so vibrant and so detailed. I especially liked the rose windows. The oldest dated from the 12th century.

We also saw the sculptured portals which represented scenes from both the Old Testament and the New. It is hard to believe the work dated from the 13th century although John of course had to point out that some of the statues were broken. They tell the story of the Old Testament, the days of Christ and also daily life in the 12th century. It was nice to see special gifts from other denominations in the cathedral as well .

I read later that in WW2 the locals removed all the windows and put up sandbags to protect the statues. 80% of the glass is original and the cathedral is Europe’s best preserved medieval cathedral.

We then had tea in one of the recommended restaurants opposite the cathedral. Our waitress was very helpful and let us move outside for dessert as the sun came out and the temperature rose before we finished. We went back into the cathedral to see part of a video display of the stained windows. It illuminated first one part and then more and more of a window until you could see the entire window. It really made you appreciate the fine details. The inside of the cathedral was lovely in the evening light.

We stopped to look at the view of the town from the cathedral before returning for a break before venturing forth again to see the cathedral under lights. It was really lovely and you could appreciate the dome on top more in the night light . A full moon helped.

We then decided to check out Chartes’s famous illuminations. There was a ‘drive yourself’ route but also a tour train was going around so I thought it would be a good idea to follow it for a bit on foot.

We went past the illuminated theatre and then found a street with lights showing medieval people although there was a bollard in the street so we were not sure if it was part of the tour. Then we found an illuminated church which was amazing. It was completely covered by medieval images projected onto it. We looked at the map on our return and think it might have been Eglise St-Aignan but by then we were ‘sort of’ lost. There were still loads of people on the streets including family groups so it felt safe.

We headed down to the river as we knew that many of the bridges were illuminated but went a bit far so had a longer walk than needed. The trusty GPS brought us safely home. We only saw a part of the route but, for some reason, John was not keen to do the whole route by car at 11.15pm through the narrow twisty streets.