The Grand Tour Has Begun

Even though Henry James makes it sound so romantic, the Grand Tour of Europe in the nineteenth century was possibly a bit more trouble than it is today. What with all those trunks and hatboxes and maids and carriages. I just left Sydney Airport with one suitcase:

Then when we arrived in Paris, we picked up our brand new leased Peugeot:

Then drove to Chartres to sleep off the jetlag. Not before walking up to the famous Notre Dame Cathedral first:

One hundred years ago, when Clive Bell of the Bloomsbury Group, wrote about the Gothic Cathedral's beautiful windows, he meant the 'Chartres blue' ones below the rose. But, as is evident in the above image, that facade has scaffolding on it and it's impossible to see the windows. So I had to settle for these no less stunning ones:

Then we walked to the covered market in the centre of town, held on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. That's paella in front, and rotisserie chickens dripping their fat onto potatoes:

Beautiful fresh fruit and vegetables are in abundance:

And cheeses of every shape look so tempting:

Don't the strawberries look wonderful in these blue and white containers?:

I bought some nectarines, apricots and cherries and made my own still life back at the hotel. For an Aussie, eating fruit like this in June is such a treat: