Day Seventy-three 26.5.05 Most of the day was taken travelling Rambouillet. We took the N roads which enabled us to view the countryside as we went along. The plan is to camp here and then take a trip to Chartres tomorrow and spend some time exploring the area and Foret de Rambouillet. Versailles is also within easy reach but we have both been there a couple of times so will probably give that a miss. The site is a municiple one and the facilities are reasonable. We are on the edge of the forest and the site is very green. William is into his second Dan Brown book and I have finished The Da Vinci Code which I enjoyed immensely and now I'm scratching about for something to read. Its ok when we are both reading but when one of us has finished and wants to play its frustrating. Day Seventy-four 27.5.05 We visited Chartres today, about 20km away from the site. It seems that the town is going through a major remodelling of its main road network and of course we managed to get stuck in a jam at the centre of it on our way to the cathedral parking. Finally on arrival at the said parking a French man was coming out and indicating that there was no space left so we bypassed this and realised that we would soon be back on the one way system and the road works. Fortunately William spotted a space on the road just in time to avoid the jam. The main reason for coming here was to see the Cathedral built in the Thirteenth Century. It was an impressive sight even from a distance and reminded us a bit of Salisbury Cathedral, only this one has two towers. We walked in and were both amazed at the enormity of the building and the stunning stained glass windows. We picked up a small guide for 30 cents and then saw what looked like audio guides. On enquiring we were told by a grumpy English man that they were not automatic guides and were in fact individual headsets for guided tours. We felt as though we had been told off and both said that if he was giving the tours we wouldn't bother. As it happens we later stumbled a group of English people gathering for a tour and decided to join. Moments later the grumpy man arrived and announced that the tour was 10 euros each. We decided having walked briefly around the Cathedral that it would be a more rewarding visit if it was explained fully. The grumpy man was in fact very informative as he had been doing the tour for fifty years. He explained that the stained glass windows could be read like a book and each window tells a story. He was a bit like Patrick Moore in his eccentricity and was amusing to watch as he got increasingly frustrated first with the Preacher being too noisy and then with the Organist who apparently wasn't supposed to play whilst tours were being conducted. He had also invited us to ask questions at anytime but when anyone did he immediately made them look like complete imbeciles for coming up with a inane question. We loved the tour and it wouldn't have been the same without this mad English man. After the tour we went for a coffee and then returned to the Cathedral to climb the north tower. From this incredible height we could see for miles but it made our legs curl as it was so high.