Pelligrina

After lunch I found an information centre and the gentleman there kindly told me what stops to change at to get to 40 Rue du Bac, the place where St Catherine Laboure is laid to rest. There were many pilgrims there praying in the Church including a large group of Philipino pilgrims.I kept bumping into this group on my travels through Paris. The area surrounding Rue du Bac is quite attractive. The shops and cafes are more varied with a notable absence of those stores selling gaudy trinkets. It seemed to be a place where locals not tourists dwelt. If I am able to get the pilgrimage together it would be an ideal place to stay.
After leaving Rue du Bac I decided to take the metro home via Gare Montparnasse then Gare de Lyon. This was because of the most anxious part of my journey which would be in a few days time. I would have only 1 hour to get from Montparnasse to Gare de Lyon to catch a train for which I had reserved seats.It also was a good opportunity to spend a few minutes familiarising myself with the two large stations especially Gare du Lyon as it has 3 seperate areas from where trains depart. I found these train station reconnaissance very helpful.
When I eventually arrived home I had dinner in my room at Maison Eymard. One of the excellent tips I received from my travel agent was to bring along a travel hot water jug. So I had a packet of Chinese noodles which cooked in boiling water inside a collapsable silicon bowl which I purchased in Australia. These little contraptions helped save quite a few Euros as far as meals are concerned not to mention providing that rare "cuppa tea" which is a little foreign to the petit dejeuner in France.
After the simple supper I discovered it was a long, long, long walk from Avenue du Friedland to the Eiffel Tower. I persevered as far as the Seine River and even crossed the bridge but it was too dark to go any further. However it was beautiful from where I was standing and I took some lovely photos of the tower all lighted up from where I was. Then after the long walk back I packed my luggage a little nervously. Tomorrow I would be going to places which were off the beaten track.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Pellegrina - I've been reading your report off and on now for some weeks and I feel bad for not having left a comment so let me just say your report is wonderful and you've managed to give us all a look at France from your unique perspective. Wonderful writing and lots of wonderful places that you've visited.

bilboburgler

well being nervous and knowing you got home must feel good

The weekday lunch times specials are a very good way fill up in France and Italy.

YankyGal

So other than feeling a little crowded, what did you think of the Chapel, Pelligrina? I ask because it holds a special place in my heart. My father (who had only been to Paris briefly after WWII, Army) was fascinated by the Chapel based on some things he had read about it. He was very religious. The only thing he asked me to do during my college semester abroad in Paris was to visit the Chapel, which I did and recounted to him, along with pamphlets, etc. I've been back since mainly to pay homage to him (he passed away some time ago). I generally find it a peaceful, quiet and reflective place. Unfortunately, it appears it wasn't that way for you!

Btw, what FMT said. I've been enjoying your report, but hadn't posted yet - so thanks for sharing.

kerouac

Saint Catherine Labouré was not the only person to visit in the neighborhood. Here is my report about visiting two saints just a few minutes apart, and I'm not even a believer: http://tinyurl.com/5rljpfn

TDudette

Looking forward to more!

Luhimari

ttt

Pelligrina

Ohhh Kerouac, it was an "if I only knew" moment when I looked up your trip. St Vincent de Paul would have been a wonderful saint to visit and he was only a few minutes away.
YankyGal, it was very touching to hear about your experiences in the Chapel.It's not surprising that your father found the chapel fascinating, many soldiers did because of the miraculous medal.
To explain my impression of the Chapel of the Miraculous medal would have necessitated a long explanation, so I opted not to say anything.Perhaps this was wrong. The explanation, although long, will also help understand the other places in France that I have visited and why they were so important to me. Fodorites are more than welcome to skip this part if they wish.
RUE DU BAC again...
You meet some very intersting people when you live in a Benedictine monastery. When I was last in our newest monastery in New Zealand, our community was introduced to a man with the first name of Harley (I've forgotten his surname). He turned out to be the man who trained all the horses in the Lord of the Rings. He related some fascinating stories about him and his wife having to teach the actors how to ride bare back, which actors were good and which actors didn't even try. He told us that the horse who played Shadowfax was bought at El Caballo Blanco which is near Sydney. So much effort and energy and planning went into making a movie masterpiece.
The planning and the painstaking detail that went into the making of the Lord of the Rings add to the greatness of the movie.We Catholics believe that there was an incredible amount of preparation, energy and planning to the finest detail for the birth of Christ at Bethlehem. In fact, it began at the beginning of time. We see this in Genesis 3:15 when "The Woman and her seed" is mentioned. The design was there. Christ is the New Adam and Mary is the New Eve.
Catholics don't worship Mary. Just as the Jews honour Moses as the bearer of the 10 commandments, not as the author, God is the author, so Catholics honour Mary as the bearer of Christ, and not His creator.St Paul says that we should imitate Christ. Christ fulfilled the law perfectly. So we imitate Christ in His obedience to the 4th commandment - 'Honour your father and your mother". So Catholics, as adopted brothers and sisters of Christ, honour our mother - Mary.
In Exodus 30: 1-7 we see the amount of detail that were in God's instructions to the Israelites for the making the Ark of the Covenant.The amount of work that went into creating the Ark gives glory to what it holds. Inside the Ark was placed the tablets of the Covenant and some pieces of the manna. When the Babylonians invaded Israel the Ark dissappeared. So at the time when the Book of Revelations was written, the Ark of the Covenant had not been seen for 500 years. So when St John said at the end of Revelation 11 that he saw the Ark of the Covenant, the Jews would have been stunned.John describes in Revelation 12 what the Ark of the Covenant looked like, it was "...a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Catholics believe that Mary is the Ark of the Covenant, she bears the Word of God, and the true manna, the true bread from Heaven. Just as there was a great deal of work and craftsmanship that went into making the Ark in Moses time,so there was an extraordinary amount of craftsmanship that went into creating the true Ark of the Covenant - Mary.She was planned from the beginning of time, to bear God's own Son.The amount of work that went into creating the Ark gives glory to what it holds.
Catholics don't believe that people are less alive when they leave this earth, in fact they believe that if they are with God they are even more alive.So the saints can pray for us if we ask them just as our friend can pray for us if we ask them. We also believe that God can do anything.
The veil between Heaven and Earth can sometimes be very thin. In 1830, St Catherine Laboure reported that the Virgin Mary appeared to her in the Chapel at Rue du Bac. Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary are part of the Church's history. The first apparition occured in 40AD after the Resurrection. It was to St James the Apostle at Pillar in Spain. He had been preaching and was greatly discouraged when Our Lady appeared to him.
When Our Lady appeared to St Catherine she asked her to have a medal struck with the words "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." Moses was asked to cover the Ark in pure gold (Exodus 30:3). Christ washed away our sins through baptism. Catholics believe that Mary was preserved from Original Sin by God, in order that Christ could dwell in her womb.
The medal that was made after the apparition became known as the Miraculous Medal. It was known as this because there was and still are many miracles that have been associated with the medal. There are many stories of miraculous protection of soldiers who wore the medal.But the most common miracle is that of conversion.
So, yes, the Chapel of the Miraculous medal was a special place to be, a very moving place to be.Peaceful and gentle.It serves as a reminder that God has not forgotten His people. He proves His love by sending His own Son and then the Son shows His love by sending His own mother. There are so many great mysteries that can enter your mind like a flash of light and the light fills the soul.

YankyGal

Very interesting - thanks for sharing that!

YvonneT

I JUST began to read your post today, and like many others, I say "Thank You".

Pelligrina

CHARTRES
I was supposed to catch the 9.06 regional train from Montpanasse to Chartres (my destination was actually Laval)but being a little nervous for my first long train ride in France I arrived an hour early, 3 minutes before the early train to Chartres. So I jumped on it. There wasn't much room for luggage but the train was full of commuters going to work so I had plenty of room to store my luggage. I wish we had trains like that in Sydney, it was so clean and comfortable and even though it was peak hour it was very relaxing.Most of the passengers alighted after 2 or 3 stops.
The countryside outside Paris is beautiful and I kept thinking of those old 1940's war movies as we passed fields and forests and farms. It's a pity that there are so many trees planted along the railway tracks as it blocks the view and ruins photos.
I arrived at Chartres just after 9am so of course it was very quiet around town.I expected that there would be a baggage drop at the station for me to store my wheeled luggage.To my dismay there wasn't but I got sympathetic looks from the female station attendant. So on a drizzly morning in the quiet part of Chartres, the locals saw a short,lone, lady wearing a purple rain jacket dragging her luggage behind her.

Did you know wheeled luggage sounds like a train when it is wheeled over cobblestones? I wasn't really aware of it until I got to Chartres. DoongDoong DoongDoong DoongDoong all the way up to the famous Chartres Cathedral. I only passed two people on my way but I was acutely aware that I was probably waking up some of the local residents.I found a shop that serviced facilities and asked if they had a luggage drop, no. Then I asked where the tourist information centre was hoping that they would take luggage. I asked for directions and was sent down a long street with big cobblestones which seemed to amplify the train sound. Couldn't find it, then I asked a gentleman and he kindly directed me back down the way I came, so the train went down the road again. I tried a third time and this time the train circled the town square, more people out and about now and all of them staring at the train going round in circles and up and down. I gave up and trained it back to the Cathedral.

Chartres is a beautiful town and I highly recommend a visit here if possible. Maybe we can all sign a petition to have a baggage drop opened at the station. It is ideal for a day visit or as a stop along the way. The old part of town is medieval and the Cathedral is too, I read that it is one of the most perfectly preserved medieval churches in Europe and the stain glass rose windows are an exquisite example of medieval artistry. It certainly is a fascinating building. I spent quite a long time outside just looking before I stepped inside.

Did you know that the attendants in the Cathedral don't mind luggage either and that the stone floor of the Church is bumpy enough to make wheeled luggage sound like a small train? So for the next hour or so it sounded like there was a slow small train travelling around inside Chartres Cathedral. I was told by my travel agent about the labyrinth on the floor of Chartres Cathedral. The distance of the labyrinth from the entrance matches the distance of the rose window from the floor. So if the wall of the rose window were to cave in, it would land directly on top of the Labyrinth. I found another attendant at the back of the Cathedral, he put his finger up and I thought he was going to say "No you can't leave your luggage" but I spoke first and asked what time the Mass was. He was genuinely surprised as if he had never been asked that question before. Then he grinned broadly and noticed the medal around my neck. There was a 12pm Mass down in the crypt but the entrance was outside at the side of the Cathedral.

I still had some time left and sat for a while on the steps under a large archway for the side entrance. The archways are amazing, there is a flurry of extremely intricate stone carvings that cover the archways of the doors. I spent ages just looking at all the carvings and its detail. Around the back of the Church is a gorgeous garden with a beautiful building that looked to me to be about 17th century (I'm not an expert on architecture). The view from the wall of the garden was magnificent, it seemed that all of Chartres was below. There was a giant fir tree and as there was no one about I left my luggage there for a bit to scout around.

It was time for Mass and I found an obscure looking wooden door that led to the crypt. This was so incredible. It seemed very ancient down inside. There were some fading frescoes but most of it was stone. The simplicity and yet beauty of the crypt enchanted me. This was a place where probably the locals only knew of. For some reason I kept thinking of WWII and how possibly the resistance or some allied spies may have at one time hidden themselves in this secret space under the Cathedral. The place began to fill with devoted locals and a beautiful Mass was said.

After Mass I only had a short time for lunch before catching my train. Across the street was a little inn. It started to rain. I did not realise it at the time but this was the beginning of the rains that caused the flooding in Lourdes. The inn was rather cute and was run by a family. I was shown a blackboard and there was a lunch special. I had no idea what I was reading and the waiter smiled and pointed to a dish saying "This is local and is a very popular local dish". So I ordered that. It was a French omelette and probably the most delicious omelette I've ever tasted. It doesn't sound like much, eggs, cheese, bacon and potatoes but my goodness I've never tasted an omelette like that.
So I farewelled Chartres very happy and very full and my luggage and I noisily made our way back down to the train station. Next stop Le Mans and then Laval.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Still wonderful Pelligrina. Interesting you mentioned WWII and the cathedral since that brings to mind an interesting story. The allies were on the outskirts of town and were planning on dislodging the Germans, who occupied the town. The allies suspected the Germans were hiding in the church and using the tower as a way to spot them so they were planning on bombing the cathedral as a precautionary measure. The bravery of a certain American Colonel Welborn Griffith saved the cathedral. I found a letter on-line from a relative of this colonel recounting the events and it's such a great story I'm going to copy and paste the letter here:

"My wife’s maternal grandfather was a colonel in the U.S. Army in WWII. They were closing in on Chartres from the southwest, and they came under heavy artillery fire from the Germans in the town. An order was issued to shell the cathedral on the assumption that the Germans were using the tower to locate the Allied forces. My wife’s grandfather questioned the strategy of taking out the cathedral on a hunch and volunteered to go behind enemy lines to find out whether the Germans really were occupying the cathedral. His offer was accepted, and he found himself climbing the cathedral tower alone, not knowing whether an enemy unit was a step or turn away. After finding the tower unoccupied, he rejoined his forces, reporting that the cathedral was clear. The order to shell the cathedral was withdrawn, and the Allies took the town. During the gunfight, my wife’s grandfather was killed. He is buried in St. James Cemetery in Brittany.

The locals somehow pieced together the story I have just recounted, and, for many years, they recognized his bravery in saving their cathedral with a plaque on a sidewalk in Lèves (on the outskirts of Chartres) where he was killed. The only problem was that they did not know how to read American dog tags. His name was Welborn Griffith (so one could forgive their not knowing which was a first name and which a last name), but they got the names reversed, and his plaque read “Griffith Welborn.” For nearly 50 years, the story about the cathedral was unknown to his family in the U.S. because of this mistake — and would have remained unknown had it not been for a historian in Lèves who maintains a small World War II museum there.

In the mid-1990s, this historian, Monsieur Papillon, realized the mistaken reversal of Colonel Griffith’s names and, upon correcting the mistake, located his only living descendant — my mother-in-law in Jacksonville, Fla. With the aid of a translator, he contacted her and told her the story of her father and Chartres Cathedral. Soon thereafter, a ceremony was held at the cathedral to honor the officer who had seen fit to question the order to bomb the cathedral, and my wife’s family was truly touched when they played “The Star-Spangled Banner” — right in the cathedral. The plaque has been corrected, and a park has been dedicated in his honor."

YankyGal

That is most certainly a frissons-inducing story - thanks, FMT!

TDudette

Neat FMT.

Bokhara2

Just stumbled across this charming wander.
Saving for a read later on today. Thanks so much for putting digit to keyboard!

kerouac

I do hope there is more to come.

taconictraveler

Pellegrina: i have finally caught up with you on your journey. I too, like Kerouac, hope there is more to come. Thank you for this road less traveled.

LCBoniti

Wow. I have been away from Fodors for a long time and return to find this fascinating story. I hope you continue, Pelligrina, and I hope other Fodorites continue to add to it.

Fascinating.

gzeigler

I'm enjoying this report so much! Wonderful writing! We loved Chartres and also went to mass down in the crypt. After that we went a short way out of town to visit a stained glass studio and the artist whose father made the stained glass windows for our Cathedral here in Lexington, Kentucky, USA! My husband has since then made some very similar windows for the Eucharistic chapel which was built onto the Cathedral. We loved France!

gzeigler

Hope you can open this. There are pictures at the top of the windows my husband built.
http://zeiglerglass.com/www.zeiglerglass.com/HOME.html