Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral is the sister church to my Notre Dame and she is the most well perserved gothic cathedral in Europe…so I wanted to visit her. Chartres had been recommended to me by friends, fellow travelers and Rick Steves. I had mentioned to Evelyne and Julian that I planned to go, they said that is was too far and maybe was not a good idea. Best to stay closer to Paris.
Yet, I was feeling adventurous so after studying Rick Steves guide-book, I decided to go for it. The worst thing that could happen is that I get lost, miss the last train back to Paris..thus have to find local lodging. Maybe get kidnapped by some group that try to sell me as a….I watched the Liam Neeson movie “Taken” before I left for Paris…mistake.
None of it seemed bad enough for me to avoid going, I wanted to see more of the countryside anyway.
I knew that I needed to catch a regional high-speed train out of Montparnasse train station. Getting to that train station was easy, via the Metro. When I got to the Montparnasse station, I got losted. This place was a large maze of floors and tunnels. I wandered trying to find anything that looked like a regional train system and not the Metro.
After hunting for 30 minutes I saw a small sign that displayed a different train symbol. I walk down a long, long desolate tunnel to come out into what appeared as a totally different train station. Very open , bright and very clean. Like walking thru the cave in the mountains and arriving in Shangri-La. I found the ticket window. Yes, they had a train to Chartres that was leaving in five minutes I paid for the round trip and ran to the train. I think I was the last one on before it pulled out.
I made it on the train to Chartres...had to run.
The train was amazing, clean, smooth, very fast and sophisticated compared to any train I had been on in the states. I sat and watched the french countryside pass by, the rolling hills colored with green and yellow hues. Puffy clouds drifted above casting a dappled light on the landscape. I could tell it was going to be an amazing day.
French countryside..taken from train
On the other side of the train I could hear an American English conversation…. tourist heading to Chartres as well. They were discussing Hemingway’s ”A Moveable Feast” (one of my favorite novels) and reading aloud to each other some of the most beautiful sections. Then conferring over the poetry and artistry of the passage. I liked them. The type of couple that see romance and beauty all around them. I eavesdropped for the hour long ride to Chartres, it was a beautiful conversation.
When we were exiting the train I started talking to them. They were Joe and ..I think Carol from my beloved Portland, Oregon. Where I was born and raised. I have a theory that the Pacific Northwest breeds a more soulful and prehaps romantic type of person than other parts of the country. I think it is because we embrace the rain. I love to walk in a misty rain, then go home to a fire, relaxing music, glass of Oregon Pinot Noir and a good book to read snuggled up. I love the sound of the rain, the smell…clean and earthy. The gentle droplets on my face. Rain is romance. The best is the transition between the misty rainy day and the sun. Rays of light that cast rainbows and far off views of clouds still soaking the ground below.
Getting back to Chartres before I book a flight back to Oregon.
Joe and Carol had been to Chartres over 30 years before, in college. They traveled frequently and were happy to return. We walked up the hill together, heading to the most well preserved gothic cathedral in Europe. It boast the largest collection of original stain glass in Europe from the middle ages. The windows were the bible of its day. Printing presses had yet to be invented and most couldn’t read. Commoner to kings were trained to interpret a window, to learn the stories we read from the printed bible.
We arrived at the square in front of the church and I pull out my trusty Rick Steves guide and asked them about the Malcom Miller tour. Friends in Naperville had recommended his tour. They looked at me in shock, “there is no way that he is still here”, they said. “Is he still alive?” They had taken his tour 30 years before. “Well, he’s in the Rick Steves book…Rick says the tour starts in 10 minutes, at 11″ I said, “Lets go find out”
Carol and Joe got really excited…”No way, if it’s true it would make the trip” “Malcolm Miller what a treat…how old can he be?” We walked in together and I headed to the information desk to ask. Yes, I found out that the group of about 8 people standing by the gift shop were waiting for the tour. Joe and Carol were gitty at this point. We start talking to the group, about 6 out of 8 people were as gitty as my friends. Most had done this tour before and loved Malcom Miller.
What can I say about Malcom Miller. The man is full of no nonsense personality, he just says what ever is on his mind. No edits.. I like this quality. He’s real. He is spry and spirited. He is a fount of information on the Chartres and undisputed expert on its Cathedral. He was amazing to listen to…and funny. Sometimes not meaning to be funny..we, his audience would sometimes have to hold back laughter when he would comment on the Asian tourist. He’d wise cracked about how there are so many Chinese that they can’t keep them all in the country at the same time. They are forced out to be tourist in 15 minute intervals and end up here crowding up the place. “Look more are coming now, rotate please, we are starting to get to many here now”, ” We need to start rotating them out of France, send them to America”
Mr. Malcom Miller
We all giggled and waited for the next outrageous comment….I love this guy. At one point he went after another tour guide for not following the rules and said that he could call the police and have him arrested. He stopped the tour, went and got the guy in charge. Complaining profusely. Throughout the tour he would mumble about the other guide. Kind of a bi-polar grandpa, that beamed with wisdom, enthusiasm and crankiness. I loved the tour so much I stayed for the 1pm show. Malcom is a character….charming, and grumpy, at th same time. His side tangents and mumbling were hilarious.
I asked him how he ended up the expert on Chartres Cathedral. He sighed (I could almost hear him thinking….I have answered this a million times..just buy the stupid book) He told me that he studied french in college back in England and for his final he had to go to France and teach french elementary kids english “stupid kids, how can you all stand them” and for his paper he wrote about the windows of Chartres Cathedral. He started giving tours in english during this time and just never left. He has done this for over 52 years. My friend’s were right, he is an icon.
Carol and Joe were in seventh heaven, they were all smiles. They stayed for the second tour with me. Stating that they had no choice but to stay, you never know how much longer this legend of Chartres would be sharing his unique wisdom. It was a gift and they were going to experience it fully. The smiles on their faces were full and told the story of past memories of an enchanted Chartres trip; now freshed with new experiences that were very reminiscent of 30 years before. It was rejuvenating, they said, giving them recaptured memories of youth. I was happy for them. Maybe in 30 more years Malcom will still be diligently giving his tour and I will have a similar memento.
For all of his gruffness, I couldn’t help but love is guy. He exuded charm and class. A little Archie Bunker with a touch of Queen Elizabeth wrapped in a college professor. So interesting. Please don’t ever change Mr. Miller, you are perfect.
Leave a comment
Comments feed for this article