Days 11 and 12 - Bike ride and Chartres/Le Mans

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Friday we rode our bikes to the Foret de Clamart. We took the scenic route there (and by that I mean the long-we-got-lost route, not the prettiest route) and when we got to the forest, we could only find the hiking trails at first which were very steep, rocky and not too bike-friendly. So, back down the big hill and finally found the bike trails. These were steep too but at least they were paved and ridable. This forest was well used by people running and biking. We ate our picnic in the woods and then biked around some more before heading home.

The next day was off to Chartres. This town is famous for its Cathedral (dating back to the 1100's) which is spectacular. We could see it from miles away driving in. We parked a ways away and walked in through the cobblestone streets lined with shops. The Cathedral is perched on top of a large hill so the streets are all windy and uphill towards it. The view from the top of the hill was really nice. Inside the Cathedral was huge. Parts of the interior were under restoration and it was amazing to see the difference the restoration makes. Next, we drove a little further east to Le Mans. This town is known for its 24 hour car race. The race had just happened in July but we did see the track where it happens. Another interesting feature of this town is the ancient Roman remains. There is a wall which goes 1300 metres around the old city and it has 12 towers. It dates back to 300 AD. We also visited the Saint Julian Cathedral which was huge. We did not get home till after 11pm so no blog till this morning......

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Photos

Biking to Clamart
This is in the town where the forest is

Chartres
Such a pretty place

Chartres
Lots of canals here

Chartres streets
Narrow streets - cars barely fit

Saint Julian
In Lemans

Le Mans statue
To commemorate past winners of the race