We had to travel a little out of town in order to get our Covid-19 shots, so we decided to take advantage of our time heading in the southern direction towards Chartres, which is located about 90 km (56 mi) southwest of Paris. Chartres is another small gem of a commune at 16.85 sq km (6.51 sq mi) and is the capital of the Eure-et-Loir department.

Chartres is most well known for its Gothic style cathedral Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built between 1193 and 1250. It is considered one of the most well preserved cathedrals in all of France and even Europe. It still includes its original stained glass windows.

While most of the city of Chartres suffered severe damage as the result of bombings that occurred during World War II, Chartres was saved by American Army officer Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr. The cathedral was slated to be destroyed as American Army leaders thought it was a German observation post. However, Colonel Griffith, Jr. volunteered to go behind lines to investigate those claims. He searched the entire cathedral, including the bell tower, and confined that there were no Germans present and challenged the order that the cathedral be destroyed. The order was withdrawn due to his bravery and the cathedral remained intact.

Today, the cathedral not only houses the largest collection of stained glass windows (176) from the 12th and 13th  centuries, but it also houses the largest collection of sculptures from those centuries as well. One if the cathedral’s greatest treasures is the 6m-long veil worn by the Blessed Virgin Mary. This veil serves as a guiding light the brings more than 180,000 followers of the Christian faith to the cathedral on a yearly pilgrimage. 

In the center of the cathedral resides a great labyrinth that symbolizes the path of life. People have made the pilgrimage to Chartres since the Middle Ages in hopes of walking the labyrinth “which connects our difficulties, twists and turns, hesitations and suffering, but also our hope for a resurrection (at the end of our path), our joys of being able to transform our Earthly pilgrimage into an Eternal journey” (https://www.cathedrale-chartres.org/en/cathedrale/). 

When entering the cathedral be careful while stepping across the floor. There are people who volunteer their time to ensure that the path is walked accordingly. You can either walk around the outside of the labyrinth, or you can walk lines within the labyrinth. It is to ensure that the respect if given to those who pay homage to the Blessed Virgin. As with many of the sites we have visited in France, the Chartres Cathedral was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

The cathedral sits on a hill above the rest of the town of Chartres. The massive structure can be seen from great distances while driving on the autoroute through the area. The majority of the land around Chartres is wheat fields so it is easy to spot the cathedral far away! We did not get a chance to visit other parts of the town. The town around the cathedral is absolutely stunning with old cobblestone roads, old architecture, and waterways surrounding the down town area. I would like to revisit Chartres to have the opportunity to walk around the town to enjoy the beauty this town has to offer!

The earliest recorded notation of Château de Joux dates back to medieval times 1034. It started out a simple wooden garrison overlooking the passage of La Cluse due to its strategic location just 15 km from the Swiss border. It is located in La Cluse-et-Mijoux in the Jura Mountains of France commanding the mountain pass Clue de Pontarlier. The garrison was surrounded by lush forests which served as an economic gain as the lords of Joux maintained the rise lands, taxes, and inhabitants further building up the garrison to a château. In 1454, the Duke of Burgundy purchased the château from the Joux Lord descendants. The location of the château gave the Duke domination over the wool and salt trade routes, which he used to fund further expansion of the château. As the years passed on, the château was used as a bargaining tool among France, Sweden, and Spain. Over the years, and surviving through numerous owners, the château fell into disrepair. 

In 1678, King Louis XIV expanded the French Kingdom bringing in military architect Vauban to transform the château into a strong military hold that would stop Switzerland from encroaching on French territory. Vauban turns the château into one of the most renown military strongholds in French history. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the fort served as a state prison for the French governments including the famous prisoners: Mirabeau, Heinrich von Kleist, and the leader of the Haitian Revolution, Toussaint Louverture.

Today, the fortress is museum displaying more the 600 rare weapons from the between the 18th and 20th centuries. Unfortunately, it is currently (2021-2022) closed for renovations and so we were not able to enter the grounds. However, its location within the mountains certainly makes this historical military landmark a thing of the beauty. 

I decided to visit Château de Joux from a distance. I decided to visit Fort Mahler to photograph Château de Joux from another cliff…….what a fantastic view! We arrived in Pontarlier just in time for me to have just enough time to drive up the mountain, park, and walk from the main road 2 km to Fort Mahler with enough time to set up before sunset. The sunset was absolutely amazing one of the best sunsets I have witnessed in my life! I did not stay until the end of blue hour because the temperature was dropping very fast that evening and I still had to hike back out of this location. When I was packing up my camera gear, I guess I started the locals passing by! The locals were a group of chamois moving as the light was quickly disappearing. I think I was more startled then they were! Walking back to the car I was able to see the sky light up bright pink during blue hour and I regret not waiting another 15 minutes before I left Fort Mahler.

I wish during this trip their were more time to see more of the other sites in Pontarlier. I recommend to visit Château de Joux and Fort Mahler if you are traveling to or near Pontarlier!

When we first moved to France, my kids were bummed that they couldn’t go swimming as we live inland. They were, after all, born on small islands surrounded by some of the most beautiful waters (Okinawa and Hawaii). So when my youngest daughter asked if there were any beaches around, we thought a drive two and a half hours north was in order. Welcome to Étretat!!! This very tiny commune, coming in at a whopping 4.07 sq km (1.57 sq mi), is mostly known for its chalk, white cliffs. The cliffs include three arches and a pointed formation called L’Aiguille, or the Needle, which rises 70 meters (230 ft) above the sea.

Before heading out to Étretat for our trip, the forecast called for the entire time to be a severe storm with a lot of wind and rain! I figured I would try to get some photographs in if possible otherwise it was going to be a few days hanging out in the beach chalet. I was most fortunate with the weather. There was times it was bad but I waited patiently and the weather would clear up before the next set of the storm rolled through Étretat. The storm provided me with some incredible cloud coverage and it created very dramatic lighting and interesting skies for my photographs.

For any of you golfers out there, a short walk up the cliffs to the west of Étretat will lead to an 18-hold golf course overlooking L’Aiguille. The golf course hosts a golf school for youngsters 4 - 18 years of age. It is highly affordable at only 30 Euros for 30 minutes or 55 Euros for 60 minutes. The course even boasts Lady’s Day, and several memberships and clubs. Don’t forget to stop by the clubhouse for lunch!

In the center between the two cliffs, rests the small town itself. Here you will find several restaurants, shops, a wooden covered market, and the 19th century villa Le Clos Lupin. Le Clos Lupin is a museum made famous by the gentlemen burglar Arsène Lupin in Maurice LeBlanc children’s book. You may have seen the series Lupin on Netflix based on this fictional character. We stayed in a small chalet overlooking the English Channel. Of course, even though the temperature was fairly cold, my youngest daughter had to go swimming until she turned purple!!! Make sure you bring some easy to slip off shoes as the beach is a pebble beach and wreaks havoc on the feet. We even saw a few people bring out blow up mattress to lay down and soak up some sun.

Now let’s take a walk to the eastern cliffs. Get ready for a workout climbing up 341 stairs! From this cliff, you have a perfect, unobstructed view of the falaise d’Aval (Aval arch) immortalized in works created by Claude Monet and Eugène Boudin. Even with the number of people at the top of the cliff, you can feel the calmness and peace of the slight breeze in the air and the lapping of the waters below.  Right as you enter the clearing at the top of the stairs, you will see Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, built in 1854 by sailors who carried building materials on their back and arms as a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. On August 6, 1856, the chapel was blessed as a place for sailors and fisherman to worship. Unfortunately, the original building was destroyed in 1942 by German occupiers., but it was reconstructed in 1950.

Lastly, make sure to visit the Jardins d’ Étretat! This is an Asian inspired Neo-futuristic garden listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO and winner of the European Garden Award in the category “Best development of a historic park or garden”. The garden features seven different parts: avatar, emotions, impressions, d’eval, zen, la manche, and d’Amont. Each part is filled with remarkably unique statues, sculptures, and garden formations. Words and pictures simply do it no justice. It is a must see in person.