Troyes, France
Troyes is renowned for one of Europe’s finest collections of medieval stained glass. This is one of literally hundreds of windows in Cathédrale Saint-Pierre Saint-Paul, the primary cathedral in Troyes. Created mainly during the 13th–16th centuries, many of the windows tell biblical stories to worshippers while filling churches with colored light symbolizing the divine.
These are the stained glass windows just below the photo above.
Here is one of the many side alcoves in the cathedral.
Both sides of cathedral were completely lined with stained glass.
This is a photo of the nave or long central aisle the cathedral.
Finally, here is a photo of the front of Cathédrale Saint-Pierre Saint-Paul.
Our hotel is about 1km from the old town of Troyes, so the walk was reasonable even while I am trying to be extra careful of my knee.
The old town is full of narrow cobbled roads lined with shops, restaurants, inns and cafes.
Around every corner seemed to be another church.
And another church …
Many of the churches had parks or gardens adjacent to them.
This is the Hotel Dieu-le-Compte, one of many stunning old buildings in the old town.
This is an old apothecary. After a few days of riding, some of these remedies might seem like a good idea. Tomorrow, we will be riding 70 miles to Chaumont. In theory, it will be a bit cooler than today with highs about 91 rather than 95.
For those that are curious, following my post from the airplane, everything has been very easy. It took me perhaps 20 minutes to go through immigration, collect my bags, order an Uber to Troyes, load my bike and bag, then get on my way. Once I arrived in Troyes, I met the head guide Balazs and several of the riders. I assembled my bike, had dinner with 5 fellow riders, then slept for almost 11 hours. This morning, Balazs made arrangements for me to ship my bike bag to our last rest day hotel in Bulgaria. Due to customs issues, shipping to Istanbul would not work. He also found me a Mail Boxes Etc. that is shipping my bag to the hotel.
I am off to dinner and expect to post again tomorrow night.