We started out by 8 a.m., took a bus the 75 miles south of Paris and took a tour of a famous bell factory, the Founderie de Cloches Bollee. This foundry has been making bells since 1715 and has stayed in the same Bollee family for eight generations. They still make bells the way they used to for the past 300 years, using ceramic and mud molds, pouring bronze into three layers, and making them to precise tones of the orders. They have been made for steeples all over Europe (including Chartres) , but also around the world to China, Canada, and the U.S.
A view of the molds and process of making the bells
The finished products
We had a wonderful lunch at a small restaurant, then braved the rain and walked to the Cathedral Ste-Croix, which was begun in 1287, burned down in 1568, and the rebuilt from 1601 to 1829.
The city of Orleans is associated with Joan of Arc, who delivered the city from the attacks of the English and Burgundians in 1429. Although there are some remnants of middle-age houses, much of Orleans was damaged during World War II. We saw the house where Joan of Arc stayed for 8 days, although it is really now a 20th century restoration of the original house. Still, one can get a sense of the history that occurred here as we walked the still-narrow and quaint street. The rain curtailed our visits to the gardens, but we were able to go into a museum filled with French and Flemish works from the 16th century.
Above are pictures of the statues of Joan of Arc and the museum (where she hid out)
The streets are filled with mixed-era buildings, such as the half-timbered house from the middle ages, to the 18th, 19th, and 20th, century houses all built next to each other.
And, of course, you can always find one of these here in France:
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