If you go to Paris, it is assumed you'll visit the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre. I went this week for the third time and I've still not seen either.
If you go to Chartres, meanwhile, it is assumed you'll visit the cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site. As far as I'm aware, that's pretty much the sole reason for heading there. I went to Chartres this week too and saw only an industrial estate and a McDonald's drive-through.
Such is the life of a geologist, sometimes, but there was much to enjoy in my brief sojourn Français. These were my highlights:
- Discovering that 'steak à cheval' doesn't mean horsemeat, but simply a steak with a fried egg riding 'horseback' upon it.
- Learning that the French word for geological cores is 'carottes'.
- Learning that the Jurassic cores we were there to inspect were 'des carottes exceptionnelles du Yorkshire'. They were stored in a carothèque, naturally.
- Learning that 'Ne pas toucher' was an optional order if one of your team knew the person who'd written the label on the carotte.
- Discovering that - no matter your nationality - everyone loves ammonites on #FossilFriday.
- Noting that one of the chemistry labs full of flammable materials was run by an F. Lamy.
- Finishing the trip off with a marvellous meal out in a small Parisian restaurant with two Brits, two Germans, and three French guys, and agreeing that European integration really is the only way to proceed.
If you go to Chartres, meanwhile, it is assumed you'll visit the cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site. As far as I'm aware, that's pretty much the sole reason for heading there. I went to Chartres this week too and saw only an industrial estate and a McDonald's drive-through.
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| Ce n'est pas la Cathédrale de Chartres! |
Such is the life of a geologist, sometimes, but there was much to enjoy in my brief sojourn Français. These were my highlights:
- Discovering that 'steak à cheval' doesn't mean horsemeat, but simply a steak with a fried egg riding 'horseback' upon it.
- Learning that the French word for geological cores is 'carottes'.
 |
| Ce n'est pas les carottes je cherche! |
- Learning that the Jurassic cores we were there to inspect were 'des carottes exceptionnelles du Yorkshire'. They were stored in a carothèque, naturally.
 |
| La Carotthédrale de Chartres. |
- Learning that 'Ne pas toucher' was an optional order if one of your team knew the person who'd written the label on the carotte.
- Discovering that - no matter your nationality - everyone loves ammonites on #FossilFriday.
 |
| Fossile Vendredi, c'est formidable! |
- Noting that one of the chemistry labs full of flammable materials was run by an F. Lamy.
- Finishing the trip off with a marvellous meal out in a small Parisian restaurant with two Brits, two Germans, and three French guys, and agreeing that European integration really is the only way to proceed.
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