Two things remain crystal clear in mind when I think of Chartres: 1) an amazing Gothic cathedral with awe-inspiring stained glass and 2) the worst meal I've ever eaten in my entire life.  I'll work backwards because the meal requires more explanation than the beauty of the church.

Calmness

I have to admit that I got myself in this culinary pickle so it was my responsibility to get myself out of it.  And I do not doubt the high quality of the above-referenced meal…its nastiness was based entirely on the subjectivity of my taste buds, my misunderstanding of the French language and my hastiness to satiate myself.

So I skipped through the menu too quickly and saw an item that I thought read veal medallions and ordered with the confidence of a sailor on smooth waters.  We had just ordered a pair of Kronenbourgs and I was sipping the creamy brew while composing some witty postcards for the folks back home.  With views of the looming cathedral across the street, we enjoyed an outdoor table at inky twilight.  It was a special moment.

And then our food arrived. I cut into my "veal medallions," took one bite, chewed twice and nearly spit the mouthful through the stained glass across the street.  Well, it turns out that this sophisticate ordered calf kidneys, not veal medallions.

I speak Spanish and I should have realized that rognon has the same latin root as rinon, which means liver in Spanish.  Ugghhh!  I was beyond irritation with myself for not looking a little closer and thinking a little harder about the menu selection.  What an idiot!

It was foul, the thought of it was foul and I couldn't bear to swallow it! 

What was I going to do?!!? I couldn't send it back…I had ordered it!!  So I quietly worked the offensive matter into my napkin, but there were still five more hunks of organ to handle.

I tried to pass it off on Jake, but he tried a bite and turned green. His food was fine, but now it was going to look weird if his plate was clean and mine wasn't. So we agreed to leave both of our meals unfinished in an effort to make it look like we just weren't very hungry.  And we tried to hide little bits of rognon all over the table - in the bread basket, in the salad, behind the garnish.

And when the bill came we paid in a hurry and scampered away from the restaurant as quickly as possible.  I still shudder when I think about it!

As for the cathedral, it's very spectacular and shouldn't be missed.  There are also other points of interest in Chartres and we spent about a day and half exploring the city.  There you go.