Chartres Old Town

October 29:  The old town of Chartres is worth a stroll, apart from the Cathedral. Among the tacky souvenir shops, we discovered La Galerie du Vitrail, a stained glass shop that offered artisan-crafted delights in traditional and modern designs. They could even ship anywhere in the world. Natrually, I couldn't afford anything.

Monsieur Bellini

Then there was the Galerie Bellini, a tiny shop located down a few twisting steps, run by a retired computer entrepreneur. Monsieur Bellini took the time to talk to us, in fluent English, about his rotating set of artwork, the history of Chartres and about life in general.

Finally, Punjab Restaurant is closer to the train station but offers excellent Pakistani meals at reasonable prices. (The staff warns you when you first come in, that they don't serve alcohol. But they don't tell you it's because the restaurant is Muslim.) My fixed-price menu included a delicious lamb biryani. But the pistachio kulfi stunned me with its flavor, since it was the first time I've ever  had this ice-cream-like sweet. It seemed to have just a hint of rose water as an enhancement.  They don't have a website, so here's the contact info:

Punjab

13 rue Ste. Même  28000 Chartres
02 37 21 31 36