So today it rained ALL DAY! It has yet to stop. Kind of annoying since we would like to be out enjoying the sun, since all of our planned trips are outdoors. But we have raincoats and umbrellas so it worked out ok. It was super chilly though. So Provins is a small town to the east of Paris that has existed since the early Middle Ages, its importance confirmed in 802 by Charlemagne. The fortifications and old stone buildings still remain to this day and it has become a medieval fair town, complete with jousting events on weekends in the summer. Unfortunately this is not considered summertime so it was pretty quiet and dreary, apart from all the student field trips wandering through.
We wandered through the streets and up to the highest point where we found the Church of St. Quiriace, which was a gorgeous monument built in 1160 for Henri le Liberal, Count of Champagne. Unfortunately a lot of its large windows and rose windows were bricked up for safety reasons, between natural wear and tear, a later fire and then many of the wars.
After this we visited Tour César (Caesar's Tower), sitting next to the church on the top of the hill, this was the vantage point that allowed views of all the surrounding countryside and probably what kept so much of the town intact from outside threats.
We found a cute little shop selling products made from their local rose gardens and bee keeps. The rose petal honey was delicious! My mom and I bought a couple little things from here. It smelled AMAZING!
After this we had a quick bite to eat at a local cafe and then continued to wander through the rest of town (still in the rain). We found the Medieval Library (closed on Mondays of course) and then the Jouy Gate, another place with beautiful views of the countryside and the fortifications still standing around the city. At this point it was cold and wet so we decided to head back to the train station to catch the next train back to Paris. It was a very fun, if water-logged trip. I'm sure it would be a lot of fun in the summer with the sun out and all the medieval events going on.
We wandered through the streets and up to the highest point where we found the Church of St. Quiriace, which was a gorgeous monument built in 1160 for Henri le Liberal, Count of Champagne. Unfortunately a lot of its large windows and rose windows were bricked up for safety reasons, between natural wear and tear, a later fire and then many of the wars.
After this we visited Tour César (Caesar's Tower), sitting next to the church on the top of the hill, this was the vantage point that allowed views of all the surrounding countryside and probably what kept so much of the town intact from outside threats.
We found a cute little shop selling products made from their local rose gardens and bee keeps. The rose petal honey was delicious! My mom and I bought a couple little things from here. It smelled AMAZING!
After this we had a quick bite to eat at a local cafe and then continued to wander through the rest of town (still in the rain). We found the Medieval Library (closed on Mondays of course) and then the Jouy Gate, another place with beautiful views of the countryside and the fortifications still standing around the city. At this point it was cold and wet so we decided to head back to the train station to catch the next train back to Paris. It was a very fun, if water-logged trip. I'm sure it would be a lot of fun in the summer with the sun out and all the medieval events going on.
I'd like to try the rose petal honey !
ReplyDeletewhat a pretty town! Never heard of it before. Those walls are huge.
ReplyDelete