Stepping back a few centuries

Published on 18 March 2025 at 04:24

Remember what I said about that slow pace? Parisians we saw sipping coffee? Strolling the markets? Sitting in the cool sun reading? NOT SO on Monday morning! We set out of the city around 8:15 with about a million of our new friends. We managed to make it through a metro transfer and the transfer to the RER train line. The people movers and the brisk walking pace en masse are no joke. If we had tripped it would have been all over. Eyes forward and MOVE. Once into the train station, we grabbed a coffee and Steve paid one euro to use the restroom! We made it, and the P Ligne to Provins was practically empty, so I was able to catch up the blog while Steve watched the countryside.

When we arrived in Provins, the pace was more our speed, and we felt comforted to know Seattle's best coffee is in France! We meandered through the "new" part of town and up the hill a mile to the original medieval town, first stopping at the military cemetery for the soldiers lost in WWI.

If you followed along our UK trip a couple of years ago, you may remember we like old architecture, and this was really old, mind-boggling old architecture. ("old shit" as Steve says)

Provins was likely inhabited as early as the Neolithic age, and the existing construction dates from the 12th century. Henry the Liberal, Count of Champagne 1152-1181, was responsible for establishing orderly rule, thus making it a safe place for merchants to gather. This led to well-attended faires throughout the year, making it the most successful region in trade and finance in medieval Europe. Henry the Liberal was one of the leaders of the Second Crusade, and is regarded as one of the most educated and generous leaders of the time.

We walked around the ramparts, built between the 11th and 13th centuries. They have been partially restored and we were able to walk along the top with views of the land. The main entrance with the restored wood railing on the top is the gate Henry the Liberal used.

Today most of the existing residences are privately occupied, presumably renovated inside, but the exterior looks much as it would have in the medieval era.

Tour Cesar or Caesar's Tower was constructed under Henry's reign and was the watchtower as well as a dungeon and prison. It is the only known octagonal tower built on a square base. The base provides for four turrets; the staircases are winding and narrow, going up in several places around the perimeter of the octagonal structure, with tiny chambers off each landing. Centrally located, with a view of the entry to the town, there is a "fancy" (by 12th century standards) Governor's Office, open and spacious with a fireplace. We squeezed (literally) up the staircases to the outdoor corridors for breathtaking views of the town and countryside. Today, and since the mid 1600s, the tower houses the church bells for the nearby Staint-Quiriace collegiate church, and I can attest to the fact they still ring as I was walking by at just the moment and felt the ringing down to my toes!

After a day in the Middle Ages, we descended the hill in search of food and transportation back to the city. But first--more kitties! Les chats sont amiceaux!