Provins- Medieval Splendor

About an hour from Paris city limits there lies this jewel of a city. It was once a fortified medieval town - famous in all of Europe for hosting one of France's main Champagne Fairs. The city became very wealthy in its time due to merchant trade in commerce and spices. Provins held the largest cloth fairs in Europe.

The city was beautiful - stone homes, lined cobbled streets, Damascus roses and sunflowers framed village windows. The Damascus Rose plays an important part in history here - It was brought from Damascus by Thibaud de Champagne. He brought a entire rose bed to Provins after being completely taken with the blooms and fragrance from The Garden of The Sultan of Damascus. He was in love with the Queen - Blanch Of Castile, and presented the rose to her. It is now the symbol of the Village.

Today Provins is famous for its Rose products- rose jams, rose honey and rose sugar. You can sample rose crepes and ice cream at many of the shops in town.

The fortified entrance to the medieval town.

Audrey outside of one of the little homes. See the stonework? Very cool! These crochet curtains were everywhere. Grace and Hazel loved the cats!

On the Wall - the view of the farms and countryside were amazing. What is this old in America?

These flowers were so brilliant- had to snap a few pics here. I want a garden full of these!

We saw a reenactment play of life in the medieval ages - and some of the folk lore surrounding the Damascus Rose. It was worth seeing - the kids had fun. There were lots of horses, ducks, cows, sheep and 2 wolves.

A photo session with the villain.....Sul was a little tense.....

Just a bit more nervous of the grip...and growling....

feeling not so brave anymore.......

Ice cream- sad to say I did not sample the rose flavor.

The overcast weather added a bit of drama to our exploration of the town. This is a view from the town square looking at Caesars Tower and the Church.

Audrey playing Rapunzel!

Inside the 11th Century Church of ST. Ayoul. Amazing!

Birds, birds, and oh yeah, Notre Dame.

Cathedral de Notre-Dame, Paris!

One sunny afternoon we walked down the Seine and stopped at Notre Dame Cathedral. It is amazing to look at- so much detail in the architecture. The stained glass windows are brilliant and the kids loved finding the gargoyles!

Inside the church -cool to think that many of France's Kings and Queens were crowned here!

This is the place to which all signposts in France refer to when they give the distance from Paris. (Whew! That is a mouthful...)

Great pic of the front - also showing the beauty of the "Rose Window" above the main entrance. This was one of our warmer days in Paris. It rained a lot while we were there. There were tons of birds chirping and flitting about these hedges.

The kids watched someone feed a small bird right out of their hands. The kids were determined to try it...

We had better luck with the pigeons.

Even me... they liked curry chips the best!

Sully loving it!

I love this pic of Audrey! The kids said this was the best day of the whole trip! When I ask them about Paris they still say they loved the birds best!

The Louvre

The Louvre- one of the worlds largest museums, and the most visited museum in the world! It was much bigger than I thought. We decided to go early in the morning- we were first in line. Word is, you get there as early as you can and rush to the Mona Lisa in the Sully wing. This gives you the closest look at her, when the crowds are less full.

This is the Sully wing from the outside.

Audrey and Grace patiently waiting...

Sul loved seeing his name up there...

The Winged Victory.

So much - too much, to look at...

And there she is.... Audrey was so excited! This is the first glimpse of The Mona Lisa. The famous painting is displayed behind bullet-proof glass and a roped off viewing area of about 15 feet circumference.

Q and the girls jockeying for position...

Inspiring!

Sully said he doesn't really feel bad for Jesus because he gets to live again.

The main hall to The Egyptian Antiquities.

The gals and King Tut.

Ramses. This wing inspired me to plan an Egypt family vacation...

Their first view of a real mummy....

I think the kids loved this little troll the best. They had fun making up sounds and stories behind this guy.

And there was a cool a/c vent right in front of this display case. I think we may have spent the majority of our time here.

A view from inside and under the glass pyramid. This is also the main entrance for The Louvre.

We may be still living there when this happens...