A Day trip to the Middle Ages.

This weekend we had heard that there was a Christmas market in the medieval town of Provins and decided to check it out. Provins is within the Île-de-France so it's free for us to visit with our transportation passes. (Score!) The girls I was traveling with had been to Provins previously but for me it was the first time. Luckily though, all of us got to experience the novelty of the Christmas market together.

We set out from Gare de l'Est for the 90 minute train ride to the town, which was surprisingly bustling with tourists but cute nonetheless. The other girls had been there before so they weren't as keen to revel in the style of the buildings. Google has some amazing pictures of the city but one thing I was not prepared for, and actually found hilarious, was the power lines that completely take away the style of the original town.

It was then a twenty minute walk to the market. And when I say walk, I mean hike. It's nearly all uphill and mildly strenuous. When we reached the top we were greeted with the glorious smells of hot wine (mulled wine) and the cheerful sounds of festivities. We quickly realized that we had hilariously misinterpreted the description of the event. Rather than a Christmas market in the medieval town of Provins, it was a medieval Christmas market in the town of Provins. What does that mean exactly? Well it means that instead of selling jewelry and soaps, they sold authentically replicated, hand-crafted weaponry and tartans as far as the eye could see. Everyone was dressed in their best clothes (of the era, of course) and used the market to live our their fantasies as members of this medieval society and to stock up on the latest garb and gear to help expand their collections. After

We didn't end up buying anything from the market although we were seriously tempted at some points. It's amazing how creative people can be with leather, iron and cloth. We did, however, wait in an endless line for sausage and potatoes. When it was finally our turn to order, we were told that they only had bread and cheese left. Admittedly not what we were hungry for but after waiting in line for so long we were too stubborn to order elsewhere.

After getting our cultural fill from the market we thought we could do some light exploring of the town. By light exploring, I mean that it was a cold and eerily overcast day so we thoughtfully admired the sights on our route from the market back to the train station. Fortunately, however, we passed by La Tour Cesar, which is a cute little fortress nestled on a grand hill. The dreary weather added a mystic je ne sais quoi to the view that sent a shiver down your spine and made you feel exactly how the castle is meant to: intimidated and cautious.

Certainly I haven't gotten to know this town well at all so I intend to return (hopefully on a warmer day) to fix that but I definitely feel that what I experienced was more indicative of the former life of this old town than a tour of the castle could have done anyway!