Beyond Paris

We reckon UNESCO World Heritage sites are pretty good indicators of quality, so beyond Paris we hit three sites in quick succession, the nearby town of Provins, the Abbe de Fontenay and the city of Besancon

Provins
According to the listing statement this towns urban development is “the most authentic and most complete testimony of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries of medieval history” – but besides that it had a neat castle wall and keep that the kids really wanted to see.

Provins had lots and lots of mouldy old buildings...

... and even though some of these houses might be pushing
900 years old they are still most definitely lived in...

... but mostly by short people!

But those amazing castle walls!  They would have looked a little lower when the moat was filled with water, but still!

Next the keep.  The form of it was so Walt Disney I thought it had to be fake ... but they told me it’s real alright.

At the top of the keep inside the roof are a series of bells mounted within a massive oak framework.

Abbe de Fontenay
Mentioning the word abbey and the kids went a bit cool – “not another church Dad!”  But in the end they were brought around by this fascinating site described thus:

'Fontenay Abbey, whose various buildings are for the most part still standing, is one of the most accomplished and beautiful ensembles of the early Cistercian years.  It was founded in 1119 in northern Burgundy.'

The abbey, once vital, gradually decayed and was eventually abandoned by the monks.  For a long time it became a factory.  When the factory ‘layers’ were finally removed the original abbey was revealed again in all its glory.

During the factory era the original church floor was destroyed.  Rather than re-floor it it has been left as gravel.  This surface lends a very singular charm and authenticity to this ancient building.

At the transept a set of stairs leads directly to the monks sleeping dormitory (no cells here apparently, all 200 of them slept in a single very large room).  The exposed oak roof trusses are 15th century and spectacular.

View of the cloisters from a dormitory window.

The very heart of the abbey – the cloisters.  The Cistercians wished to reform monastic life (which I gather had become rather parasitic) living a life of poverty, self-sufficiency and solitude.  They farmed a large estate and developed a metal working industry.

Finally we get to the really interesting bit – the forge.  Those clever monks not only mined iron ore and produced charcoal on site to run a reduction furnace, but they also mechanised the forge hammers (one is seen on the far right).

Top is a plaque, and a model of the ‘hydraulic hammer’ and bottom is the drive shaft.

And here is the water wheel (like the one)
that ran the hammer.

Besancon
Originally a Gaul town, occupied by the Romans under Julius Caesar, then an independent city state, it was conquered by Louis XIV who had his engineer Vauban develop its hilltop fortifications into a state of the art impregnable fortress.  The kids are really into castles (long story on why) so this bit of World Heritage was ‘must see’.

Seen from below, the fortifications (undergoing some stabilisation) are pretty impressive.

The general idea in citadel construction, Zeke tells me,
is to provide a series of heavily armoured gates, ....

... flanked by defensive walls, ditches and high ramparts so that the enemies approach must necessarily be slow and very vulnerable to archers, boiling oil etc from above.

The second gate is even more impressive than the first.

And anything other than a frontal assault looks ugly.

But in a siege you had to be able to sit it out for a long time.  Here is the citadel’s horse drawn flour mill.

and here is the water well at a 132 metres deep.

Here is the well’s treadmill; used to haul buckets up and down. One went up as one went down.  The vaulted roof was to protect this all important asset from enemy canon fire.

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Paris – by Gary

Another hectic exhausting visit, but made particularly pleasant by having a lovely apartment on the Marne to retreat to each evening.  Our proposed itinerary included Versailles, the Louvre, the Catacombes, Montmarte, Napoleon’s tomb, Cathedrale de Notre Dame, The Jardin des Tuileries, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysee, the Eiffel Tower and Musee D’Orsay – and yes we saw them all, and more, in just four days!

Versailles

The palace and gardens of Versailles are an amazing UNESCO listed World Heritage Site.  Unfortunately word has got out – and it was standing room only in the palace – so we chickened out and just did the outside (still pretty remarkable huh?) and the gardens.

The gardens are stunning formality, full of statuary...

... parterre gardens...

... and water.

Indeed, water is what really brings these gardens to life – Zeke in particular was incredibly impressed.

Musée du Louvre

The Louvre’s stunning modern forecourt – and what better place on a hot day to soak those weary, blistered feet.

Inside Leonardo’s painting looks anything but stunning, high up on the wall, behind glass....

.... as you jostle with the hordes clamoring to get their equally crap snap.  Within minutes I was ready to flee – let me out of here!

.. however away from Moaning Lisa we managed to immerse ourselves in a really excellent guided audio tour and found we could more or less forget the mob.

The Catacombs
The plain on which Paris is built is under-layed with limestone, deposited when the area was covered by a shallow sea.  For hundreds of years vast underground mining operations excavated the rock to build many of the city’s fabulous buildings like the Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Apparently collapses of abandoned mines became something of an issue!

Then in 1786, with bulging cemeteries becoming health hazards, authorities decided some of the abandoned mines could be turned into ossuaries. 

  

In all the skeletons of over six million Parisians were moved from cemeteries into the Catacombs.   In 1809 the place was turned into a rather ghoulish, but immediately popular tourist destination – a popularity undiminished!

Montmarte

Thankfully above ground once again we lightened the tone of the tour, heading up this famous of hills to admire the view...

... and a few thousand, mostly indifferent, interpretations of that other famous landmark, the Eiffel Tower.

Napoleon’s Tomb

Remember this?  It’s Napoleons first gravesite on the island of St Helena.  But the French couldn’t let it end like that.

So they moved him here...

I personally remain confused.  The French are justifiably proud of their rejection of the ‘old order’ through revolution – but made this guy Emperor! Swings and roundabouts huh?

A Walking Tour of the Centre
We chose a grey cool day to walk many of the other sights – a welcome weather change except when it rained.

Possibly my most favourite building of all time - Notre-Dame Cathedral

The security presence in the city could be a bit full on.

Sights, sounds, smells...

The Place de la Concorde.  King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were guillotined here along with many others.

Nina leads the way when it comes to flashing a bit of haute couture on the boulevard.

  

Deja vue – Wellingtons Arch???  So many triumphs.  Can you spot the people on top?

more sights...

Ha... finally that tower.

Yep... it’s impressive.

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