Newick Twinning Association

Official Visit May 2003

A group of just over 30 Newick Twinners visited Itteville over the Bank Holiday weekend of May 24th-26th 2003.

We left The Green promptly at 7 a.m. on the Saturday morning, and our excellent coach driver, Clive, soon took us to the English end of the Channel Tunnel. After an uneventful crossing, we headed south down the French autoroute for Paris. Having left Newick in reasonably fine weather, we were surprised to run into very heavy rain north of Paris. We skirted round to the east of the French capital and arrived in Itteville at around 5:30 p.m. French time, at which point the rain had thankfully stopped.

After the usual lengthy "hellos" were exchanged with our French friends, we headed off to our host families to relax for a while and then get ready for the evening's entertainment. We arrived at the new Hall in Itteville to be met by a most sumptuous buffet. The presentation was magnificent, with slices of rare roast beef and Bayonne ham arranged as if on a large joint, and salmon contained in an enormous scallop shell.

The delicious buffet on Saturday evening

On the Sunday, we travelled by coach to the mediaeval walled city of Provins. Located to the south-east of Paris, in the southern part of the Champagne area, Provins acquired fame and fortune from the establishment of an annual May Fair by the ruling Comtes de Champagne. People came from all over Europe and it became one of the main places where trade took place between the northern countries and the Mediterranean. This was facilitated because the militia guaranteed the security of people travelling to and from the fair, and guarded the merchants' wares in the tunnels located in the chalk under the city.

The city has retained its ancient walls, and the historic centre has changed little in the past several hundred years. It has now been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A few shots of the ancient buildings of Provins...

...but some aspects of modern life are now evident!

After our visit to Provins, we returned to Itteville and spent the evening with our host families.

The Monday morning dawned warn and sunny, but unfortunately it was now time for us to return to Newick. Our coach made excellent time to Calais, and we had plenty of time to stop at the Auchan hypermarket and stock up with French goodies to take home. After another efficient channel crossing in the tunnel, we arrived home at around 5:30 p.m. English time. Just enough time to unpack, draw breath, and then break open the baguette, cut a slice of Brie and uncork a nice bottle of wine!