Of kings and queens, knights and ladies

After travelling to the Charles Dickens era, we moved on to the Renaissance age.

They were having the annual Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire at Manheim, a one hour drive from our home.

Named one of the Top 100 Events in North America by the American Bus Association, it is a rollicking recreation of a 16th Century England county fesitval filled with jousting knights and over 35 acres of Royal delights! Over 120 Tudor structures set the scene for over 90 daily performances of various enchantments including Commedia Del Arte, puppet shows, sword swallowing and more by the Faire's 100's of colorfully costumed characters. (www.padutchcountry.com/member_pages/pennsylvania_renaissance_faire.asp)

It was a very unique experience. Everyone was having a fun time and even the visitors came in their special costumes. They mingled with the staff, entertainers, so much so, it was difficult to tell who were the visitors and who were the performers.

And yes, they addressed each other by 'my lord', 'my sweet lady'....



The journey to the Renaissance age begins...


One picture with one soldier




All the king's men and all the king's women...



...and all the little children

When there are kids..there must be rides. During the Renaissance era, the rides were not run by machines, they were run by man.

It was hard work for the men but the kids had FUN!

What did the people do for a living during the Renaissance era?

The popcorn man and the knitting lady


The bird-keeper and the sculptor


The hot chocolate lady and the pickle woman

There was art & craft booth where the kids could create their own mask.


A different kind of lady, a different kind of knight



You could select plays to watch. Unfortunately, we missed the Shakespear's play


The ladies were dressed in their Sunday best to watch the play...but where art thou, my lord?


A little puppet show caught Kai's and Ann's attention

Travelling through the Renaissance era was a tedious task. Taking a break, have a cup of tea and a slice of cake would be most ideal!

Hmm...look at those pastries...Kai was more interested in finding out what to do next. We had hot chocolate and choco mint tea.
and a slice of ...

...DEATH BY CHOCOLATE! Very rich chocolatey taste but not at all sweet. A mouthful of cake and a sip of mint tea...heavenly


More characters...and who was that lying in a coffin? (Better don't show this to kongkong and popo (the grands))

Time for more food..slurp

Grilled turkey leg. YUM...MI.


Strange characters such as a lizard man and a pumpkin man were found among the kings and queens, kinghts and ladies


Two strange figures pass by us, a white one and a grey one...

...it was Gandalf from Lord of the Rings

It was a great 'travelling back in time'. Bringing oneself to a different kind or era was a whole new experience. The kids and even us thoroughly enjoyed it. While walking back to the car, Kai came to me and said, "mummy, thank you for brining us here." It was really so sweet of him. My dear son is growing up each day.
(It would really be nice if Singapore could look into organizing such events where families could participate together).

So...that brought us to the end of the Renaissance age...