David's Diary: Saturday, May 18, 2002

School and Medieval Fairs

It has been a busy week, but time marches on and school work still must be done. The sky is overcast and rain falls on the deck as we spend the morning working on school. We peek out the window and look at the Citadel staring down on us. This weekend a special Medieval fair is being held in the Citadel, so we push ahead at school work with the promise of an afternoon visit.

Entering the Citadel

After lunch we climb the hills and cross the Port de Gênes entrance to the Citadel. The drawbridge we cross protected the Citadel and inside there is a small chamber that could also be sealed off to protect the Citadel from invaders. We expected to enter an abandoned town preserved as a historic site, but instead we enter a lively town filled with restaurants, shops, and many locals living in the apartments.

Medieval Garb

We work our way through the rain, climbing slippery streets until we find a plaza filled with displays of Medieval workmanship. At one booth they are making chain mail. Kevin tries on the headgear and finds that more than two kilograms on your head is a heavy weight to carry. Our host pulls his knife and shows Kevin first-hand that the chain mail really does protect him. We wander around sampling typical food from the period and watching a blacksmith make a knife. Formal school was over in the morning, but we all learn a lot during our visit to Bonifacio's Citadel.