I wanna go back in time... (sing this title like Back to the Future)

June 19, 2008

Kind of a mixed bag today. We found a campground near our next site to visit, but they didn’t have the cheaper mobile homes; they only had fancier mini-chalets so we elected for the tent for the three nights we’re planning on staying here.

We are visiting a place called Puy Du Fou, and it is the one place that I really wanted to go. Other sites, we tried to plan things that Becky hadn’t seen yet or that we thought the kids would really enjoy. This is a Medieval-theme park that is built next to the ruins of an castle. In the various areas of the park, they reenact plays that show different time periods of the history of the area. The props, special effects, costumes, etc. are awesome, but as a history teacher (and a person with a brain) I will have to say that the actually history and story for each show is a little iffy.

For example, the Viking show was amazing as they French village looked great, and there were all kinds of live animals the townspeople were herding, etc. When the Vikings attacked, a ship come down hidden railings into a man-made lake, and then mysteriously another ship rises up from the lake. The fighting is well-done, and they use real fire in the attack and to show the buildings burning. However, in the story, the local noble first learns that the Vikings are coming when some priests carrying the coffin of a dead bishop (or pope or something like that) hurry into town for protection. Sometime in the attack, the coffin falls into the lake. When the Vikings are on the verge of killing the noble (after he fights heroically) and his new fiancé, the coffin rises up out of the water and the bishop (or whoever he is) is miraculously alive. The Vikings fall to their knees in shock; they repent of their evil ways and they convert to Christianity. Great visuals, but a little thin on the plot.

There was also a gladiator show (in an amazing coliseum-type stadium), a birds of prey show (that featured two bald eagles among many other birds), a Battle of the Keep show (with jousting, some cool fire effects and siege tours, etc.), and a Richelieu’s Musketeers show (featuring the three of the Musketeers as well as Cyrano de Bergerac) – that one started off okay, but then it somehow turned into a cheesy love story (complete with a glow in the dark horse and an indoor rain shower) between the Hunchback and a mysterious gypsy girl – don’t ask me. All of the shows had the same m.o. – great visual and a lot of work but weak (or at least unbelievable) on the storyline.

What I actually like the best was a new attraction where you go into a cave a see some of the wonders of the past of the region. Again, great special effects, and this one was not quite as corny of a story – it was sort of an Indiana Jones meets French history tour. There were also other smaller shows that were not in English but we were able to enjoy anyway – like a magic minstrel show. There were little towns from different periods of French history along with craftspeople making wooden shoes, perfumes, etc. in exactly the same way it would have been done in the past. The grounds of the park were also amazing with a few little surprises here and there. Overall, the park was fun and I think the kids enjoyed themselves, but it’s not something that I feel like I would need to go back and see again someday.