This article is classified "Real"
Have you ever heard of Medieval Times in New Jersey? It's this place where they have jousts, contests and family fun. As they say in the T.V. commercial: "Thrill to the Joust. Spend your Day with a Knight." You can pretend to be (where else!) in medieval times. I've never been there. But I have been to this little "castle" called Castelle Comte Mal, on the island of Palma in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain. While they don't have all the stuff the Jersey place does, it definitely has jousts. You start out by shaking hands with the "Count" as he greets you in the entrance. There you receive a paper crown that is vaguely familiar to the ones you get your kids in Burger King. A photo is taken of you and him, which you can keep for free. Other photos are taken later, but if you want them you have to pay. The photos are usually inside clear mugs or ashtrays. You are then seated in one of four color coded seating sections, the colors being red, blue, green and yellow. I was in the yellow section. The idea is that you cheer for the knight wearing the color of your section. As you watch the show, they serve you a dinner with a choice of soda or wine. What you don't realize is that what starts out as a simple joust turns into a story. You see, one of the knights is the "Bad Guy". During the course of the show, the bad guy will try to murder a knight, have his servants kidnap the "Countess", and force the Count to personally try to rescue her. The other knights rescue the countess and the evil servants are captured. Two knights die and the remaining knight fights the bad guy with swords. The good guy wins, of course. At the show I attended the Green Knight was the bad guy. The show reminded me of Pro Wrestling. It was funny watching the Green audience cheering the bad guy's evil antics. They even cheered when the Countess was kidnapped. While the sword fighting was acted out (in fact, before the show, I peeked behind a black curtain and saw two "knights" in rather modern clothing rehearsing a fight scene), those lances were definitely making contact with their opponents' shields. All the paint jobs in the world couldn't hide those dents. The only other armor they had were those heavy helmets. You could tell they were for real. After the jousting show, they opened some curtains and the audience passed into an area with a stage. On the stage were some traditional Spanish castanet dancers, with a male dancer who looked like a thinner version of Dudley Moore. After that mini show, we got to talk to the knights, remarkedly brought back from the dead, and in some amazingly modern clothes. I got the autographs of all but one of the knights (he had to go to bed for school the next day). Though I don't remember the price of the performance (it was in Spanish pesatas, anyway), I do remember that it wasn't too expensive. If you like souvenirs, bring more money.