Step back into Medieval moments at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival.

Tennessee Renaissance Festival a Lifelong Quest

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Photo courtesy of Tennessee Renaissance Festival

Once upon a time… before watching Game of Thrones or touring castles in Europe… I taught my  children and literature students tales of fairies, dragons, and knights. That chivalry must never die and dreams do come true. 

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Love of history, fantasy and escape is alive and well at the Tennessee Renaissance Fest. Here you can feast on turkey legs like a king, see fairy houses, or hunt for dragons’ eggs.

We’d then travel to The Tennessee Renaissance Festival to wander Covington Glen, a 16th Century village located outside of Nashville.

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There I tried to teach my son and daughter archery as my dad had tried to teach me. I still remember the archery tournament in Kentucky where he’d won the “Robin’s Hood Award” for hitting the bull’s eye with his first arrow, then splitting that arrow with his second shot. He wanted me to compete in contests, too. No pressure. 🙂

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Two decades later… a couple of weeks ago my daughter chose to celebrate her birthday at the Fest where we watched jousting and my son handed me a bow and quiver of arrows to see if I could still hit a target. Last weekend I returned to finally meet the man who created the beloved tradition that throngs of folks enjoy–many in costume–yearly. 

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Photo courtesy of Tennessee Renaissance Festival
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Fans dressed as mythical creatures line up at Tennessee Renaissance Fest
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Great Family Fun at Tennessee Renaissance Festival
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Fest Fans

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Outlander fans will feel at home at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival, too.
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Photo courtesy of Tennessee Renaissance Festival

 

 

 

 

 

Mike Freeman greets guests outside Castle Gwynn, located on forty acres he bought in 1976 near Triune. Friendly, fun, and sincere, he tells the inspiring story of a lifelong quest:

The first two most commonly asked questions are, ‘Do you live here?’ Yes I do. For the last 31 years I’ve lived here with my wife, Maggie, and our 2 dogs. The 2nd most commonly asked question is, ‘When are you going to get it finished?’ The answer: ‘When one of you wins the lottery, please remember me!’ I’ve been doing that for the last 34 years. It hasn’t worked yet. (laughs)

In 1970 I was a senior in high school who drew my dream house, a castle, in architecture class. Being a poor boy from Flat Rock, the only way I could do it was to build it myself. I am proud to say I built something from scratch, which means I started with zero. I did have a lucky break. By chance I got into photography my senior year of high school. My next door neighbor had been in Viet Nam and won a camera in a poker game and had forgotten how to work it. The deal was to learn how and teach him.

He did, and by graduation of his senior year, he photographed senior prom. Next he worked for a photography studio that needed 13 high school composite shots done in a month.

I got it done for them, and it only took me only 360 hours—90 hours a week. I used to think that was a lot of hours until I went into business for myself. (laughs) It you are willing to work 12-18 hour days, I guarantee that you can do absolutely anything in the world if you want to bad enough. I proved that, but to say I did this all by myself would be a gross exaggeration. I had a whole lot of help from a whole lot of people to make this dream possible including yourselves for coming out to the festival this year.

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The color of Castle Gwynn, Welsh for “White Tower,” is typical of medieval castles. Anyone trying to scale these fortresses would have been seen in the dark.

He gives credit to his wife, Jackie Harmon, who he married in 1988, the first wedding held at Castle Gwynn; to his parents, and to a master mason and his four sons who worked with him weekends for almost two years laying the brickwork in the kitchen. They started with 8 brick arches, but by the time they finished, they had 60 of them. 14,000 bricks Hosting four weddings helped with the cost. For the full story and credits of building the castle, go here.

 

 

 

 

 

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I asked Mike what inspired a high school senior to want to build a castle. He said when he was five, his father returned from WW2 with a book of postcards of castles along the Rhine River. I asked if any movies or books were influential, and he immediately said Charlton Heston’s The War Lord, a 1965 film about Medieval warfare in 11th century Normandy. His interest in history and sense of humor can be seen throughout the property.

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My favorite hero is in the top left corner.

No costume? No worries! But if you want one… there are many on site.

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I confess I returned, too, to stop by the Lady Smith Jewelry booth to look again at her cameo mermaids and sterling silver Celtic pieces.

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The Fest runs yearly every weekend of May through Memorial Day. Check schedule for jousting, shows, and castle tours. Vendors for food, beverages, rides and games accept cash only though the admission gate and some vendors accept credit cards. Other Rules of the Realm are here. Stop by, sit a spell, and enjoy the magic.

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For a magical perspective, stop by the Tennessee Renaissance Festival.

 

 

Additional Gallery of Northern Portugal and Spain: Camino/Travel Inspiration

Additional Gallery of Northern Portugal and Spain: Camino/Travel Inspiration

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If you missed my article above which explains the gallery below, please read it HERE.

In seven days this Southern Girl Gone Global Goes Home.  After living in Morocco and The Dominican Republic for the last three years, I’m excited to return to Nashville–a city I love–where StyleBlueprint is bringing women together locally and globally.  Recently I described in the article above my adventure in Gorgeous Galicia with old friends, Moni and Ale, who I met in Music City years ago.  Today they teach English, host an Airbnb, and are El Camino de Santiago guides.  Below are additional photos of our time together in Portugal and Spain.

If you are interested in seeing this area for yourself, meeting new people, and doing the Camino with us in 2018, email me at cindylmccain1@gmail.com for more details.

Porto, Portugal

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View from our Airbnb in Portugal

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My girl, Moni, beach-loving soul sister, loved showing me around Portugal and her home, Galicia.
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After a hike down the beach and a long wait for lunch, it finally came.
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Served on my china pattern no less…seafood worth the wait.

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Galicia, Spain

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I so loved meeting Monica’s sweet sister, Loli, who treated us to amazing fresh seafood in La Guarda including my favourite dish, Octopus.

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The Pinta

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Moni’s hometown, Vigo

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Monument of Spanish Civil War which I taught this year in the DR as we read Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls

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(Below) Not to be missed next week, St. John’s Eve–story here. 

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Loved meeting Moni’s friends, sisters Ana (left) and Susana

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LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Camping and hiking the Cies Islands.  Until next time…

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Cycling Through Costa Brava’s Medieval Villages: Part IV

Cycling Through Costa Brava’s Medieval Villages: Part IV

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”—St. Augustine

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Photo by Alba Plana of www.costabrava.org

No history text or virtual tour can compare to cycling through Medieval hill towns in a land where BC structures and prehistoric cave paintings remain. Nor can a classroom feel like wind tangling my hair, smell like lavender abuzz with bees,  or taste like fresh bread in an olive grove. Such was my escape to Emporda, Spain.

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Each time I leave the classroom to travel–to breathe history, literature, life–I return a better teacher.

I”ll never forget finally touching the wall William the Conqueror built in 1066, commencing the Medieval age of castles, chivalry, and courtly love.  Homer and Sophocles were beside me when I climbed a hill in Athens to the Parthenon and roamed the Coliseum in Rome. As a teen I’d studied about partygod Bacchus and Christian Paul.  But blushing at pornographic paintings in Pompeii VS standing in an amphitheater in Ephesus where the latter preached faith over religion made what I know to be true feel even more real.

Last month while in Catalonian countryside, I saw a wall older than all but one of the ancient edifices I’ve experienced. Built only one century after Delphi’s Temple of Apollo, Ullastret was the first Iberian establishment raised in 6th century BC in Girona.

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In the following centuries, as Romans, Visogoths, and Muslims invaded,  more walls, castles and towers would be raised for protection from attack.

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Sentries watched for pirates, but even when the coast was clear, in the wetlands below marshes bred malaria which claimed lives.  Today, Costa Brava still isn’t tame though locals no longer fight to survive.  It is a place of adventure and natural beauty. Here one can thrive and feel alive.

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Rather than a trusty steed, I powered through stone villages and past poppy fields on a  burricleta, an electric bicycle named for its burro-like benefit of providing horsepower to handle high altitudes.

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We began our journey (see our route here) in Gualta.

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First stop was a famous bridge, rutted from wagon wheels.

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We pedaled our way through Fontclara, Sant Feliu de Boada, Peratallada, and other towns. Five hours later we parked for lunch in Pals.

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Cycling Through Costa Brava’s Medieval Villages

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The plowed fields reminded me of Kentucky farms where I grew up.

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The town well

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Chef Jordi, of Hotel Mas Lazul met us in the grove after rising early to bake loaves for the tasting and for us to tote home. The master baker formerly worked alongside Santi Santamaria, chef of 3-star Michelin restaurant, Can Fabes.  We sampled six types. My favorite was the dessert bread with pumpkin and raisin. He said children are given bread with wine and sugar as a treat.  Each recipe takes 24 hours counting the rest and rise times. While he taught, our hosts made fresh aioli. The bread and spread…delicious.

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Riding buddies, Heidi and Patti, above, Rachel and Betsy below.

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Lunch time in Pals

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