Day 2: A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER
PRADA MAMA's Log, Friday, December 24, 2004
6:00 AM: The morning of Christmas Eve dawned bright and beautiful.
Or so they said. We were glad to take their word for it.
Truth is, we never even got to see it. The whole family slept in until noon. My Auntie Olive wasn't scheduled to arrive until after lunch. We had every intention of squeezing every minute of sleep we could get.
12:30 PM: Auntie Olive arrives, heading straight for her grand-niece.
She settles herself in our room, while we get ready to go to Medieval Times.
I have always wanted to eat there since I saw "The Cable Guy". I was curious about their dinner show, which everyone seemed to be raving about. Dinner was scheduled for 5:30, but I was told they opened their doors two hours before so people could walk around and see the horses and suits of shining armor. There was also a Museum of Torture in the complex, which we reluctantly had to forego since we didn't want to scare the kids away.
5:20 PM: We arrived before 5:30 PM, (one of the rare occasions where we weren't late) but alas, the show had already started. I guess even the staff and actors wanted to go home early on Christmas Eve!
We bought our tickets and posed for a picture wearing Medieval Times crowns, which surprisingly came out decent. It was packaged in a beautiful hard cover jacket, which almost justified the $20 they were charging for it.
Costumed pages who kept referring to us as "Milord" and "Milady" escorted us to the Blue section of the darkened Grand Hall. We later learned that meant we were supposed to root for the Blue knight. In the meantime, the Andalusian stallions were doing their show, which reminded me of the obedience exhibitions at Crufts, only with MUCH bigger dogs.
Our eyes barely had time to adjust to the darkness when our server approached. We were expecting a wench but we got a dude instead. He efficiently served us our vegetable soup in one-handed bowls, lucky for me, because I was carrying Reanna on my lap.
Things got a little more complicated when they served the main course: a large platter filled with half a roasted chicken, a spare rib, garlic bread and an herb-basted potato. It sounds delicious now, and it certainly smelled delicious then, but there was the business of silverware to attend to, specifically the lack thereof.
Right. I should've remembered they didn't HAVE eating utensils back in the Dark Ages, but I'm sure even the lowliest serf didn't have to slurp his gruel blindly in pitch black conditions. I asked the server for utensils. The darkness veiled his mocking smile. There were none to be had.
And so I proceeded to gingerly tuck into my food with my free hand while firmly anchoring Reanna with the other, deftly avoiding my daughter's attempts at intercepting the invisible delights which were still forbidden to her. And the food WAS delicious, I'll have to say that.
Somewhere between the hot towel and the coffee, the tournament was opened by King Alfonso VI and his daughter, Princess Esmeralda. I wondered why they had Spanish-sounding names but spoke with fake British accents, but I wasn't about to be picky.
And then there were the noble color-coded knights: Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, Black-and-White and Red-and-Yellow. I wondered about the last two. Couldn't they have just picked another color like "Purple" or "Orange"? Or was there a dearth of color during the Middle Ages that they had to use certain ones twice?
But I knew these were petty details and it wasn't long before I was cheering for the Blue knight as he jousted with the limited prism of colors which were his opponents.
I thought the REAL stars of the show were the Andalusian stallions, which were trained to exit through the curtains even after their riders were unhorsed. Now THAT to me was impressive.
It was a wonderful and exhiliarating experience, and I yelled myself hoarse rooting for Blue. I felt like I was in college again, cheering for Benjie Paras and the U.P. Maroons during UAAP basketball tournaments, except this time I didn't have to embarrass myself by singing "Push on U.P.".
After the show, Lance and Troy went to see the beautiful horses on display behind glass panels. We also caved in when they asked us to get them the knight's kits from the gift shop, which contained a sword and sheath, a shield, a chest plate and a helmet and visor. It was, after all, Christmas Eve.
Troy lost no time donning his gear. With Daddy's help, he was suited up in minutes. His timing was perfect. We caught the Blue knight just as he was about to walk through the Cast Entrance, and shot this picture.
And then we lingered in the hall, taking more pictures before realizing we were the last guests around.
We quickly made our exit through the main entrance, and headed back for the hotel, where Daddy and the boys had a joust of their own.
Soon everyone was exhausted and drifting off to sleep. At the stroke of midnight, I was the only one left awake. I started calling friends and family to greet them "Merry Christmas", leaving messages on people's voice mail. I even woke up my friend, April, by mistake. I guess some people DO sleep regular hours on Christmas Eve.
It felt strange being apart from the rest of the clan, who were probably busy with noche buena when I called. This was the first time we were celebrating Christmas away from everyone. But you know what? It wasn't bad at all. In fact, I was happy right where I was.
Because the people who REALLY mattered were in the same room with me.
(PLUGGING: "And Miles To Go Before I Sleep", the latest in The Prada Mama Chronicles.)
