Sounds like a cool project! I’d love to work on it, but I need to get paid time off, work on my French, and get into better physical shape. :)
“4. Working a long hot day on French food was...gut wrenching. Their food is a lot richer than I was used to, and I had several days early on where it was like ‘...must...not....puke’. Then I got used to it, and I was fine.”
And yet the guy quoted said he lost 20 lbs. without even trying!
“5. The level of academic research that has gone into this is simply flabbergasting, and I have a degree in medieval history. The archival research, the knowledge of languages, the engineering knowledge...it’s even more impressive when you’re participating that it is in general.”
Beats any dry archaeological dig.
“6. It’s not geeky. Strong interest in knights/armor/castles etc in the US = you were the sort of kid who grew up reading Dragonlance novels. Strong interest in that in Europe = you were the sort of kid whose kick-ass WWII Resistance veteran grandfather told you lots of stories about the cool old buildings down the road. IMHO the American concept of ‘geek’ just doesn’t really apply.”
Makes sense—in Europe there’s MORE history. Good that people still pass it on orally.
FYI ...look what I found!!!
Seems we have a version right here in the good olde USA! And it's the same fellow from France:
Michel Guyot, the owner and restorer of one of the largest castles in France, Saint-Fargeau Castle, brought his castle-expertise to Arkansas thanks to Solange and Jean-Marc Mirat, a french couple who moved to the United States twenty years ago.
In september 2008, fascinated by the concept, they contacted him and offered a portion of their land for sale, a suitable place to build a castle in the middle of a forest, on a natural site that provides all the necessary building materials: water, stone, earth, sand, and wood.
This is fantastic! As far as I know, you don't need a passport or be conversant in French to go to Arkansas. This is our Big Chance!
Ozark Medieval Fortress. Lead Hill, Arkansas. A rural town halfway between Springfield, Missouri and Little Rock, Arkansas.
Here's to ropes with 13-knots!!! This has to be the best news since the invention of the Trebuchet and the Ballista!