We lucked out one day.  A sign by the side of the road announced that a medieval festival was taking place at nearby Aigueze and decided to give it a look.

It ended up being an amazing amount of fun. This wasn’t a massively-sponsored festival, but a local one (they always seem to be the best). The people of Aigueze had spread dirt and straw across the streets which gave an extremely medieval feel to the village; the old houses, in particular, playing their part. Asphalt doesn’t work well with venerable homes made of stone. Dirt and hay does.

There was medieval music to be enjoyed, food to be eaten, costumes to be admired, exhibits to be enjoyed, jugglers to watch…and even a wild-eyed village “fool” who scared the children; and then made them laugh.

It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Afterward we walked out of the village and admired how pretty Aigueze looked, standing on a rise above the Ardeche river.