Friday, December 6, 2013

Dream Destination

Welcome to the
Dream Destination 
blog hop
courtesy of
and



Please fasten your seatbelt,
and return your stewardess to the upright position.



Where would I go
if I could go anywhere?

 Good question. 


I'm limiting the answers to
real places
because most of you are writers
and frankly, as writers
we can go ANYWHERE
 while still sat behind our keyboard.

And have tea with a faun
when we get there.



Look.
It's like this.

I'm English and
I've lived most of my life near castles.

Lindisfarne
Big, beautiful castles.

Bamburgh
Like this.  

Bodiam
They are everywhere.

Norham
Some of them are lived in.

Warwick
Some of them are still lived in 
by the family who built them.

Alnwick
 I love castles.

Bothal

But sometimes
I'd like a different kind of fantasy.

Something splashy and trashy.

Something in high heels and false eyelashes 
and suspect gender.

That's a real kind of magic.

A city set aside for adults to play adult games,
to believe in the very real power of 
glamour
in its original sense.

I want to go to

LAS VEGAS!


Yeah, Baby!


They even have castles!


Hop on over to either 
and join in the fun.

Prizes too!

I went back and identified the castles,
so you can visit them,
at least on the page.

Most of them are in the north of England.
I've  been lucky enough to live near
all of them, except Warwick Castle.





40 comments:

  1. We must go to Vegas together. We shall dance like crazies in Coyote Ugly, and after that everything else will probably be a blur. I've gone to Las Vegas about five times, and every trip has been glorious. I even ate Dragon's Blood Soup at Excalibur while a few knights dueled for my royal amusement ;-D

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    1. Oh, that sounds fabulous! I'm game! I'm hoping to drag Hubby away to a cheesy little Las Vegas chapel for a retaking of vows. You'd have to be at the original wedding to understand why we'd want a do-over. Not that there was a lot of room for guests at the back of that used car dealers....

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  2. Vegas is awesome, losing is not. I hope you make it, but keep a close hold on your wallet when you go. ;)

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    1. Dear me, yes! I won't be gambling. I'll be gawping. :)

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  3. Okay, you had me at, "Please fasten your seatbelt, and return your stewardess to the upright position." ;D Such a fun post! Your castle pics are swoon-worthy, but I can understand desiring the novelty of a completely different experience, no matter how gorgeous your home may be.

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    1. Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed your visit. I love castles, I've been in a lot of them, and I'm about to start a one-woman crusade to persuade Americans that England has castles, too. They're not all in Scotland! But Vegas? There's only one place on the planet like Vegas and I have to go!

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  4. Even though I'm not into gambling, drinking or anything too naughty, I really like Vegas. It's a lot of fun. I hope you get there, and get to stay for a while.

    PS Great to meet you through this bloghop.
    xoRobyn

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    1. Thank you for the heads-up about Vegas! I'm glad to know it lives up to some of its image. I'm not really a gambler, either. I think of Las Vegas as a genuine pleasuredome, a theme park for adults. Who wouldn't want to go?

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  5. What wonderful photos of castles! Great tease for Las Vegas! It's everything you said, and more! Fabulous line about the stewardess! It's nice to meet you Rhissanna!

    Julie

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    1. Heh! Thank you for that! I saw the retro stewardess image and couldn't resist. And yes, it was a tease, wasn't it? :)

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  6. LasVegas!? Great Choice. Actually that's one place I've been too. Many moons ago, and it really is something to see. And I'd like to go to England some day and visit all your castles!

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    1. I picked somewhere I'm actually hoping to visit, so I'm glad to hear you had fun in Vegas! And good luck visiting all the castles. (there's a lot of them). Some of them can be rented! I know, right? When I get that win on the lottery, maybe.

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  7. Well you fooled me with all those pictures of castles preceding your true pick. Vegas is a spot I vacillate about but I can see the draw. I would like to see the shows and people watch. I'm a horrible gambler--might as well toss my money in the air and let the lucky ones pick it up--so wouldn't be doing any of that. Hopefully you're luckier than me and can at least break even while you're there!

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    1. It was a bit of a tease with the castles, I admit. I love them and I miss them now I live in the USA, but I really do want to to see one of the most exotic pleasuredomes on Earth and that means Vegas!

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  8. Ahaha. I can't believe you chose Vegas. It really is a play land for grownups. And I did actually win money there once! Oh, but I envy your castles so much.

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    1. The castles are pretty nice. but they're not like they are in Hollywood. Lots of them are just a curtain wall and a keep. The ones that have been in continual use have been remodeled over time inside, to keep up with changing fashion. Most of them are open to the public, though, so if you pay your fee, you can wander around all day. :) Like Vegas!

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  9. Take me with you please!!! Great choice. :) Vegas could be a great place to just go and be yourself...or be someone else. :) Love it! It's great to meet you, and thanks for following me. I'm following you back!

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    1. I'll get the tickets! And thank you for the follow!

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  10. Castles and more castles! *dances around the room* I think you're so lucky to live in the UK just a stone's throw from such majestic places, but I certainly understand that you cease to see them as special if you live there. (I lived in NYC and never went to the Statue of Liberty.) Your choice of Las Vegas is great! My brother lives there and loves it. I hope you get to go someday. Thanks so much for joining the hop. :-)

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    1. Castles are never anything other than special, don't get me wrong. There's a huge concentration of them along the English/Scottish border (for obvious reasons) and I was lucky enough to have been a kid who lived near that border. But now I'm here in the USA, I really want to see that great castle built to human excess, wickedness and pleasure, and that has to be Las Vegas. What's not to like?

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  11. What a terrific post! I really love your sense of humor, and had no choice but to sign on as your newest groupie. (Wouldn't want you to get... annoyed.)

    I'd like to go to Vegas someday, too. My hubby and I considered going for our 40th anniversary to renew our vows with a cheesy Elvis impersonator, but ended up doing something else. Next year's our 45th, so maybe then. (It's gotta be Elvis, and the cheesier, the better!)

    So nice to meet you!

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    1. I don't have to do this in rhyme too, do I? :) I'm with you on Vegas, cheesy wedding chapels and Elvis. Hubby and I are considering that for our tenth anniversary. (Forty years? You don't get that for 2nd degree murder. Well done and congratulations!) Thank you for the follow!

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  12. Very fun choice! As an American I'm so jealous of all those castles you have in the UK. I'd love to be able to see them. Love these pictures.

    Thanks for taking part in the hop!

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    1. I wanted something fun and possible. I'm a big believer in making some of my dreams happen. A big scoop of Negas with extra cheese is one of those dreams. Thank you for running this blog party. It's really been a lot of fun!

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  13. You don't want me pointing you to all the murder statistics do you? We can't finish Mabel Bunt if you're a guest star(table cameo) on a CSI episode...

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    1. I believe you wanted to visit Scotland, the home of the Glasgow Kiss. I've been to Glasgow! I'm not scared of Vegas.

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  14. I'm SO jealous, as you can tell from my choices. And I've been to Vegas- I would trade it in for the worst castle on record any day and have a better time there.
    Though if you like lights, that's the place to find them!
    Thanks for hopping!

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    1. Can we trade visits, then? I'll happily barter a castle for a night on the Strip.

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  15. A friend of mine came out from Essex to honeymoon at Vegas. While I'm just a day's drive away, it's not my favorite place, but a lot of people adore it there. On the flipside, I'd love to come visit your castles!

    The Warrior Muse

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    1. If I'm being honest, I don't think I'd want to live there. Just a quick in-and-out. A long weekend. It's the myth I'm chasing, which probably makes it great for honeymoons. Help yourself to the castles. they're not going anywhere. :)

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  16. We went to Las Vegas in August. It was hot in the days, and perfect at night.

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    1. As I sit here in freezing rain, hot days and perfect nights sound wonderful.:)

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  17. lol! vegas! was waiting for someone to say this one! ive been a few times and its a trip! splashy and trashy--ur right!

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    1. It's perfect, right? First of all, unlike Bali or Paris, it's not a real place. It's all synthetic! Who wouldn't want to go?

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  18. Hah, one person's backyard is another's Dream Destination!

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    1. Exactly! I live out in rural Arkansas, and when I think of a dream trip, I want to see a city, with streets and shops!

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  19. Las Vegas! Great choice! I can never decide whether I really want to go there or not! But if they have castles...

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  20. LOL... everyone should do Vegas at least once. It's so much fun. But I'd love to spend more time near your beautiful castles. I adore the UK (and it's way better than Vegas btw.) BUT! Vegas is a must do.

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    1. I think we need to arrange a swap, castles for Vegas. Thank you for the follow!

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