Happy Halloween! - A Haunted Castle

I don't usually write blog entries on Monday, but in honor of Halloween, I thought I should take an imaginary bonus trip to an old haunted castle. There are many castles to choose from in Europe, most of which have had bloody histories. Time to look for some ghosts! This Halloween, I choose to visit


Old Wardour Castle, near Shaftsbury, Wiltshire, in Great Britain

Image from here.

Look at that place! Imagine walking around that building at night! The castle was built in 1393, and eventually became the home of the Arundell family. During the civil war, the castle was damaged. In 1643, an army of 1300 men came to take hold of the castle, which was held only by a woman and her 25 servants and housekeepers.

The army figured it would be a simple siege, but the woman, Lady Blanche Arundell, held the house for nine more days! She surrendered after the forces set off two mine explosions in the castle.

Image from here.

Legend has it that although Lady Blanche and her men surrendered to the Parliamentary troops, the castle was sacked and they were all executed. It is said that her ghost walks the grounds to this day. She is most often seen walking toward the river that runs by the castle.

This ghost story does not seem to be entirely true, but I am not sure that any of them are! Being in a creepy place at night makes me believe in ghosts. If I think enough about it, it's hard to keep believing, but a good ghost story now and then is exciting. And scary.  Have you ever seen a ghost? Or something that you couldn't explain? Happy Halloween!

Weekend Wish - Postcard from the State Historical Museum of Russia

#2 - Tropical Paradise Time

After a monotonous week of doing laundry, returning the library books, grocery shopping, feeding my children their required three meals plus three snacks per day, and cleaning up the parts of those meals and snacks that fell on the floor, I think I would like to go on a very relaxing vacation. I want the kind of imaginary vacation that requires almost nothing of me. I just want to lay back, look at the ocean, maybe get a massage. I want room service to deliver a delicious meal and if I'm feeling up to it, I'll go for a relaxing swim in the pool. So, today, I choose

Wishful Vacation #2

Moorea, Society Islands, French Polynesia

Why I imagine I would go to Moorea:

Moorea is a small island in French Polynesia, in the archipelago known as the Society Islands. Tahiti is also in this group. I chose Moorea because it is a little less well-known, and because Arthur Frommer called it the most beautiful island in the world. He's traveled quite a bit, so that says a lot.

Image from here.

Moorea is shaped a little like a heart and is surrounded by beautiful turquoise water. Coral reefs naturally grow near Moorea, creating a great environment for diverse aquatic fauna as well as a great place for snorkeling. Moorea is mostly known as a tourist destination these days, but some universities also do ecological research here.

© Rémi Jouan, CC-BY-SA, GNU Free Documentation License, Wikimedia Commons

Moorea was formed as a volcano, which explains its dramatic appearance. The shape of the land creates a very shallow lagoon all around the coast. Moorea means "yellow lizard" because a priest had a dream that a giant yellow lizard opened the two bays with its tail. Interesting.

 Image from here.

Moorea is an exquisite escape. With apologies to my babies, I think I'd just bring my husband on this imaginary vacation!

Where I imagine I would stay:

I have always wanted to stay in one of those over-water bungalows, and Moorea is the perfect place for that! I believe I would stay at Moorea Pearl Resort & Spa. Doesn't that just sound so tropical? Moorea Pearl has 20 premium over-water bungalows, so I imagine I'd take one of those! Only the best will do, certainly.

All hotel images from here.

Gorgeous! Amazing! The resort also includes a spa, which is ideal for those massages I'm planning to schedule. I absolutely love looking at floor plans as I'm sure you do, too, so here is the plan for my room:

I think I would spend a lot of time in one of those lounge chairs on my back deck, just looking at the water. See how wide the doors are opening onto the patio? I could just keep those open and lay in bed, looking at the ocean. Sounds romantic, eh?

I also love that Moorea Pearl has a coral reef nursery, where biologists are helping damaged corals recover. The impact that humans have had on reefs around the world is terrible. I love hearing about people helping to restore the natural reefs.

What I imagine I would eat:

Moorea Pearl Resort & Spa has two restaurants and a bar featuring traditional island fare. I mentioned that I would probably order room service, but I may also venture out to the restaurants at some point. Relaxing around in my room would probably get boring after, what, a week or two?

Like many South Pacific resorts, Moorea Pearl hosts traditional dance shows and other performances. I think the dinner shows would be worth a walk from my room. Fire dancers? Yes!

I love seafood, and island food features plenty of that. I imagine I would eat plenty of lobster, crab, mahi mahi ... my mouth is watering. Mmmm... seafood...

What I imagine I would do as a fun activity:

Certainly, lounging is my top priority for this vacation. Swimming in the infinity pool is number two. Look at how incredible it would be!

In case my husband and I want something more exciting on the agenda, there is always snorkeling in the lagoon. I also would check out the coral nursery.

If I spent enough time in Moorea to get my energy back, I would want to go on a dolphin-watching expedition. Dolphins are incredible. I love how playful and intelligent they are. It would be fun to find some in the wild.

Maybe I could end my vacation with a sunset catamaran ride around the island. Moorea sounds so beautiful and relaxing! The perfect antidote to a long week (or year) of chores.

Where should I imagine going next? Have you ever gone swimming with dolphins? I haven't yet, but maybe I will one day.

Happy travels!

xoxo - Erika

Weekend Wish - Postcard from Patagonia

p.s. I'm not really in Patagonia, of course. My weekend wishes are postcards from places I would like to visit. I think this trip would make an amazing adventure for my kids one day!

#1 - My First Daydream Vacation

Welcome aboard Wishful Vacationing. I realize you have a choice in imaginary vacation blogs, and I am so happy you chose to read mine!

But really, with two children who could both be considered babies, I don't get out as much as I sometimes would like. I've been daydreaming about taking an amazing vacation. The other day, I bought a world map at a garage sale, and I asked myself where I would go if I could go anywhere in the world. You see, in my imagination, I can go anywhere. It's a very tough decision.

I asked my 2-year-old son where he would go. He said, "S." That's his favorite letter and one of his favorite words to say - he's not much of a talker yet. "S," I thought. That sounds great! Maybe he meant Sweden! Or Spain. South Africa? Singapore? Saudi Arabia? Possibly Suriname. Does El Salvador count? I guess until he learns some new words, I'll have to make the decisions about our destination. The only problem is that I can't come up with a number one spot. There are so many places I haven't been, it seems like I'll just have to select one at random. I guess I might as well start with "S" after all. And so, I choose

Wishful Vacation #1
Lucerne, Switzerland

Why I imagine I would go to Lucerne:

Lucerne is in the center of Switzerland, in a region filled with lakes. The city is on a lake also named Lucerne. It looks absolutely gorgeous.

Image from here.

Lucerne is an old city with some incredible historic buildings, including a covered wooden bridge. Chapel Bridge was built in 1333 and is the oldest covered bridge in Europe. The bridge features paintings of historic scenes on the inside that date back to the 17th century. Sweet! Lucerne also includes an old town area with eight watchtowers, which sounds pretty rad.

One famous Lucerne landmark is a rock carving of a dying lion, created to commemorate the Swiss soldiers who died in the French Revolution. It looks very dramatic and I would like to check it out in person.



My toddler would definitely appreciate the city's transportation museum, filled with trains and planes. I can't even imagine how many times I would hear the word "truck" during that visit. And look, that big plane has an "S" on it!



Lucerne sits in the perfect place for a tourist to venture out into the surrounding lakes and mountains. Check out the cool idea I have for a fun activity at the end of the blog!

Where I imagine I might stay:

If I want to stay in the city, the Astoria Hotel downtown looks very modern, beautiful, and white. It has rooms by designers Herzog and De Meuron.

Image from here.

Across the lake from downtown, is the Seehotel Hermitage. I think it would be incredible to see downtown across the water every night from my room!

Image from here.

It appears that the Swiss enjoy nice white bed linens, and so do I!

What I imagine I would eat:

According to one source, food in Switzerland is very expensive. Lucky for me, that doesn't much matter when you are only visiting in your dreams! In Lucerne, I might eat at the Thai restaurant in the Astoria Hotel or the trendy Kaiten sushi bar. But that wouldn't make any sense at all, would it? I think I would like something more locally authentic, like Old Swiss House, built in 1859. I think I'd have the Tera, a fish caught in Lake Lucerne, or maybe wienerschnitzel. In either case, the restaurant looks super cute.



Apparently, there is also a wide variety of good take-out and fast food from all over the world available in the city. Sounds good to me!

What I imagine I would do as a fun activity:

I think it would take a little boldness on my part, but one activity I just couldn't pass up in Lucerne is a mountain railway ride! There is an amazing mountain railroad on Pilatus, the dragon mountain. How badass does that sound!? And the Pilatus railway is not your average ride - it is, in fact, the world's steepest cogwheel train! After making it to the top of the mountain, I can take an aerial cable car ride back down. I don't think I'm afraid of heights, but I think this ride might put me to the test!

Image from here.

Seriously. That mountain and train both look hardcore and awesome.

So, that is a small taste of what awaits in my imaginary vacation to Lucerne. Have you ever been to Switzerland? Have any suggestions for my trip? What about other places around the world? Where should I imagine vacationing next?

Happy travels!

xoxo - Erika