Ever heard of “Everything in moderation”? While I tend to associate the saying with food, I should caution that this little nugget of wisdom applies to travel as well.
Fascination with Castles
Ever since I was a kid, I had a fascination with Disney films. I never visited Disney Parks as a kid, but I more than made up for it as an adult. As recently as last year, I visited The Disney Sea theme park in Japan. Perhaps it comes as no surprise to anyone that one of the things I had always been curious about is castles, given its prominence in Disney films.
To satisfy my curiosity, I visited a number of castles over a series of trips in Europe and elsewhere. This included the Tower of London (I always think of it more as a prison and less of a castle). Hampton Court (technically considered a palace). Edinburgh Castle (Oooh, it’s supposedly one of the most haunted castles in Scotland).
On that same vein, I might have gone overboard with museum visits too. It didn’t matter whether they were renowned or not, I visited a good number of them, from the Louvre, the Museum on the Mound, the Science Museum, and even the Fan Museum (don’t ask)
I didn’t know if I would have the opportunity to visit again. So, I figured, “Why not?”
All Castled Out
I didn’t just do it abroad, I also visited castles here in the states, like the Hearst Castle at San Simeon in California. While each castle is unique with its own history, they have their similarities. In that way, a lot of the castles (and to an extent, certain museum niche) started to blur together for me.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I may be officially all “castled out”…for a lifetime. Given that my visits were born out of a pure interest, it’s bit ironic that I developed an aversion to castles. If someone mentions visiting a castle, I can’t help but groan at the thought.
My travel advice to those wide-eyed travelers like I once was? Heed the advice: Do everything in moderation.
I don’t think I want to see another castle, visit another castle, or be in a castle, ever again.
Unless, of course, it’s a Disney castle.
Well, you know, childhood dreams, imagination and all. You can’t really dash that now, can you?
Have you ever been “castled out” or the like?Places you probably won’t visit even though it’s considered a major attraction?
In Europe, we have been cathedraled out. After a week or two of visiting cities that each promote the local cathedral as the best example of _________ architecture, the interiors and exteriors start to blend together in our minds. Now we limit tours to one cathedral per trip.