By Becky Shamen
I've showed you where to buy your own castle. Now we go on an adventure
to find some really cool ones.
Annon, The Gate and 3 other sims
secondlife://ANNON/126/27/23
Annon is the Northern sim in the 4 sim collective, which also includes Athan, Aear and Selidor.
You can fly or rez a boat, to travel to the various
buildings. Take notes and collect clues along the way. There seems to
be a mystery to solve. The builders are big on RFL and also have shops,
in world and on Marketplace. There is a lot here that I could tell you
about, but I had so much fun finding it, I don't want to spoil it for
you. Besides that, I have many more castles to tell you about.
Blarney Castle
secondlife://WILDE/150/108/33
Blarney Castle, Cork, Ireland 1446 According to
legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab, great
eloquence, or skill at flattery.
'Tis there's the stone that whoever kisses
He never misses to grow eloquent:
'Tis he may clamber to a lady's chamber,
Or become a member of Parlament.
"A noble spouter he'll sure turn out, or
An out and outer to be let alone:
Don't try to hinder him, or to bewilder him,
For he is a pilgrim from the Blarney stone."
I have heard of this legend, all my life, but never saw a picture
of the castle from which it comes. I had seen some pictures of people
trying to kiss the stone. To do so, requires the kisser to lay on their
back and bend over backwards, into a lower area, in order to lay lips
upon it. For these reasons, I went there to see some big famous castle
and get a picture of myself, in this awkward position, for the article.
Being there was not the fun I had hoped for. The LM puts you in the
middle of a small square room. The texture on one wall is made from
an actual photo of the real wall. Looking around for a pose ball, the
only one there takes one to a spot on the hill, facing a small tower,
on top of the hill, seemingly all that's left of this 567 year old castle.
Entering the door of the tower, I found myself in the same room I started
at. So much for a photo op. A sign informed that, in a shop in the village,
I could buy a certificate, proof that I had kissed the stone, for $1.97.
Not wanting to buy this lie, I could, at least, get a look at it and
see how they could make it cost some fraction of whole Linden dollars.
Alas, after wandering the streets of the village, I never did find the
shop. In fact, none of the shops had anything in them. Their interiors
were just painted on textures. Always looking for the silver lining,
I did learn a valuable lesson. Don't believe everything you read in
the destination guide. This advice goes right up there with the likes
of, "when dreaming that you have had too much beer or coffee, it
is better to wake up and find the solution, than to let the solution,
warm and wet, wake you up", or "no matter how ugly you think
you are, you are still cuter than a bunny rabbit....that has just met
a hawk". On to our next castle.
Nydia Tungsten's Mouse Manor
Sunlight Bay
No story about great castles would be complete, without mentioning
the home of Nydia Tungsten and her partner, Brandi Streusel. In my search
for great castles, I remembered having gone inside this castle, when
noboby was around. I sent Nydia an IM, asking if it would be alright
to talk of it in this article. As I logged in, next morning, her reply
was waiting. "Of course' come any time, for a guided tour"
she said. I asked if I should make an appointment or was she free then.
She sent a TP, as soon as she finished getting dressed. I was greeted
at the front door by Nydia and Brandi. Brandi always reminds me of a
favorite Texas colloquialism; "cuter than dimples on a bunny rabbit".
Our first stop was the outside deck, with it's comfortable seating,
made for relaxation and connversation. She said they had many such gathering
places, throughout the castle, because chat was an important part of
SL. I strongly agreed, pointing out that I had written an article on
the Priciple of Oneness and it's importance in SL. She explained that,
like mine, her home is open to all, as long as they show respect for
it and those that reside there.
Going inside, we toured room after room, most of which were bigger
than my whole house. We even went through a secret passage, hidden behind
a bookshelf. It's still a secret, to you, because the castle has as
many books as the public library. Nydia explained that she was so bad
at decorating that even a blind man would find it distasteful, leaving
it all up to Brandi, who has a good eye for these things. The girls
have a lot of irons in the fire and a huge office to handle everything
from. The Theater/Family Room could entertain an army, with a hundred
movies in stock. It's an amazing place to visit and I'm sure to return
to see even more.
Enscharys
secondlife://ENSCHARYS/126/
This castle is more a work of art than of defense. I had to look up
the word castle, in the dictionary, to see if it could even fit the
category. TPs allow one to go to various rooms in the towers, giving
a great view. The castle is part of a 3 sim group, home to Elves. The
entire area has an open, ethereal, peaceful ambience. The plant life
is out of this world. They have furnishings, plants and other products
for sale, but blended in, so not a distraction. They even have a selection
of beautiful swords, but, for the life of me, I could not figure out
what they needed them for. Perhaps these Elves only fight on other people's
sims.
There are countless castles in SL, to view and even live in. I can't
tell you about all of them here. A castle or cathedral found in my travels
always gets my attention, Those given, in this article, are the latest
to snare me in.
Becky "Sha" Shamen
