The Romance of Castles

 Windsor Castle in England

Have you ever  dreamed of living in a castle?  I certainly have many times; especially since many of the romance novels that I have read took place during the middle ages.  Medieval castles to me are intimidating, yet romantic at the same time.  I think it would be fun to own one.  I would not want anything as big as Windsor castle though.  That is just way over the top too large for me.  A castle about half the size of Windsor castle would be fine for me

I like the size of this castle for myself.  This is Bodiam castle in England.  I would have more windows installed in it though.  The lack of windows probably means it is very dark inside.  Besides, what is the sense in living in such beautiful surroundings if you can't see it from inside your home.

This is another view of Bodiam castle.

Butron castle in Spain.  I like this size castle too.  I don't like the lack of windows on the lower portion of it.

Castle of Chambord in the Loire Valley, France.  This castle is gorgeous but there is no way I could live in a house that huge.  I would be scared to walk the halls of it at night.  

Balmoral castle, Scotland.
 

Leeds castle in England.

Alcazar de Segovia in Spain.
 

Bonaguil castle in France.

Castle of Teutonic Order in Poland.
 

Catheau de Chillon, Lake Geneva Switzerland.  
 

Eilean Donan castle, Scotland.
 

Eltz castle in Germany.

Gothic Mudejar castle, Segovia Spain.
 

Neuschwanstein Allgau Germany.
 

San Marino
 

Inverness castle, Scotland.
 

Himeji castle, Japan.
 

Himeji castle, Japan
 

Ozakajo Osaka castle in Japan.

Matsumoto castle in Japan.

All photos via The Big Foto.

The Medieval Towers of San Gimignano in Siena

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I enjoyed reading the book A Month in Italy by Chris Brady.  The author writes about so many interesting places that I am inspired to put them on my list of places to visit.  I have always been drawn to Italy more than any other country in Europe.  I would love to one day be relocating there to live for a while.  Hopefully by then I will be married to a wonderful man who has a sense of adventure similar to mine.  Having a sense of adventure is a serious requirement for me in a man, but I will elaborate more on that in another post.  This post is about the medieval towers at San Gimignano.  .  . 

San Gimignano is a walled medieval town in Siena Italy that was founded in the third century BC by the Etruscans.  The town sits high up on a hill overlooking the sea.  From its vantage point the residents were able to spot anyone approaching to attack.  San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture and high towers.   The town originally had 72 towers, but now only 14 are left. 

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San Gimignano also overlooks the beautiful Tuscan valley.

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An entrance into the walled town.

There are many very narrow corridors and streets throughout San Gimignano. 

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I so much love older architectural styles. 

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