Queen for a Day?

In the dead of winter, gardeners are poring over their seed catalogs longing for spring, athletes are counting the days til they can jump in the pool, and travelers are dreaming of far-off destinations. 

Here in Tucson, David and I are toying with trip possibilities.  We'd love to escape the desert summer heat by visiting Canada, but, then, would we be disloyal by not first exploring the pleasures in our newly adopted state?  The Flagstaff/Grand Canyon area of Arizona is just the right temperature in the summer and has much to offer a sightseer.

Then, too, David has a hankering to see Hawaii again while I find it difficult to contemplate any trip that doesn't involve France.  Since we just received these photos of Corsica, the French island with gracious harbor towns, it is difficult not to heed that siren song.

Or maybe we shouldn't worry so much about location and concentrate instead on living like nobility--if only for a few days.  Several places in Germany are on our must-see list, and we could try royalty on for size by staying in a castle.

Apartments can be surprisingly tightwad-friendly in castles where owners are struggling to pay the electric bill for these cavernous, drafty mansions. At the Schloss (German word for "castle") Sommersdorf, we could rent the luxuriously furnished, spacious Gabriele or Bird apartment, complete with kitchenette, for €58.50 per person per night.  That's a little higher than David and I usually spend, but it might be worth it to be Lord David and Lady Dru for a week!

I suppose we will spend the remaining winter months deciding on a destination, and that's just fine with us.  There's nothing more delicious than  thumbing through guidebooks contemplating exotic locales while sitting in front of the fire here in our cozy house in Tucson.

Practicalities -

This link will give you more information about rental rooms/apartments in castles in Germany.