The Princess of Namedy Castle

Once upon a time, in a castle far, far away, there lived a Princess. There were many rooms in her castle and, as there were only a few servants, most of the rooms were empty or full of years of fading memories and bric-a-brac. The Princess was very lonely.

One fine spring day, the princess was sitting by the window of a room high in the castle. There below her was a small but bustling village nestled between a low, jagged outcrop of hills and a broad, sparkling river. People were busily going about their simple lives. Ladies were shopping at the market, young children chased each other through the narrow winding streets, and porters were carrying goods to and from the many trading boats crowding the small river port.

Suddenly, around the river bend, sailed a long elegant ship. It was full of people from a far and distant land enjoying the magnificent scenery whilst laughing, drinking, and sharing much merriment. Oh, how the Princess wished she could meet such joyous and carefree people.

Immediately, a curious idea popped into her head! “I could tidy up the castle, clean out some rooms, and invite these people to visit me!”

So off she rushed, directing servants hither and tither, until the castle was spotless and bright.

“Send word to APT!”, she announced. “I want only the best of the tours to meet me in this magnificent home. Bring me also the best young pianists so we can have fine music with our merriment!”

So began the close and enduring relationship between the Princess, APT, and the fun loving people from the far and distance land. Now, the princess is never lonely, and the people tell of her generosity by word and blog throughout the world. And, of course, they all lived happily ever after (except quite a few of the tourists, because they were very old and only just survived the trip!).

Note: Everything (mostly) in this fairytale is based on a true story with minor variations because the real story is longer and less fairytale-ish. Feel free to ask me for it in person!

We had to get a little glammed to meet a real Princess!

Not the grandest castle but Namady was still impressive.

Champagne and hor d’oeuvres.brings out our best!

Wendy and her gym buddy Rosie who, with her husband Richard, are sheep farmers from NZ. Despite this, really nice people!!

Royal garden

The rear of the castle from the garden.

Not sure this was the original colour…

Chopsticks?! Oh, Chopin!!

Dinner at the rowdy table! Unfortunately, raucous laughter quickly turned to fits of coughing due to a rampant flu that infected about 95% of passengers.

The Mirror Hall has incredible acoustics and is the dining/performance room. Incredible!