Minnesota - Minneapolis St Paul - Demon Werewolf The Beyond Series

Minnesota

At the other end of the Mississippi River is Twin City of Minneapolis St Paul. We stayed in Eden Prairie, a lovely leafy suburb of Minnesota. Close to a group of lakes it was very picturesque and I thought it amazing to finally make it to America, which had been my dream since I was a teenager still at school. We had to stop at Chicago airport, the windy city, and then catch an internal flight from there. The flight itself was a party as we got a little tipsy thanks to free booze on the plane and we met a like-minded family on the way to Nashville who had the same idea.

We went to fort… It was a fort… with battlements and other fort stuff! We did spend a day at the Mall Of America, the largest mall in the US and ate at Planet Hollywood and went on some of the fairground rides… yes, they had a a fairground in the Mall. We found a British pub owned by a guy from Manchester (close to my home town).

I ordered a BLT, which I never really had back home and it came with peanut butter on it. It was disgusting, but I genuinely thought that was how you ate them in America so I didn’t complain. Typical British stiff upper lip and don’t make a fuss!

We spent a day around one of the lakes and had a picnic, which was great. I love picnics. I also went skating on a pair of roller blades for the first time in my and got bitten to death by the famous mosquitos there then spent a couple of days sunbathing around the house we were staying at and I got stung by an American wasp.

I asked if they could take me to a traditional American bar/diner like they have in the movies and we met Chief Sitting Bulls Great Great Granddaughter called Trudi, and we enjoyed a tornado cocktail, karaoke and the most amazing gigantic pizza.

Naturally as guests there we were curiosities and were invited to numerous parties so my recollection of the rest of the holiday. Haha. This will show how long ago it was, You Oughta Know by Alanis Morrissette was number one while we were over there and it was played none stop on MTV.
The curious spoon and cherry sculpture.

 I loved this place though, because we saw a different part of America and way of life. It was far from touristy and we were made to feel welcome by the locals even in a small town in the lakeside country.




Which was why I thought Eden Prairie in Minnesota was a perfect location for a wolf pack to live in My Book Demon Lupus. Lots of forestry and wide open landscape, perfect for long runs and wolf hunts.

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Ostend Belgium - Supernatural Inspiration for The Beyond Series

Here we stayed in a Parc similar to Centre Parcs called Sun Parcs, house lodges set in leafy forests with lots of surrounding nature. It seemed quite odd, but intriguing to me how fellow Europeans enjoy their holidays.



Well, firstly they don’t bother with evening entertainment or eat out very much as there were just two restaurants, one of which was licensed, but neither was rarely open and even more rarely stocked with a great choice of food.

As these were self-catering lodges, I’m assuming most people made their own entertainment in the evening. Naturally like Centre Parcs, all activities were geared around sporty, out-doorsy wholesomeness and swimming. I have to say I loved the swimming pool oasis. The lodges were much more basic, probably because the park was older, but we did have a sauna in there, which was cool – or hot, as the case may be.

One other noticeable difference was the adult spa area. In the UK all guests receive complimentary towels and robes and everything is all civilised and lovely. Some people choose to walk around in their costumes, but most robe up as they walk from one steam bath to sauna, to waterbed to foot spa, etc. Very Lovely.

In Belgium though, as soon as one walks into the adult spa one is immediately hit with a man’s meat and two veg swinging about between his legs and ladies puppies yapping in ones face! Naturally our little group was shocked and immediately looked away. We then told the duty staff we hadn’t been told it was a nude spa, but we were quite happy to still attend with our bathing costumes on. We were told no. All nude or no spa!

Now if I’d just been with my husband, I probably would have gone for it. No one else knew us and some of the sagging that was being carried off in that spa, well, my skin would have looked positively fresh and nubile in comparison! The only problem was my husband’s best man and his wife, who I’d only met a couple of times previously, were on holiday with us. And I’m sorry, but no matter how liberal I like to think I am, I knew I wouldn’t be able to see them or myself in the same light again if we’d all seen each other naked! So no spa in Belgium.

We walked to the tram stop just outside the camp and discovered we were right next to a beach, but as it was October it was far too cold to sit out on. We caught the tram into Ostend and it was a pretty seaside/Port town with obligatory old pirate ship in dock and a small fair that ran through the streets (probably for Halloween celebrations). I tried my first real Belgium waffle, with Belgium melted chocolate and whipped cream. Oh My! I am salivating just typing about it. Absolute sensation on the tatstebuds.

We went for a walk down the pier, which was all concrete, unlike our steel and wooden boardwalk back in the UK complete with little shops and amusements and rides. No this just had a café and little maritime museum at the very end. The promenade is similar to a UK one, but this was all pedestrianised, which was lovely. And in the evening we decided to drive out of camp and eat in a local restaurant. Weirdly, hardly anything was open.




Granted it was during the week, but even so. We did find a restaurant open in a hotel and it was lovely, although, it was the oddest tasted burger I’ve ever had! I really don’t think it was beef, but possibly proper Ham as in Hamburger because the meat was quite pinkish and there was so much herbs in it, I couldn’t decide whether it was to hide the true identity of the meat! It was okay though. Still wished we’d gone to the steak house that was also open though.

Well, I’m glad I’ve done it and I’ve even survived two trips on the Eurostar train without the train breaking down or water seeping through the Channel Tunnel !! One of the reason’s I was never travel through it before. I may even go on it again sometime, but I don’t think I’ll visit Belgium again anytime soon. It was a nice enough place, but everything was just all a bit… Mergh!

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Paris - City of Romance and Fascination For Witches and The Beyond Series

This is another great destination in Europe I wish to return to. I was only 20 when I came here and we did it on the cheap.  We stayed in a backstreet guest house hotel.  And in these type of accommodation no-one would speak English, even if they could. Inside though the décor was very lavish, lots of drapes and King Louis renaissance style furniture. Lovely! And no catering for international tastes, for breakfast you had a choice of Patisserie, Hot Chocolate or Coffee. French Breakfast or starve!

I didn’t mind though, I was in Paris and after being at school watching all the French exchange students come and go over the years, whom I was fascinated with – I love people watching and so was always curious and fascinated with French Exchange students when I was young so when I came to Paris and heard a city of them talking I was overjoyed, I could have sat in the cafes and museums all day long just listening and people watching. (Some say the art of a A Good Writer.




 We walked through the streets just soaking up the vibrant atmosphere and I just loved listening to them all talk, in streets, museums, cafes and restaurants. My travelling companion could speak some French and had visited Paris many times before so he showed me the sights as a professional. He knew the back door entrance to The Louvre so we didn’t have to queue up all around the Glass Pyramid like the rest of the tourists. So naturally we walked the opposite way through the Louvre to most other people, but I still got to see the Mona Lisa. Culture Vulture.

We walked to the Champ Elyse and then up the Eifel Tower which was exhilarating and fun. However, I wanted to Notre Dam and sail a Moulin Rouge boat down the river Seine. So naturally, I would like to return for that reason alone. It was also the first time I ever saw one of those human statue street artists, all painted like white marble! I remember almost jumping out of my skin when the thing move, much all the other tourists amusement.

Also back then I was a strict vegetarian and apparently the French don’t do Vegetarianism in restaurants. So I pretty much had to eat plates of over boiled vegetables, bread and cheese. Now I know French cuisine is superb as I’ve been to French restaurants here in the UK so I’m looking forward to experiencing amazing cuisine and more sightseeing that isn’t on the cheap next time.




One Day I plan to write Paris into my books... Perhaps not The Beyond Series as this is coming to a natural end and I only have one more book in me for the Epic journey of Galleano and The Daryavaush Paranormal Team, but you never know!

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Amsterdam - A World of Fun For Vampires and The Beyond Series

Somehow I manage to find trouble wherever I used to travel. Amsterdam was fantastic, although I did find all the sex industry stuff on show to the public a bit too much and I wondered  if most of it was geared up for curious tourists to ogle at the scantily clad women pouting in red lit windows with red velvet drapes.

I’m not a prude, but I think there is a line of decency that has been crossed in the red light district. I sat across the canals having a beer on arriving at the city and I immediately have these very unhappy sultry looking women staring back at us through a brothel window. Uncomfortable!

I had a look around a sex museum, which was another uncomfortable moment for me. At least there was a fun haunted house type museum. There was an ice skating rink in the centre of Dam Square, which was great fun. Got chatted up and stalked by the owner of a Greek restaurant we ate in one night.






When I look back now I think how stupid I was, but I was young and foolish. I accidentally ate space cakes at the famous Bull Coffee Bars when looking for somewhere to eat and decided to have that as a snack because I were peckish. As you can probably guess a paranoid British ladies, pretending to speak with an American accent and high as a kite, attempting to order food and wine in a restaurant is probably a great idea for a scene in a comedy show. All I can say is I’m glad You Tube wasn't that popular back then and people didn’t spend every moment of their lives with a camera or phone in their hands taking endless tiresome selfies!!!

A sobering experience though was visiting Anne Frank’s hiding place during the Second World War. She lived there with her own family and two other families in such cramped conditions for years and they were only allowed out to stretch their legs in the merchant’s warehouse at night. So sad to think she died just days before the war was over.

In stark contrast we took a river cruise to look around a merchant’s town house on the affluent side of the canal. A lot of marble and opulent furniture and décor abound. It seems life can be so unfair when all that is sometimes determined is when, where and whom you are born to.

The Wealth in Amsterdam was brought in by the diamond trade and we visited the diamond district where I plan to send my hapless Daryavaush Characters from The Beyond Series of Books to sniff out a demon or two in book number five because I feel Amsterdam is such a rich, vibrant melting pot of cultures, architecture and history. It’s great!

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Buda Pest - Scary City with Inspiration for The Beyond

I wasn’t as impressed with this city as much as with previous city breaks. Maybe I saw the wrong part of the city, but for me it seemed a dull, post war, concrete jungle full of train tracks.

I fancied a pampering at one of their ‘famous’ spa baths, but when I got there it stank of sulphur and the baths looked like some hideous Russian Leisure park complete with frighteningly large and rather curt, female therapists, (The Life's and Loves of a She Devil kinda spring to mind!)

However, I did visit the old, stone built part of the city, with eerie little winding streets and an amazing view of the Danube River and ate at the fantastic Red Devil restaurant which was dark, Gothic and atmospheric - deep underground in what could only be described as stone arched cellars with witch and devil effigies dotted around the place. 

The food was hot delicious and wholesome.  I chose this for the setting of the last chapter of Didikai Witch where Amethyst and Michael decide to hide from dangerous 'supers' by travelling around Europe in search of their family prophecy.

 

I found a great bar and nightclub in a shopping centre, but unfortunately everything shut down really early, so on our way back to the hotel I made a detour into a club with a flashing pink neon sign outside. I went in and a security man began shaking his head and waving saying “Women only, women only.” So after having a couple of drinks already I turned to my friend and said “Oh, it’s a lesbian club. Are you okay with a lesbian club?” Friend was like, “Oh sure, we’re only staying for a drink right?” So I nodded, smiled and said, “yes, women only.” 





We walked straight into this 80’ style discothèque, dark and dingy with velour seats, mirrors, glitter ball and a great big shiny pole in the middle of the dance.

I thought it odd, but ignored and continued to look at the very expensive drinks menu. Looking around we suddenly realised the clientèle was made up entirely of men in business suits.
And if the penny hadn't dropped by then, two very fierce looking women dressed in bikini’s and frighteningly high pointed shoes stormed past us then flung their bodies around the poles as two more draped themselves over a couple of men’s laps whilst giving me the evil eye!!! Needless to say I decided to leave immediately and left at record speed!

The old part of the city and along the Danube river was very beautiful and atmospheric - almost perfect for a scene in one of The Beyond Books series, but there was also many areas that I thought was dull and unmoving. One could even see bullet holes in the concrete tower blocks! Or maybe I just went to the wrong areas of the city.

Even when I googled photos for Budapest, this bridge and area of the Danube are the only views I seem to get, so maybe there isn't much to the city after all. Put it this way though, I won't be going back any time soon, but at least I can say I went.

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New Orleans - Part Two - 2008 The Beyond Series Supernatural Inspiration

2008 Trip – I loved New Orleans so much, I decided to return the following year. This time at Halloween as I’d always wanted to celebrate Halloween in the US because I know they do it in style and make a huge festival out of it. And where better to celebrate than in the home town of the Queen of the Macabre, Anne Rice. I made sure that we all had tickets to her famous Vampire Lestat Ball, which was held in The Garden District and to town with my costume.

I have to say though the locals really know how to create realistic Vampire costumes. We even found a shop that fitted vampire veneers and contacts. I decided to go pre-vampire bite.

Other watering holes that deserve a mention was the Carousel Bar. Named so because if you didn’t sit in one place your stool would be on the other side of the bar as the whole bar rotated slowly around the room, whilst drinking Martini cocktails and listening to a live pianist.

Another was the Pirates Bar by the Jackson Square church, where the psychics all sit out during the day under parasols and give you tarot readings. I wasn’t impressed by reading, so I won’t dwell on it. All the tour guides met at the Pirates Bar and we were very much made to feel welcome. I think they liked the English accent!

We went to a Jazz evening, which was very cultural and enjoyable. I even bought the bands CD, which was signed by the members and I’m very proud to say I own. I now play the CD whenever I want to return to NO in my head.

The two best places though was Prague, a very Gothic and atmospheric bar with a gorgeous courtyard out back filled with beautiful scented flowers. Inside the décor was dark, mysterious, with red velvet drapes Chaise lounges and chandeliers. Love it! And finally The Dungeon. Wow what a club. Dark, dingy and grungy. Naturally this place like so many other great places in New Orleans had to appear in My Fourth Book in the Beyond Series - Lycan Lamia for the final reveal scene. 

We took our new travellers to a different Plantation this time and we entered the sanctity of a real voodoo temple and voodoo shop. Again I described all of these places in great detail in my last book, but in a nutshell the different alters to different deities had a plethora of offerings that made the temple and shop look like a cluttered brik-a-brac shop.

Fascinating places though.  Here's a typical alter to Papa Legba. Most people seem afraid of Voodoo, but it actually is like everything else that's mysterious and mystical, some people (especially the film industry) take pagan rituals to a dark place!

I also had the opportunity to look around two of the houses used in the film Interview with a Vampire and a museum based in merchants old Spanish style house around Jackson Square.

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