Welcome to the third interlude to my Victorian Legacy. I must apologise for how long it has taken for me to get this done. Having to rebuild the entire neighbourhood back in January and February robbed me of

all my enthusiasm for these interludes and then I got caught up in the current main storyline. With so many generation three birthdays around the corner my inspiration returned and I decided to work on this.

Presented here is a collection of excerpts from postcards sent to her family by Charlotta Legacy as she travelled the globe with Hannah Belfour.

Dearest Mother, Father, Evelyn and Charles,

I am so excited that after all these years of waiting, I am setting off travelling the globe. True my first trip

is just to the lakes, but it is very exciting for someone who has not ventured further than the Acadamiebefore.

We are staying in a cabin situated between two of the lakes.

It seems to be very rustic, and there is a quaint charm about it. I am sure that we will be comfortable here

for the duration of our stay.

Although our journey was neither long nor arduous we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the complex's swimming pool.

Hannah taught me the rules of a game she used to play with her cousins called Marco Polo. Apparently they used to sneak out to a nearby lake during the summer and play it.

Weather is nice and sunny, I hope it lasts.

Write to you soon,

Your loving daughter and sister,

Charlotta.

My dear, dear sister Anne,

The day has dawned bright and sunny for us again, and we made the decision to eat breakfast at the

local spa. I tried some of the local pancakes, which although good are not as nice as Mama's.

We left the restaurant to find a group of locals dancing a very unusual dance. We watched on the side lines for a little while, before one of the locals invited us to join.

We accepted his offer, after all how difficult could this dance be?

The answer, dear Anne, is very. The locals make it look so effortless, but the steps are very complex. Both Hannah and I now know enough to 'get by' with, but I doubt that we will ever be proficient in this

particular dance.

The reason for coming here is the well renowned spa. All holidays are, after all, taken to benefit one's health. To that end, I had my first sauna experience today.

It was not as relaxing as I had expected to tell you the truth, and I felt rather weak-kneed when I left.

A couple of hours later I had recovered from my near swoon and Hannah persuaded me to have a massage.

This I really did enjoy, and even managed to pick up some tips from the masseuse.

We decided to walk back to the cabin, rather than take a carriage. As we were wondering through a small copse, we came across the most extraordinary creature. He looked like a man, yet he was covered from

head to foot in fur.

Both of us were alarmed by this and crept off as quickly and as quietly as possible.

By the time we reached the cabin, we both were yearning for normality and so decided to dress for dinner.

We were a sight Anne: dressed in our nicest frocks in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. At least my

turn at the piano was well received.

I remain, your dear sister,

'Lotta.

Dear William, Henry and Robert,

The weather is still holding, a minor miracle I know. Today we decided to explore the recreation area you

and father have spoken of.

I have to say that I was unsure at first as to whether it was the sort of place Hannah and I should be frequenting. However I was persuaded by one of the locals to try my hand at axe-throwing.

I was most surprised to get a bull's eye on my first try.

When I exclaimed my surprise to Hannah, she pointed out that I really should have expected to do well, after all I have always kept myself in good physical condition, and have very good co-ordination, a result

of my time at finishing school.

Well, after having a go myself, I had to insist that Hannah try it too. She also managed to get a bull's eye, but was not perhaps as graceful as I had been.

Our appetites well and truly whetted, we were soon having a go at log rolling.

To begin with Hannah did get the better of me...

...but I am pleased to say that I did get my own back.

This truly is an enjoyable activity and I am very glad I decided to take your advice and visit this recreation

area.

As we went to head home Hannah took the lead and started walking in the opposite direction to the one I had expected. When I questioned her she said that we were changing lodging and our luggage would be

waiting for us.

Our new lodgings? A campsite. Yes dear brothers, your eldest sister is spending the night under canvas.

Truth be told, I am really getting into the outdoors experience: I have even caught our dinner of fresh fish tonight.

This place is beautiful and so romantic. I have fallen completely in love.

I cannot believe I have to go home tomorrow. This trip has been fantastic.

Your loving sister,

Charlotta.

Dear Mother, Father, William, Beth, Evie and Charles,

I promised I would write as soon as we arrived, and so here is a small epistle for you to peruse. Our hotel

is right on the sea-front and I have to say this place is quite stunning; the sea is so different to the flat grey expanse back home.

Whilst I was enjoying the local scenery, Hannah was keen to try out a hot-stone massage. Luckily our hotel has a masseuse so she did not have to travel far.

Refreshed from our journey we spent the afternoon at a local boardwalk. Back home the population promenade along the sea-front taking the air, but here things are much more relaxed. The beach front is

a place for fun, and there is not a bathing machine in sight.

I was most intrigued by a man dancing with a blazing torch.

I was so intrigued in fact that I asked him to show me how, and he agreed. Now Mother do not go into a panic over this: the torch I used was not lit and I was in no danger of harming myself.

Hannah had no such desires, instead electing to lie in the sun. I did caution her about this since she is fair skinned, but she did not listen and I am afraid she now has a rather painful case of sunburn.

Our first day has been a wonderful one, and I am looking forward to whatever the morrow brings.

All my love to you all,

Charlotta.

Dearest Enid,

For our second day here we decided to take the advice of a local 'tour guide' as to where we should go.

He suggested a walking tour, followed by a tour of some local ruins.

Well the walking tour was hot and arduous, but the local ruins were fascinating. The picture on the front of this postcard is of the main shrine at the ruins.

It is customary to make a small offering to the monkey god and beseech him for that which you most desire. If your heart is pure, your wish will be granted.

As you are aware dear sister, I am not the most superstitious of people and look upon ideas such as this as a kind of nonsense. Even so I find it amazing that the water still flows and could not but wonder as I

made my wish whether such things could be true after all.

In the end I decided that whether or not any of it is true, I have already found what I desire most in life.

Our tour of the ruins complete, we stopped off at the spa for the evening. Hannah quickly made her way to the sauna, but to tell you the truth, my experience of a sauna at the lakes has put me off of trying

another one.

Instead I opted for a relaxing massage. It was an ideal way to end the day Enid, and I thoroughly recommend one if you ever attend a spa.

I will sign off now,

Your loving sister,

'Lotta.

My dear sister Anne,

We awoke today to find that some of the locals were offering lessons in the local dance, the Hula. Well of

course Hannah and I had to try it.

At first we were having difficulties ...

...but after a little bit of instruction we had mastered the steps and were dancing like Islanders.

We had decided to go and look at a celebrated local shipwreck, but on our way there we came across an isolated hut. As we were passing we heard a terrible scream.

Naturally we dashed inside to see if we could be of assistance. We found the occupant in a state of panic. It turns out that all of his belongings were in a state of disrepair, and he had dropped his tool case

on his foot.

As I escorted him to his hammock Hannah made a start on repairing his belongings. One would never think to look at her, but she is actually very practically minded.

Once we had finished I fetched the occupant who showed his appreciation by gifting the two of us with a strange item he called Mr Mickles. I have no idea what it is Anne, but it looks like a sort of doll.

Our good deed done we continued on to the cove where the shipwreck was situated. My dear it is a genuine pirate ship, who knows what has happened aboard that deck.

I certainly could not wait to explore it and after making sure no one was watching, I made my way into the bowls of the ship.

I had entered the captain's cabin, and after a quick look around, I found a gold doubloon caught in between two of the boards.

Inspired by this find I started combing the beach for any other treasure I could find.

Unfortunately I think I used all my luck up on the ship and I came away empty handed this time.

The locals are all so friendly here, I feel so sad that we leave tomorrow. I truly wish we could stay longer.

Love from,

'Lotta.

Dear William, Beth, Alexandra, Edward and Victoria,

Mother's death may have robbed me of my desire to travel, but Father's has re-awakened it. Yet I am not

the only one looking forward to our trip: my daughter Elle has been excited for days.

You are so right William, Takemizu Village is so tranquil. It is completely different to anywhere else I have visited. After checking into our hotel, we made our way to a local pagoda, where I spent a peaceful

couple of hours tending to a Zen garden.

As I finished I was aware of a stranger watching me. When I approached him, it was the most bizarre thing because he asked me a simple riddle.

Once I had answered it he leant over and whispered in my ear the most amazing thing. I am afraid I cannot reveal this secret to you my brother, but suffice to say I have a wonderful trick to show you on my

return.

I had hoped that this trip would give Hannah and Elle a chance to get to like each other. I have not confided in you fully dear brother and sister, but I am afraid that whilst Elle is more than willing to build a

bond with me, she is not so keen to get to know Hannah. Even the lovely gift of a doll's house had previously done nothing to make Elle like Hannah. I was therefore gratified to witness them interacting in

the rain. (Yes, it is raining here).

My darling Hannah has certainly made the most of the local shops, picking up souvenirs to remind us of our journey.

As for Elle, well she is starting to learn the local rituals and greetings, even if they do seem to be very strange to her at first.

Speaking of local customs, I am finding eating with 'chop-sticks' to be quite a difficult thing. I do not think that it will be something I will be trying back home.

My love to you all,

Chalotta.

Dearest Anne, Mathias, Richard and Florence,

You will notice that the front of this card is not the usual picture of a local landmark, instead it is a

photograph of Hannah, Elle and myself. We were visiting a popular shrine when a local offered to take our photograph. We have had several prints made up and I thought you might like to receive one. You

can not tell but it was raining at the time, in fact it has done nothing but rain since we arrived.

Of course I had to make a wish at the shrine, even if I do not share the beliefs of the locals, I feel that it is only polite to observe their customs.

You will imagine my surprise when the shrine glowed with an eerie green light then. So far my wish has not come true, but only time will tell.

Having seen my success, Hannah naturally wanted to observe the tradition too, and looked in her reticule for a coin.

Unfortunately as her coin fell into the shrine's receptacle nothing happened. No glow of light or anything.

I am sorry to say that Hannah did not take this well and stormed off to join a game of Mahjong happening nearby. She was then resistant to any suggestions I made for the rest of the day, breaking away from the

game only long enough to eat.

She can be such a stubborn woman at times, and I was thankful; that she did eventually cheer up once we were back at our lodgings. I am certain that she will be more amiable tomorrow.

Your loving sister,

Charlotta.

Dear Robert, Cecilia, Stanley and Rosemary,

We woke to blue skies today and decided to make our way to the local hot springs and spa. It is

something we wanted to do on a previous day, but due to the weather had put off. The water was very relaxing, but it was not long before the rain once again started and we had to vacate the pool.

Even though we could not stay in the spring for very long, that does not meant that we were without anything to do. I put myself in the capable hands of one of the spa's masseuses, as did Hannah. Elle

meanwhile practised her scales on a piano situated dear the dining area.

Whilst Hannah and I had taken the locals' warnings about staying in the springs during a storm to heart some of the other tourists had not. I am sorry to say that more than one of them was struck by lightning

as they relaxed.

To my great shock I was to experience this phenomenon myself as we started our walk back to our lodgings. I am pleased to say though that I am now quite well: the only permanent damage being some

singeing of my hair, and the offending bits have now been cut off.

Your sister,

Charlotta.

Dear Uncle Thomas, Aunt Violet, Enid, Frederick, Theodore and Louisa,

Our last day here did not get off to the most auspicious of starts I am afraid. We are always keen to be

guided to the local sights, but on this occasion it did not go well and we ended up being chased by bees.

Thankfully they soon gave up and left us alone, meaning we could get on with our day.

We spent the morning at a local park, enjoying a traditional tea ceremony. The tea is so different to that

which we are used to back home, but it is very refreshing none the less.

The afternoon we spent looking for the Pagoda in the Shadows. I have heard so much about it and was lucky enough to discover a map leading to it. It was the oddest thing: I simply saw it sticking out from a

flower bed. Perhaps this is some of the good fortune conferred on me by the shrine I had wished at the other day.

The Wise Man who lives at the pagoda was most hospitable, and he invited us to join him for tea. I poured of course and I was grateful we had been to a traditional ceremony that morning and knew how to

behave.

I found his conversation most enlightening, if puzzling at times, and was extremely gratified when he extended to me his offer of friendship.

As it grew dark he offered to share with us the Dragon Legend, an ancient tale which has been passed down from person to person for centuries. It is said that each person hears a different version and takes

away with them a different meaning.

I have to say that as I listened I could not help but reflect on how lucky I am. There are still places I want to go and things I want to see, but I have been able to experience so much with those I love.

I will see you on my return,

Charlotta.

***

That is it I'm afraid, only a small offering this time. For any of you interested Charlotta has gained 39 mementos. It should really be 40, but she made friends with Bigfoot before I installed the first patch which fixed this problem.

Thank you all for reading; I hope you have enjoyed reading these jottings by Charlotta. Look out for chapter 13 of the main legacy coming soon.

Thank you also to the creators of all my CC, especially Judie at All-About-Style. I confess I squee when I see she has updated with Victorian clothes, and then go and download them all.

See you soon, until then happy simming.