All over Europe, for centuries, they were the literal and political high points of their communities.

Designed to keep people out, today they are wide open to visitors.

Hi, I'm Rick Steve's. Get out the grappling hooks because today, on Travel with Rick Steve's, Our target is

castles.

Castles are the highest demonstration of wealth and power in the secular world.

My favorite expert anywhere on castles joins us today to field your calls and bring meaning to what lies beyond the moat.

Martin de Landovitz guides visitors through Canarvan Castle in Northern Wales,

and he'll guide us in just a moment as modern tourism meets the lords and ladies of the feudal age.

And for something entirely different, we'll look at how one program sends American high school

students to Guatemala.

It's a hands-on opportunity for students to learn about the interconnectedness

of our modern world and how the choices they make here in the United States have consequences

for neighbors south of the border. From hill-capping European castles to jungle villages in

Central America. Thanks for joining us for the hour ahead. It's Travel with Rick

Steve's. Rick Steve's has spent a third of his adult life in Europe, researching and writing guidebooks.

His now classic, Europe through the back door, teaches the skills of smart travel.

At Rick Steve's online travel store, you'll also find guidebooks for London, England, Great Britain, and Ireland.

To learn more about Rick's guidebooks for Britain, Ireland and beyond,

visit the travel store at Rick steves.com.

We're getting a taste of medieval life

from a guide who knows castles as if he lived in one

on today's travel with Rick Steeves.

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