Making Merry In Meridell

1. Visit Meridell Castle

Resplendent in the traditional Meridellian colours of blue and red, with turrets and spires adorned with the famous Meridell flags, a trip to Meridell Castle is the number one thing to do on your vacation! Inhabited by the legendary King Skarrl, here you can visit the treasury room and sneak a peak at King Skarrl's riches. Guarded by Snargan the Skeith, the castle treasurer, you even have the chance to win some of those riches yourself. All you have to do toss a coin a few times, heads you win. If luck is on your side, your entire Meridell vacation could be paid for by King Skarrl himself (though shhhhh, don't let him actually know that!). If you time your visit to the castle just right, you could even meet King Skarrl in person! Sat upon his throne, this grumpy old king often lets Neopians try to entertain him by telling him their jokes. If your joke makes the king laugh, he'll reward you very handsomely. But be warned, if your joke isn't to King Skarrl's taste, there's a possibility you'll be banished from the castle forever! Now wouldn't that be a tale to tell when you and your Neopets return home?

2. Visit Illusen's Glade

Another of Meridell's famous residents is Illusen, perhaps the most renowned Earth Faerie of them all. For the last few years, Illusen has welcomed visitors into her home. Often you'll find her playing her harp, or making spells and stews for the faeries in Faerieland. Sometimes she may even request help from you, if you're happy to oblige, and in return she'll very generously gift you with some of the items she has made. Unfortunately, because Illusen is such a busy faerie, there is often a time limit on her quests, but as you're on vacation, you should have plenty of time to spare for this very friendly faerie.

3. Roll Some Cheese

Something for all your Neopets to enjoy, from young to old! Let your Neopets choose the cheese they like from the Techo cheesemaker at the cheese shop, then watch as they roll their cheeses down the hill, trying to avoid all the obstacles in place, such as potholes and rocks. If you manage to roll the cheese down the hill in sixty seconds or under, your neopets will get to keep their cheese (hey, a free picnic!). Windy days are the best days to play Cheeseroller, because gusts of wind can help make the cheese roll faster down the hill. Try to avoid playing on hot, sunny days because the sun can make the cheese sticky, and sticky cheese does not roll very well at all.

4. Go Turdle Racing

Everyone knows about Poogle racing in Faerieland, but long before that game was ever invented, everyone was racing Turdles. These cute shelled Turdles known as Stinky, Poopy, Smelly, Squelchy and Nutty love to be cheered on by their adoring fans as they race around the simple dirt track. Pick the fastest Turdle and you could even win enough neopoints to buy your own Turdle for your delighted Neopets from Ye Olde Petpets, the nearby Meridell petpet shop. What a fantastic souvenir that would be! Granted, you'd have to win a LOT of neopoints, but you and your Neopets would have great fun trying.

5. Visit Meri Acres Farm

There's so much going on at Meri Acres Farm, you'd be best advised to spare a whole day to spend here! Most Neopets love fruit and they're guaranteed to love it even more if it is fruit they've pick for themselves! That's right, pay the Gelert Farmer a few neopoints and you and your Neopets can while away the hours wandering through the fruit trees and bushes, picking and choosing which fruit to put in your basket. Try to avoid the piles of dung though (hey, it's a farm, what do you expect), and don't pick the rotten or half-eaten berries - the last thing you want is for any of your Neopets to become ill! Once you've all feasted on your berries, treat your Neopets to a game of Potato Counter, one of Meridell's most famous games. For the younger Neopet, try the original Potato Counter, where you simply have to count the potatoes laid out for you. For the more adventurous, intelligent Neopet, Extreme Potato Counter might be more challenging! Be warned though, these potatoes get thrown across the field thick and fast, and you may even get hit on the head by a stray carrot or two! Potato counting is very educational, and the great thing is, your Neopets will be having so much fun they probably won't even realise that their math skills are improving, but you will! Another fun activity at Meri Acres Farm is Guess The Weight. In honour of the biggest marrow ever grown at the farm, fondly named Old Bessie, a daily guess the weight competition is held. If you can correctly guess the weight of the marrow, you can win a plethora of fabulous prizes to take back home with you!

There are, of course, plenty of other games and fun things to do while making merry in Meridell. Sinsi the Ixi would love for you to play her complex Shapeshifting game, and for the wannabe archers among you, then Ultimate Bullseye is the game to play. You could even try kissing a Mortog or two (really? Ewwwww!). And if your Neopet really wants to go swimming (well, it IS the month of Swimming, after all), then they could always have a quick splash in the castle moat. Yes, Meridell is definitely THE place to visit on your Neopian vacation. If you decide to take a petpet along with you, however, it might be advisable to avoid going near the Turmaculus, the huge creature who spends most of his time in Meridell sleeping the hours away. Most of his time. He has been known to wake up and eat the occasional petpet! Additionally, you might notice a large mass floating overhead in the sunny Meridellian skies. This is the Darigan Citadel.

Because this is a guide to having a peaceful, relaxing and stress-free vacation, you only need to know about Meridell, and the Citadel need not concern you at all. The war is over. A truce was called. Trust me, the chances of that truce being broken while you're vacationing in Meridell are very, very slim. Right?