Study hard, and travel hard! I joined the Travel Society in the beginning of the year, as traveling is one of my major goals during this year of Exchange. Brighton, a town on the south coast of Great Britain, is the destination of the society’s first trip. Staying in Nottingham, a place that is kinda cold and rains very frequently (feels like Vancouver), for about 1 month has made me missing the beach and sun very much. The ferry’s wheel and the ocean view were all I can see when we first arrived-- what a beautiful first impression! We all started taking pictures of it as soon as we got off the coach haha. Hello Brighton! | 決定出來交換一個很大的原因就是,…我想要旅行!之前的夢想是,只要有空就一刻不停地踏遍整個英國,甚至是踏遍整個歐洲!…當然是在金錢許可的情況下。所以在今年初我加入了我們學校的旅遊社,而我們的第一站是英國南端的布賴頓。在諾丁漢這個愛下雨又偏冷的地方(是阿,我從愛下雨的溫哥華來到了另一個愛下雨的城市…)待了一段時間會很想念海邊和陽光,所以…在行前就一直祈禱會是好天氣,非常的期待看到美麗的海岸和天空阿。 到達這裡第一眼看到的是—摩天輪啊!海邊的摩天輪!美極了的第一印象! 所以一下車就看到大家拿著專業或不專業的相機瘋狂的猛拍 XD Hello 布賴頓! |
It took us about 4 hours to travel from Nottingham University to Brighton, so the meeting time was really early… most of us got on the bus without eating breakfast. By the time that we arrived, the first thing we wanted to do is to find somewhere to eat. Several groups just chose a random bar or fish-and-chips store to stay, yet my friends and I were not big fans of the sea gulls… we decided to drop the idea of eating at the beach side… and started walking to the attraction sites! There must be something to eat around the tourist sites! There are indeed restaurants around the Royal Pavilion and Art Gallery… and actually, a lot of them. One of us looked upon the Unban Spoon App, and chose a Spanish restaurant that has a 93% rating: Casa Don Carlos. | 在沒吃早餐的情況下坐了四個小時的車,好不容易到達目的地的第一目標就是覓食。從海邊美景回過神來之後很多人就在附近買了Fish and Chips (炸魚和薯條)坐在海岸邊吃了起來。本來我們幾個也打算這麼做,可是海鷗實在太熱情,然後我又輕微的討厭鳥類…最後還是落荒而逃了,想說到了景點附近一定有吃的吧…! 景點附近的確有餐廳和小攤子,甚至是,太多了我們完全不知道從何選起… 朋友M最後在Urban Spoon上查到了附近評價93%的西班牙餐廳 Casa Don Carols—就決定是你了! |
The food was amazing! The Paella was a bit salty for our taste, but maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be. The restaurant was soon full of people after about 20 minutes... we were lucky to arrive there early! There were two tapas that I saw a lot of people getting while waiting: tiny-sausages (with a fancy burning fire trick), and potato with creamy sauce on the top... due to the time and money concern we couldn't add more orders to what we had... but maybe next time, if we could be here again! | 93%果然不是騙人的喔喔~ 食物好吃!唯一有點想說的是他的Paella (海鮮燉飯之類的?) 對我們來說有點鹹,不過我也不確定他是不是就應該是這個味道就是了。很驚人的在我們點完菜之後陸陸續續就進來了很多人,在我們要走的時候外面已經排了好多人了(所以侍者收拾得飛快,我們在分帳的時候還一直很焦慮地看我們… XD). 有兩道我看到很多人點,可是我們在點菜的時候沒有發現的tapas: 一樣是小香腸,一樣是馬鈴薯塊。滋滋作響剛烤好的小香腸上到別桌的時候看得我好餓,那道侍者還會澆油或是酒之類的東西讓他冒出大火…花俏甚麼阿不過就是香腸嘛 (…流口水) ! 馬鈴薯塊我其實在這裡吃得有點膩,可是實在是太多人點了,想不注意到都不行的程度。上面淋的大概是特製的奶油醬汁`。因為時間和金錢都有限所以就沒有點來試試看了,下次吧,有機會的話! |
曬曬食物(喂) 從左到右,由上而下:
What we had: From left to right, top to bottom:
Croquetas de la Casa (Home made Fish Croquettes)
Huevos a la Flamenea (Eggs baked with Chorizo, Asparagus, Peppers, Tomatoes, & Peas)
Paella (Original Spanish recipe with Rice, Chicken, & Shellfish)
Pincho Moruno (Marinated Pork with Paprika & Garlic)
What we had: From left to right, top to bottom:
Croquetas de la Casa (Home made Fish Croquettes)
Huevos a la Flamenea (Eggs baked with Chorizo, Asparagus, Peppers, Tomatoes, & Peas)
Paella (Original Spanish recipe with Rice, Chicken, & Shellfish)
Pincho Moruno (Marinated Pork with Paprika & Garlic)
The Royal Pavilion-- an odd building that is ...very exotic decorated, inside and out. There’s not much British feeling left for this architecture. | The Royal Pavilion (皇家行宮),一個裡裡外外都很異國風的地方,讓我完全不肯定自己在哪 XD |
The visit at Royal pavilion was amazing; it cost 8 pounds for students to enter, and included an audio guide that took us through the whole pavilion. The Brighton trip is really not going to be a complete experience without visiting the pavilion. The pavilion was used as a “Pleasure Palace” for Prince Regent, later known as King George IV… so it’s not hard to imagine how luxurious it is. When I first entered the place, it does seem like an, quoting from Queen Victoria, “an odd building”… with the very oriental decorations. The king himself contributed ideas into the designing of the pavilion, including the large amount of oriental-like decorations and furniture that confused me… one surprising fact is that, George IV had never been to China in his whole life. This place shows how King George IV, or if in broader spec, how the general royal high class entertained themselves and enjoyed their life in the past. The audio guide was informative and interesting. As you listened to the guide, you could picture how the rooms were used, and how it reflects the King’s psychological states in relation to his status, or ages, from decorations. I pretended that I was one of the guests invited by the King, as suggested by the guide, and walked through the corridors with my highest respect to this magnificent architecture. When I migrated from the Oriental Room (Room of Illusion?) the banquet room took my breath away… its grandness… the luxurious decorations… cannot be seen from the postcard, especially the 1 ton chandelier! How could anyone design something so frightening by beautiful at the same time? Well, I can see how pressured the guests sitting right underneath it must have felt like… One of the postcards I bought has the silver dragon on top of the chandelier, but to be honest, you cannot feel the awe you would at the actual location. I also remember the “high-tech” kitchen and the music room, which I carefully tip-toed in there, and twirled a little, again pretending to be one of the royal guests. A perfect banquet room that requires perfect food… needs an excellent kitchen. It must have been a pleasure to work in there. A high ceiling, more than 10 windows on the very top of the room for good air-filtering, a steam table that kept the dishes warm, a huge oven… these were very advanced equipment at the time. There was a menu designed by the French cook at the pavilion… the courses… oh how I wish I would have a chance to try them! The audio guide pointed out some of the secret door ways for the toilet and for the servants; visitors nowadays have a chance to walk along the servants’ walk-way…which is a “privilege” we have, since the royal guests could never access these places. :P * No photography in the pavilion... so ... check out the postcards, and imagine how it looks like. :) | [警告/道歉(?)] [這段有點字多,雖然是自己打出來的可是看到還是頭昏了一陣…所以我把他先丟到了Google Translate再來修阿哈哈哈哈,有的地方實在覺得好像還可以就留下來了,會有點…過於正式…。就,將就看吧(眨眼) (喂) ] --- 皇家行宮學生票耗資8磅,並包括音頻導帶我們通過整個展館。沒有參觀皇家行宮,布萊頓之旅真的不會是一個完整的體驗。皇家行宮是喬治四世國王在還是王子的時候拿來娛樂的地方,想當然的富麗堂皇。當我第一次進入的地方,它看起來像一個,就像後來的維多利亞女王所表示,「一個奇怪的建築」-- 擁有大量的中式裝飾。在行宮的設計上,他貢獻了不少他自己的想法,包括當時流行的仿中式家具和裝潢,害我在剛進去的時候感到很疑惑......一個令人驚訝的事實是,喬治四世在他的一生中從未到過中國。這個地方顯示了喬治四世國王,或是更廣泛的,在過去的一般皇室貴族和名人如何享受他們的生活。語音導覽提供了大量的資訊,但也很有趣。當你聽著導覽,你能想像出的房間之前是怎麼被使用的,不同的房間也反映了國王的心理狀態,不同的身分或年齡的關係從裝飾品中可以看得出不同的風格。我假裝我是一個由國王邀請的客人,順著引導,懷著崇高的敬意,在這個宏偉的建築的走廊裡行走著。 從奇異的中式房間進入宴會廳,我差點無法呼吸。天阿好美!從明信片上完全看不出來的華麗,特別是那座1噸的吊燈!怎麼會有人設計出這麼令人畏懼但又如此美麗的東西。在下面吃飯的壓力應該是不小(笑)我買的其中一張明信片的吊燈上有銀製的騰龍,但說實話,完全感受不到在現場的那種敬畏感。 我還記得「高科技」的廚房和音樂室。在音樂室裡我小心的踮起腳尖,旋轉了一下,再次假裝自己是王室的客人之一。一個完美的宴會廳,就要有完美的食物…而這需要一個優秀的廚房。能夠在那個廚房裡工作一定是件很讓人高興的室。高聳的天花板,十幾扇透氣的窗戶,讓菜保溫的蒸氣桌子,極大的烤箱…在當時都是很先進的設備。有一個由當時的法國廚師菜單設計在廚房裡展示......我多麼希望我將有一個嘗試的機會!音頻指南指出一些通往廁所的暗門,是如果自己來不會發現的地方。現在的參觀者有一個王室的客人也從來沒有的「特權」: 參觀僕人的通道和房間。:P *裡面是禁止拍照的,所以去看看明信片,還有想像吧!:) |
St. Nicolas Church. Lamp that is at the entrance of the graveyard/ church. St. Pauls Church.
Other places in Brighton didn’t give me as much awe though. I am sure St. Pauls and St. Nicolas Church must look great inside, but unfortunately neither of them was opened… so we could only wander outside. St. Nicolas church, apparently is the oldest building in the town, is located within a graveyard…! Not somewhere anyone would want to go at night. Maybe Halloween, for the sake of the atmosphere, but that’s… yeah. It added a mysterious and solemn feeling to the church though. | 布萊頓其他地方沒有卻沒有讓我那麼驚豔。我相信聖保爾斯和聖尼古拉教堂內一定也是很美的,但遺憾的是他們當天都沒有開放,所以我們只能在外面徘徊。聖尼古拉教堂,據說是在鎮上最古老的建築,坐落在一個墓地裡!大概不會是晚上出去玩的好地方。萬聖節可能可以吧,但…呃哈哈 (抖)。墓地給教堂帶來一種更神秘莊嚴的感覺就是了。 |
Street views. 街景 :)
That’s it. Last view of the ferry’s wheel by the sea. Bye Brighton! | 當天最後在車上看到的布萊頓…還是一樣的美極了啊啊!掰掰啦布賴頓! |