il Giardino Romantico

We all live in a yellow DUCK marine,
Yellow submarine, yellow DUCK marine...

這個詭異的黃色車車，到底是什麼哩？只要來過利物浦，管你是一日遊，一周遊還是住上一整年，包你一定會在路上看到這台詭異的車車。它叫做Yellow Duck Marine。熟悉披頭四的『黃色潛水艇』的人一定看的出來，這台命名只不過是把中間的 sub 改成 duck。那問題來了。這台車車到底有啥特別的呢？請看下圖...

What in the world is this weird looking vehicle?  If you've been to Liverpool, chances are you would have seen this strange-looking vehicle running about on the streets of Liverpool.  It's call the 'Yellow Duck Marine'.  It's pretty obvious that the name was derived from the famous Beatles song, 'The Yellow Submarine'.  But what exactly is this vehicle do?  What is so special about it?

披頭四故事館禮品部
the fab 4 store @ The Beatles Story

不曉得上次看了【利物浦】Beatles Story一文，因為文中沒有太多館內圖片的關係，是不是讓大家有種意猶未盡的感覺呢？沒關係！今天帶大家來瞧瞧披頭四故事館的禮品部。看看小小間的禮品部裡面販賣了多少披頭四相關的周邊商品！看到現在，大家應該也了解了天仙一慣的作風了：帶不走的、買不起的，全部拍拍拍！！拍下來。反正：＿ ＿ ，＿ ＿！[自己填... ]

The Beatles Story was probably a very unsatisfying article, especially if you happen to be a big-time Beatles fan.  There was too many photo options to choose from, so in the end, I decided to be a little selfish for once and enjoy the whole tour on my own.  This time, however, I've taken loads of photos for your enjoyment.  It's become a habit now, to take pictures of whatever I can't afford to buy!  Well, I don't see why not!  After all, it doesn't cost anything, does it!

好像鄉巴佬進城似的，每次來碼頭總是會有很多很新鮮的事情等著我去發現。繼『那天我看到了帆船』之後，這次天仙來到碼頭你猜猜看到啥？[抬頭不是就有了嘛？耍北七喔？] 沒錯！就是機車！而且還是重型機車。然後還是非常非常非常的多的機車！

It's as if I've never seen the world!  Everytime I come to the dock, I find something new and interesting to see.  Last time, I saw a sailing ship, this time, I saw loads of motorcycles!  And they're not just ordinary bikes!  There must've been dozens and dozens of Ducatis and whatever...


機車一號

不知道你們有多少人記得這篇舊文 ，不過剛來的那段日子第一次在遙遠的英國吃到的蛋炒飯，就是在這間老蜀人吃到的。前前後後差不多來的次數五根手指頭都數的出來。不過這不是因為他不好吃。而是因為太好吃了，反而捨不得常常來。因為越吃會越想家呀！

這天我陪伴著一位我看著他長大，已經十多年沒回到台灣的小弟來到這間餐廳。為什麼要強調他這麼多年沒回到台灣呢？因為他很讓我欽佩的一點是，已經脫節這麼久了，居然還是可以如此的『台』！實在是愛國愛到一種令人很難以置信的地步。問他想吃什麼？Pizza？Kebab？Fish and chips？他只回我一句：中國菜。原本帶他來這間餐廳是因為他們的炒飯好吃又便宜。沒想到吃完以後隔天我們又回到這裡。而且這次點的菜還挺豐盛的(以兩個人來說)。


啥名字我忘了。反正就是什麼辣子豆腐的。

周日下午臨時接到一通友人的電話，說附近的公園正在舉辦『非洲音樂祭』，問我有沒有興趣參加。我心裡想：雖然天氣不穩定，但是不去也還是宅在家裡。為什麼不去？於是就答應了。半小時後，五人同行，跑去附近的店家買了各自的啤酒後，搭乘計程車來到Sefton Park。其實步行也可抵達，只是可能大家都懶懶的，加上天氣也不太穩定。五個人分計程車的錢比坐公車還划算。所以就這樣輕而易舉的來到Sefton Park。

抵達之後，才見挖塞！原來人還不少呢！有吃的、有玩的、有看的、當然也有聽的！雖然尚未有緣去到非洲，來這兒稍微體驗一下也是不錯的經驗啦！何況，與幾位好友小酌幾瓶，快樂的星期天，就是要這樣渡過的啦。

Sunday afternoon, I received a call from a friend, saying that there is this African Music Festival being held at Sefton Park.  He asked me if I would be interested.  I thought to myself, I really had no good reason to refuse.  Why not?  Half an hour later, a group of five people gathered in front of our hall, bought some booze at a nearby offy, and headed down to Sefton Park in a cab.  It was a walkable distance, but we were all pretty lazy, and seeing the weather wasn't very predictable, getting a cab was probably the best option there was to get there. 

來源：Google Images

長久以來，科學與宗教之間的關係總是令人難以拿捏。這兩個領域乍看之下並無任何交集點，但事實上卻是缺一不可，互相無法獨立的領域。科學與宗教同是打造人文基礎的領域。早在科學革命之前，當時被大眾稱為『自然哲學』的那個時期，早就已經是學者視為非常重要的探索領域。知名知識分子，例如法藍西斯．培根，在『新亞藍提斯』一作品中曾以塑造虛構的烏托邦社會試著探索如何結合科學與宗教。非主流的領域中，人們探索著煉金術、魔法、占星術，其實為的都是能夠更了解『上帝之傑作』。但人們誤解的是科學的主旨。他不是一個使人們可以成為，甚至超越，『神』並且掌握宇宙奧妙的領域。他僅不過是一個使得人們更能夠了解上帝的運作方式，而從中更善於利用周遭資源的領域罷了。因此，這兩個領域之間的衝突，並不是在於他們所追求的最終目的，而是在於人們不同的解讀方式。

主角Robert Langdon在『達文西密碼』中早就提出一個論點：耶穌若是真的與平凡人一般，結了婚，也生下了孩子，這代表基督徒應該終止對耶穌基督的信賴嘛？我個人 無法更同意Langdon的論點。即使耶穌基督與平凡人一樣，結婚生子，這不是更顯得他所做出的犧牲更加偉大？同樣的，在『天使與魔鬼』中，作者Dan Brown也試著從看似對立的科學論點去探討宗教信仰的議題。表面上，很容易看出這是一部探討正義以及邪惡的作品。但更深的層面，其實要探討的不只這個， 還有宗教與科學之間的奧妙關係。

羅馬教廷自古以來以傳統以及保守聞名。說難聽一點，就是封閉式思考。我們從教廷如何對待伽利略就可看出他們對於科學性的新發現是多麼的恐懼。隨著時代的改 變，天主教會漸漸的發現這種難題越來越多。但解決的方式不在於是否該選擇保留傳統，或是迎接新像，而是如何從中找到兩者之間的平衡點。宗教信仰的教導，可 以引導科學走向更有道德性的研究，相對的，科學可回歸到最早期的宗旨：使人們更深入的了解『上帝的傑作』。

攝於Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet

這是在英國常見到的『小吃攤』。賣的其實花樣當然不比台灣多啦！頂多就是可麗餅、熱狗、三明治之類的。要說好吃嘛，能多好吃？頂多就是肚子餓了至少可以充飢一下。既然來到outlet已經要花很多＄＄了，不如就隨便吃點東西，補充一下熱量，看一下美女，然後在繼續血拼囉！

This kind of food stall is ubiquitous in England.  The variety is not as impressive as the food stalls found in Taiwan, obviously.  You can expect them to serve crepes, hotdogs, chilli dogs, sandwiches, and things like that.  You can't expect them to serve quality food.  After all, they are just stalls.  However, it comes in handy when you happen to be hungry during your walks.  We happened to be at the outlet village, so it was a economic and convenient choice for us to fill our tummies in order to obtain enough energy for a longer shopping session!

攝於利物浦Walker Art Gallery。

我想來英國的一大享受之一，就是許多很棒的博物館都是可以免費的參觀。光是這點真的就很吸引像我這樣的書呆子。沒錢也可以來享受一下文藝氣息。如果今天逛不完，明天再來晃一下。或是覺得意猶未盡，改天也可以再度來慢慢欣賞。這是四月份某天臨時起意要來晃一下想了很久的Walker畫廊。打從我第一個禮拜來到利物浦，就陸續有人一直跟我推薦一定要來這裡參觀。雖然已經事隔兩個月了，但如今我對他的印象依然深刻。

Walker Art Gallery是倫敦以外收藏最多藝術品的畫廊。而且還持有『北部國家畫廊』之稱。由此可見，這間『免費』入場的畫廊一定會讓遊客感到『直回票價』的畫廊啦！不過寫到這，我突然發現果然過了一段時間才貼文，回頭看看照片，還真的許多作品都忘了名稱與細節呢！但，這會影響你欣賞一幅好畫或是一座優美的雕刻品嘛？

I've been taking advantage of all the museums that are admission free.  It's such a fatal attraction for a nerd like me.  Even if you are skint, you can still come here and steep yourself in the artistic atmosphere.  If you are unable to finish all the exhibitions, come again tomorrow!  Or, if you want to see certain masterpieces more than once, feel free to come and see it as many times as you wish!  I chose a day in April to come and visit this art gallery, because so many people had told me it is not only worth a visit, but practically a Liverpool 'must'.

Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet Village 曾是歐洲最大規模的outlet中心。目前也仍是英國最大規模的outlet中心。聚集了共145間商店，從運動知名品牌至昂貴的服裝、飾品、影音系統等全部都在這兒便宜出售。若是要以最划算的價格買回品質優良的商品，outlet絕對是最好的選擇。

This is Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet Village.  Once being the largest outlet centre in Europe, it remains today as the largest outlet centre in the UK.  With a total of up to 145 stores, you can find here merchandise of all kinds, from sports wear to items with luxurious brand names.  From clothing to accessories, and even stereo systems, this is the best place to buy quality items at a bargaining price. 


雖然賣的是時尚，但外觀仍然保持著切斯特特有的建築風。

這張圖片足以代表第一次到切斯特的印象。一個充滿古老文化風情的小鎮。雖然我又去了一次，但因為陪伴的人不同，即使去同一個地方也會有不同的收穫。何況，這一次看到的切斯特，跟上一次看到的切斯特，相信若是我不說，沒有人會相信是同一個切斯特。

不過在我開始寫不一樣的切斯特遊記之前，首先要澄清一下，上一次在【切斯特】城門沒有雞蛋糕只有甜甜圈一文中所張貼的照片誤導大家對於甜甜圈大小的誤會。

The picture above is sufficient in depicting my first impression of Chester.  It's an old cultural city with lots to do and lots to see.  Although I went to the same place again, the experience would have been different even if we had seen the same scenes.  However, we did go to a different place, and saw a completely different Chester.  Believe it or not, if I don't tell you now, you would probably think that we had gone to a completely different place other than Chester.