il Giardino Romantico

無論您還在猶豫究竟申請哪所學校，或是正在籌備出發前往利物浦就讀的階段，這篇留學利物浦的FAQ，希望能提供您更多的資訊，讓您了解更多，並有助於您做決定或是行前準備。

Whether you're still deciding which university to apply for, or whether you're already preparing to come to study in the University of Liverpool, hopefully this list of FAQ will provide some answers that you might have, and help you decide or prepare for your trip to Liverpool.


1. 【資訊】留學利物浦常見問題集 申請流程篇 FAQ concerning application process

2. 【資訊】留學利物浦常見問題集 生活篇 FAQ concerning living in Liverpool

注意：曼聯迷勿入！！

Warning: Man. United Fans Prohibited.

在此篇文章中，說明了Stratford-upon-Avon之旅對我的的重大意義。為了與大家共享這段無價旅程的經驗，我決定破天荒的再辦一次明信片活動。

參加資格：至今在此格留言數超過十篇以上者。
[感謝潛水者的支持。但很抱歉這次並不開放給未留言過的朋友們。]

獎品：來自莎士比亞故鄉Stratford-upon-Avon的精緻明信片。[共三名]

夢寐以求的莎翁故鄉Stratford-upon-Avon終於可如願實現了。計畫這趟朝聖行程簡直是一波三折。起初我是打算一個人獨行。但在看到 B&B價目之後覺得一個人獨行實在太不划算了。因此開始找朋友同行。起初，第一位找的朋友跟我說若是七月底以後她都沒問題。但偏偏我原本是想計畫在七月結束前就完成此行程。原本想放棄找夥伴的念頭，因為這趟旅程對我來說無比的重要。但後來跟同學們提起後，居然有兩位同學說有意願想一起去。接下來我們約了個時間到，上網查火車票以及住宿價格。火車票是小case。重點是我們打算住的B&B，在原定的那天已經客滿。往後推一個星期，我看到八月初還有空的三人房，為了節省經費，才決定延期。而其中一位同學還提議說她可以開車帶我們去。油錢分攤，算起來比火車票便宜許多。

不料，就在一切都決定好以後，那位提議要開車的同學竟然說她的預算估計錯誤。所以可能沒辦法去。她說，看我們要不要先找人看可否跟我們同行。這樣除了買火車票之外，住宿方面也不用做任何更改。由於改到了八月，我救回想到之前那位朋友。但好巧不巧，她那天正好也有事情無法改期。後來那位要開車的同學只好自我犧牲，但讓我跟另外一位同學還是可以依照原本的計畫出發。

這次的旅程可以說除了倫敦之外，我絕對不可不去的景點之一。無論是同學們或是老闆都同意，我念的這個MA對於沒有去過Stratford-upon-Avon的人來說，根本就不算完整。就像你來英國，沒吃過fish and chips，不能說你有來過英國一樣的道理。其他地方可去可不去。但這裡對於我的英國的目的、我的領域、我的論文，佔了非常重要的地位。

Manchester Metrolink

好像沒什麼好稀奇的。不過我沒坐過這種輕鐵，所以特地花了一點小錢來體驗一下。不過這段時間去的真不巧。因為軌道處處封閉都在維修。不是想去哪裡就可以去的。至於上了電車後我搭到哪裡去哩？下篇將會揭曉。不過，大家要不要來猜猜看呢？你們絕對想不到的。呵呵。

I guess it's not that big a deal.  But seeing that I had never been on a tram, it was still an experience waiting for me to try out.  It wasn't the best time to experience the tram, as certain stops were closed down.  The places I could get to was very limited.  Speaking of that, I'd like you to see if you can guess where I went on the tram.  My guess is that you'll probably never guess it. 

我在英國其實有很多朋友。這些朋友，除了到了才認識的之外，還有許多以前小學至高中的同學，目前剛好都在英國發展中。早在我抵達利物浦時，我這位住在曼城的朋友就一直催我說一定要找機會去曼城找她。其實原本我挺猶豫到底要不要找她的。因為她其實是我姊姊的同學。當時在學校因為年齡差距的關係，其實很少有交集。但是因為許久沒見面，加上正好都在英國，既然距離這麼近，想說既然都計畫要到曼城，當然不能錯過見見老朋友的機會囉。

不過因為我選在禮拜一到曼城玩，所以E小姐她只能利用短暫的午休來陪我閒聊。於是我在十一點抵達後，自己先跑去Visitor Centre一探究竟，等到E小姐午休時間一到，就在走到我們約好的地方見面一起吃午餐。好巧不巧，E小姐說當天進辦公室，正好收到一張Pizza Express的2 for 1午餐優惠。於是我們就選在這兒解決午餐。雖然是連鎖店，但是餐廳裝潢挺不錯的。價目算是中等。平常我不可能會奢侈來吃這個，但是看在2 for 1的份上，£7-£8 的午餐，還算是可以接受的囉！


E小姐點的 Giardiniera。有蘑菇、蘆筍等美味好料。

第一眼看到這座教堂，我整個人都傻掉了。為什麼這座位於這麼繁榮城市的教堂，會這麼的不起眼？所謂不起眼的地方，當然主要是指他的大小。對於一個比利物浦還要繁榮的城市而言，主要的大教堂就這麼一間？而相較之下，利物浦這種不大又不小的港都，主要的大教堂就有兩間。這點實在令人匪夷所思。

不過上網查了資料以後才發現，原來是我有眼不識泰山。這座教堂的歷史遠遠超越利物浦的兩間大教堂。這間原名The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George in Manchester的教堂，事實上早在第八世紀就建立了。而在第二次世界大戰中，大部分慘遭德軍空襲毀損。重建工程花了約二十年才完工。1952年被正式列入Grade I of Listed Buildings。但在1996，再度慘遭愛爾蘭共和軍襲擊造成部份毀損。該教堂存有大量的歷史性資料庫。最古老的文件可追朔到十五世紀。

When I first caught sight of the cathedral, I was absolutely taken aback.  It was not because of how spectacular it was, but quite on the contrary, it was by how little the cathedral was in such an urbanised city as Manchester.  I couldn't come to figure out the reason why a medium-sized city like Liverpool would have two large-scale cathedrals, but a city as large as Manchester only had one significant cathedral.  After checking up on its history, I've decided that size isn't the only thing that mattered.

英國人說懶也是懶得可以。反正閒著也是閒著。寫論文寫到悶寫到煩，怎麼都不會想到要出來透透氣來聚會一下哩？前幾個禮拜我就發出email問大家什麼時候有空。回傳給我的人附上了日期就決定在某天出來聚一聚。其實我的要求不高。你們看文看到現在也應該發現，除非是我一個人單獨行動才會對地點有所要求。如果是跟朋友，因為有他們的陪伴，去哪裡做什麼我都比較不會太在意。[除非是太花錢或是我真的沒興趣想做的事情... ]

English people can be quite lazy sometimes.  Even when they have nothing to do, or if they get so fed up with their dissertation, they wouldn't even think about getting a small group together for some fun.  I sent off an email a couple of weeks ago to arrange this.  After getting people's replies, I set out a date for us to meet and catch up. You should know by now, that it is only when I'm alone, when I'm more picky about where I go.  If I'm with friends, I really don't mind where we go or what we do, unless of course, if it costs too much or if they intend to do something I have absolutely no interest in doing... ]

結果這天下午我們約了五點見面。我臨時被找去做校園導覽，怕五點來不及到，事先跟他們講好說我會晚點到。後來約在校園的pub碰面聊了兩小時後，肚子也餓了，就來去吃東西去。我們幾個現在都正處於水深火熱狀態。當然不可能有多餘的時間去賺更多零用錢，所以只好找一家好吃又便宜的簡餐店。說真的，不用太期待會有多好吃，但是事實上，因為少了這份期待，往往結果都會出乎你的預料之外唷！

當一群熱心助人、開朗活潑的大使們^[註]同聚在一起會是什麼樣的情形呢？我們從二月十四日受訓那天第一次與今年度所有的大使們相見過後其實很少有機會能夠交流。因為大家能夠進去辦公的時間不一，工作量也會依照負責地區而有所不同。導致平時很少有機會碰面。所以每當聽到消息說要聚會，我當然毫不猶豫的一定第一個先答應。可惜上次已經錯過一次出遊的機會。不過還好這次剛好可以參與。但話說，這次的聚會也不簡單呢！

What happens when a group of enthusiastic, passionate, and outgoing ambassadors get together?  Ever since our training session in February, we had not had another chance to meet and get to know each other better.  Because we work at different hours, according to our respective schedules, and our work load also differs depending on the area of which we are in charge.  That is why I never hesitate to agree to join any gatherings with the ambassadors.  Unfortunately I had already missed one outing opportunity.  Although I was fortunate enough to join the gathering this time, it was only after a tremendous amount of effort, that we were finally able to arrange this gathering.

幾個禮拜前就收到通知說要『烤肉』。但前幾天才又聽到消息說當天天氣不太穩定，可能要改去餐廳吃飯。我心裡其實想說，只要能聚在一起，其實去哪裡，吃什麼都是其次。不過別人可不見得想的跟我一樣。離活動當天不到48小時，大夥兒都還在靠email傳來傳去決定要去哪家餐廳吃。沒想到！到了前一天有人說有個教會的場所可以提供我們用餐。就這樣臨時又從外食改到『烤肉』。

A couple of weeks ago, we all received an email asking us all to go out for a barbeque.  Then, we got another email saying that the weather didn't look too good, so arrangements might be made so that we would dine at a restaurant.  I didn't mind, really, where we went or what we did, as long as we got a chance to sit down and socialise.  Others didn't seem to be on the same line of thought.  Forty-eight hours before our scheduled gathering time, people were still trying to figure out what restaurant to go to.  Then, someone offered a venue at their church to carry out our usual barbeque plan.

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不過就是個摩天輪，台北也有、高雄也有。規模也不比倫敦之眼來的壯觀。只是既然來了，就當作是練習拍照。天氣時好時壞，也算是英國天氣的特色。瞧！這些照片中可輕易看出，往某個角度拍攝，就是灰色的天空。再換個角度拍攝，又變成了藍天白雲。

It's just an ordinary ferris wheel.  We have our own in Taipei and Kaohsiung.  It's not even worth comparing to the London Eye.  But since I'm here, I took the opportunity to brush up my photography skills, if I have any.  You'll see in these pictures, a portrayal of typical English weather.  From one angle, the azure sky provides a beautiful backdrop to the wheel, but from an other angle, the sky looks dim and miserable.