il Giardino Romantico

Generally speaking, a lot of people probably don't know much about Hall's Croft.  Neither did we, and we were Shakespearean academics... This, is actually the house of Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna, and her husband John Hall. It contains a small collection of 16th and 17th century paintings and furniture.  Because John was a doctor, the house also exhibits a wide range of medical equipments used in those days.

別說一般人了，就連專攻莎士比亞領域的我們，其實對這間屋子也很陌生。事實上，他原是屬於莎士比亞女兒Susanna和女婿John Hall所有。這間屋子的展示品，包含了十六以及十七世紀的藝術品以及傢具。不過比較特別一點的，應該算是當時身為醫生的John Hall所會用上的一些醫療工具。

I wouldn't necessarily call this visit 'worth the while'.  It was, afterall, very small, and there was a limited amount of things that could be displayed.  To compound, the exhibit had very little to do with Shakespeare himself.  But since we had purchased ourselves five-house tickets, it seemed reasonable to include this in our itinerary.  I think, and my friend would probably agree, too, the most interesting aspect of the whole house was the beds.  I recall noticing from previous blog-browsing experience how small European beds used to be back in those days.

攝於卡地夫中央車站
Cardiff Central Station

來到威爾斯，像是來到一個新的國家。所有的標示，除了英文以外，還會附上威爾斯語。這點讓我覺得挺特別的。雖然大家都說北威的風景比較美，建議我若是要去威爾斯，一定要去北邊瞧瞧。不過我在那沒有朋友，所以要去北威的話，除了交通，還得安排住宿。因此我就偷懶，選擇了南邊的威爾斯首都 - 卡地夫。

Arriving at Wales, felt like arriving at a new country.  All the signs were bilingual - English and Welsh.  I thought this was rather interesting.  Although everyone's been telling me how beautiful northern Wales is, seeing that I have to arrange my own accommodation if I go, I took the easier way.  I went to southern Wales, the capital city - Cardiff, instead.

On this rainy August afternoon, we did not need extravagant furnishing, nor elegant teaware, to relief our exhausted bodies.  All we needed, was a simple, plain cup filled with tea, and a bottle of orange juice.  Because compared to our tired bodies, our hearts were were more than satisfied.

八月的某日下雨天，我們不需要華麗的裝潢也不需要高貴的茶具。簡簡單單的白色茶杯以及茶盤，和一瓶柳橙汁，就足以滿足我們疲倦的身體。但是身體上的疲憊，比起心理上的滿足，簡直微不足道。

The first place to visit on our second day itinerary, was Anne Hathaway's Cottage.  We departed after we enjoyed a lovely breakfast prepared by Pascal.  From the maps and Pascal's word, it would take about 5-6 minutes to walk from the B&B to our destination.  If you like walking while you travel, you would probably understand, that when you have no idea where the destination is, even a few minutes walk would seem like a couple of hours.

We had been very lucky on our frist day.  There was barely any rain.  This second day was a little different, though.  There were two reasons that made the walk seem extra long: 1. we had all our belongings with us, as I came up with this brilliant idea in order to save us a trip back to the B&B before boarding the train back; 2. it had started to rain since we got up.  Although Stratford-upon-Avon in the rain seemed just as pleasant and enjoyable, it did affect one's journey, especially when there were hardly any shelter along the way.

When we were half way there, we saw a cottage, and mistook that as the cottage.  I know we must have seen pictures of the cottage more than a dozen times, but this just shows you how desperate we were to get to it.

莎士比亞出生地
Shakespeare's Birthplace

This is the birthplace of the poet of all times.  My friend and I came here on the first day to get our five-house tickets.  Initially, I thought it would be better to save it until the next day, so we would have more time to see the place in detail.  However, once we got our tickets, the people that worked there ushered us in, and assured us that we had enough time until it closed.  So, in we went.

這就是一代文豪所出世的小屋。我與友人第一天就來到這，原本只是為了索取我們之前線上所訂的套票。我原以為等到第二天時間較充裕會逛的比較仔細。沒想到工作人員在遞票給我們之後，馬上就叫我們直接進去。並且告訴我們當天到關門時間之前絕對有足夠的時間可以參觀完。所以我們就進去囉。

Holy Trinity Church

聖三一教堂又被大眾稱之為莎士比亞的教堂，是莎士比亞出生後受洗以及逝世後的埋葬地。就因為這個很簡單的原因，造成了這座教堂成為了來Stratford不可不去的景點之一。

Holy Trinity Church is also more popularly known as Shakespeare's church.  It is the church where the poet and playwright was baptised and later buried.  Because of this simple reason, Holy Trinity Church has become one of the must-see sights in Stratford.

除了劇場表演知名度之外，RSC所出版的莎士比亞全集也是在文學界裡赫赫有名的版本。在台灣RSC版本的莎士比亞全集非常少見。比較常見到的版本為The Riverside Shakespeare，或是The Oxford Shakespeare。不同版本之間的差距可大也可小。非三言兩語既能解釋的清楚。若是買來珍藏，其實RSC的珍藏版屬最有質感的版本。

再來看看RSC還賣了些什麼周邊商品。

Other than their renouned theatrical performances, the RSC is also well-reputed for their excellent editions of complete Shakespeare.  In Taiwan, you are not going to see the RSC edition very often.  The Riverside Shakespeare and The Oxford Shakespeare are more popular.  The differences between the different editions can vary insignificantly to dramatically.  It isn't something that can be explained in a few sentences.  I will spare you with the details, and tell you only this:  if you fancy a Complete Shakespeare for your library, the RSC hardback, is probably your best choice.

因擴展工程暫時關閉的The Swan Theatre。
The Swan Theatre, undergoing redevelopment.

皇家莎士比亞劇團[RSC]是英國最知名的劇團之一。該劇團在1879年四月二十三日於莎士比亞紀念劇場呈現了他們的第一場莎士比亞劇：『無事生非』。目 前RSC所經營共四間劇場：The Courtyard、The Swan、Royal Shakespeare和The Other Place。

目前所安排的表演皆安排在The Courtyard Theatre演出。該劇場於2006年七月開幕。是在其餘三間劇場擴張整修期間的臨時劇場。在2010年全新的劇場於原地重新開幕後，The Courtyard Theatre將預計被拆除。雖然若是能在更有歷史性的劇場看表演也不錯，不過能在the Courtyard Theartre成為歷史前在此看一齣戲，何嘗不是一種特別的經驗？

Royal Shakespeare Company is one of the most prestigious theatre companies in Britain. It staged its first production of 'Much Ado about Nothing', on the 23rd of April, 1879 in the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. The RSC currently runs four theatres in Stratford: The Courtyard Theatre, The Swan Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and the Other Place. Of these four theatres, three of them are temporarily closed for redevelopment.

威爾斯愛情湯匙

聽說今天是七夕。所以天仙決定來插播一篇應景文，來送給世界各地的情人。希望大家能夠每天都甜蜜、每天都幸福。若是情人不在身邊也沒關係，只要你心裡有他/她，其實也可以很開心、很快樂的囉！

這篇要介紹的是威爾斯的特產『愛情湯匙』- Love Spoon。可別小看這玩意兒。這篇拍到的愛情湯匙都只是簡單小小的紀念品。少則£2 ~£5就可以買到一個回家做紀念，或是送給情人當作定情物。不過也有很高級的。貴則到£20以上都有的呢！

這裡不是倫敦。沒有哈利波特那9 3/4月台。也不會通往Hogwarts學院。其實來利物浦這麼久了，我一直到最近幾個月才真正踏入這個車站。之前搭火車都是到比較小的Liverpool Central。直到有朋友來訪，我才第一次見識到Liverpool Lime Street車站原來裡面這麼的壯觀。

而也第一次見識到，原來英國有各式各樣的火車。常常聽人說火車誤點或是取消的麻煩事。不過幸好我自己倒是還沒有碰上過。與朋友去Stratford，還有之後自己坐火車去Cardiff，旅程都很順利。無論是換車，或是抵達時間，都是一切順順順。刻意安排將Stratford排在自己單獨去Cardiff行程前，其實為的就是要很低調的讓人家帶過一次，這樣自己單獨行的時候才不會很茫然什麼都不會。以前常怪某人不會善用台灣的大眾運輸工具。來到英國才發現，原來到了異鄉，即使語言上不成問題，還是需要很大的勇氣啊！

This is not London.  There is no 9 3/4 platform, and there are no trains that will take you to Hogwarts.  After having been here for a while already, I have to admit that I had only first set foot inside this station recently.  My previous train rides all departed from a smaller station - Liverpool Central.  It was not until I had to pick up a friend here, that I first saw how impressive this station really is.