il Giardino Romantico

One of the many important goals of this trip to the UK, was to watch the World Cup Final in a pub in England. I got extremely excited when I found out that I was, in fact, going to be in the UK to watch the final. Thus, one the the first things we did on my first day in the UK, was to find a pub to watch the exciting Netherlands v. Spain game.

這次來到英國，其中一項最重要的目的就是在英國當地的pub看世界盃冠軍賽。當我知道冠軍賽可以在英國看的時候，心情無比興奮！沒有什麼比在英國pub球賽還要更刺激了（除了到南非看現場的跟去西班牙看。。。）所以第一天的行程當然就安排要找一間pub來看這重要的比賽囉！

London. Here I come I again. But in fact, I had never left. What exciting adventures await! 

倫敦。我又來了！換個角度想，我未曾離開過。接下來的旅程，還會有什麼刺激等著我發掘呢？

Someone said to me, 'I don't think you'll be able to finish your UK journals, ever...' This is true. I haven't even begun writing about my last two weeks in the UK, and now what am I about to do? Head off and load myself with another three-week full of photos and ideas for blog articles. 

有人曾對我說過『你的英國債還不完啦！』（看到歡迎自己出來自首唷！泰瑞弟弟～）這句話一點都不假。離開英國前兩個禮拜的遊記，我連動筆都還沒開始動筆，我現再又要出發去裝滿三個禮拜的圖片以及文章靈感量！

My first visit to the Taiwan Literature Museum was during the day. It was also before I departed for my MA pilgrimage to the UK. The feeling I have towards this place is indescribable. I will just say that it is this place, that enables me to understand how people feel when I speak of English poets and writers that people wouldn't generally know about. Because know less than a handful of Taiwanese writers.

第一次造訪文學館是在白天。也是在我赴英國留學前發生的事情。台灣文學館對我的意義很難言語表達。我只能說，這裡讓我了解大家在我高談英國詩人以及作家的反應。因為臺灣文學人，我能叫的出名字的也不多。

This is the original 'sesame oil fried rice' that I had often been talking about. I first came here around two years ago, on a pre-departure to England tour around Taiwan. That day, I met up with my old classmate (who I was with on this day, too) and a friend who I'd become acquainted with through blogging. I remember that first visit. The choice of eating here came completely random. She picked me up at the train station, but we had no plans for lunch. As we arrived at our first destination, we got hungry. We saw the sign '素' which was vegetarian in Chinese, and decided to try it out. Amazed at the dish 'sesame oil fried rice', I ordered it, and fell in love with it upon my first mouthful. 

So this time round, we were having difficulty deciding what to eat again, so I suggested to go back to this place and have fried rice again. I wanted to see just how different my own fried rice is from theirs. The truth is, forgive my arrogance, but both are just as good. 

The Liu Family House is a private heritage site that is free to public all year round, admission free. I would have never known about this place if it hadn't been for my very 'professional' local guide. Shameless to say, I don't know much about Taiwan history, but that does not, in anyway, disparage the beauty of this historical building. 

劉家古厝是個私人古蹟。全年開放，不收門票。要不是我的＂專業＂地陪，我可能永遠都不會知道有這麼一座古蹟的存在。雖然對台灣歷史一概不知，但一點也不影響到欣賞這棟古建築的趣味。

This is not the first time I've written about this DaoXiang. But since I got my new camera, I felt like going back to the same places and retake the photos I've taken before. Plus, the food is really nice here. There is no reason why it only deserves to be 'exposed' once. 

其實已經不是第一次介紹道饗了。不過自從有了新相機，就很想去把以前拍過的東西再拍的更好一點。當然，會讓它再度曝光，也是因為食物夠好吃！

Remember that place I went for a meeting in Changhua? [Read more] Well, I didn't know what to say about that place... and I'm not quite sure I like this place more or less than the other. You'll see what I mean if you read on...

還記得上次我去開會的地點嗎？［閱讀舊文］那個很令我無言的地方。其實這裡我也不知道該說是比較好還是比較不好。我想繼續閱讀下去你應該就會了解。。。

I'm not sure about the exact name for this type of train, perhaps someone could enlighten me, but since it's supposed to be half the size of a full sized train, I will call this 'mini-train' for now. You can catch a ride on one of these at the Sugar Factory in Hsin-Ying. It's NT$100 per ride, return. Do watch out if you happen to be on one on a bright and sunny day, which is more than common in Tainan, cuz you might get roasted. Blazing sun protection is highly recommended.

『五分車』會叫五分車，是因為他車身的寬度只有國際標準約一半。因為不知道他的英文正統名字應該怎麼稱呼，所以只好先取名為＂mini-train＂。可至新營台糖廠搭乘。每一小時一班。每次搭乘一百元。不過南部的太陽很恐怖。如果是炎熱夏天搭乘的話，建議做好萬全的防曬措施，免得烤焦。

 

After surviving a month-long's work, I finally had a chance to take a trip and freshen up. This time, I came to Tainan and asked my friend to show me around. I had a deep desire to see places I had never seen before, eat things I'd never eaten before. And that pretty much sums it up. It had been a wonderful trip. Starting with a simple bowl of noodles. 

經過一個月完全無休假的煉獄之後，終於有機會能夠出走。這次來到台南，請我朋友幫忙安排行程。我想要看看以前沒看過的景色，吃吃以前沒吃過的食物。我朋友做到了。這一切都從非常簡單的一碗麵開始。