il Giardino Romantico

這是我第二次來傳藝。第一次來的時候記得也是下雨。當天因為是跟志工團來的，所以報名了騎單車遊冬山河的行程。一邊要顧相機（當時還在用別人的單眼），一邊要騎車還真的是有給他困難！這次我們抵達的時候天氣不算差，但心裡想：這裡是宜蘭！所以傘當然是隨身帶著。這天沒有什麼特別的目的，就是想要隨興的晃。隨便用個午餐（真的很隨便所以連食記都懶得寫），然後就看能在這裡晃到多久囉！

This is my second visit to National Center for Traditional Arts. It rained during my first visit. I came with a group of volunteers, and I signed up for a bike ride along the river. It was quite a day, as I had to watch out for the camera (borrowed from a friend), and ride the bike at the same time. The weather wasn't that bad when we arrived this time, but knowing that this is Yilan, we had our umbrellas with us anyway. There was no special agenda for the day. We simply wanted to keep it simple. We had a casual lunch (so casual that I'm not going to bother posting an article about it), and then just hang out here until we get bored! 

一晚好眠後，我們一大早就起床了。我坐在院子裡讀著書給北鼻聽，然後孩子的爸去晨跑。雖然天氣陰陰的不算挺好，但至少不熱。其實算是在戶外閒晃的好天氣呢。孩子的爸回來後，我們就準備去用早點了！

After a good night rest, we were up really early. I sat outside in the garden reading a book to my little baby while the dad went out for a morning jog. The weather was not perfect, but it was not scorching hot. Perfect to hang out in the early morning before breakfast. When the dad got back, we were ready for breakfast. 

雖然沒有要出國度蜜月，不過天仙懇求老公，放婚假的這幾天，還是要找一天出走！

原本上網看了墾丁、花蓮、台東... 好多地方都想去！但後來還是決定不要去太遠，找個適合窩個一整天的地方好好休息就好。最後才選定宜蘭。其實去年生日的時候，我們就來宜蘭住過一晚。當時住的波卡拉我覺得也不錯！這次很猶豫，因為除了波卡拉還有另外一間我原本想去的。只是電話打去卻聽到因為正在裝修無法接客，因此只好再另外找。我想找的房型很簡單！不用多高級，但是一定要有落地窗，我才會有度假的feel！上網找了好久，終於看到這間有符合我的需求！

既然是生日之旅，當然還是要來點特別的。聽說噶瑪蘭威士忌酒廠就在這附近。但其實我們都不知道怎麼走。沿途看到有「金車」的標示，但那卻只是蘭花園。後來，決定不看地圖，直接憑直覺走。沒想到還真的被我們找到了。

This is, after all, my birthday trip. So something special had to be arranged. I hear that the famous whiskey distillery is not far from here, but we didn't know how to get there. We've seen 'King Car' signs along the way, but it turned out to be the orchid farm. Then, we decided to go with our instincts, and see where the road would take us. Believe it or not, we eventually found the place!

因為今年生日剛好是在禮拜三。不想用掉太多假（因為才年初啊）就不能去太遠的地方。原本想住的，後來覺得太遠，交通太費力，因此日子接近時又趕緊另外找一間。搜尋搜尋著，就找到這間才剛開幕沒多久的。看起來挺不錯！有我嚮往的度假感覺。因此一個月前就信信滿滿的把房間訂下來。後來直到出發前，看到別的部落客分享的圖文，才證實我的決定沒有錯。其實大家去民宿住久了會發現，官網的圖片有時候騙很大。這也不能怪它們啦，畢竟網站本來就是要吸引大家去住上一兩晚的嘛。不過對這間會這麼有自信，是因為他才剛開幕沒多久，設施一定都是新的。看了格友客觀的分享，就更證實與網站上的照片沒有差太多。

My birthday this year happened to fall on a Wednesday. Without wanting to use up all my days off, I decided to go somewhere not as far. I started looking for a place to spend the night away from Taipei at the beginning of the year. Then I realised that place was a bit too far from anywhere. So I started looking for an alternative, and came across this place. It looked really nice! I booked the room a month in advance, quite confident that my choice was right. Then a week before the actual trip, I saw another blogger's review of the place, and confirmed that I had made a right decision in coming here. You know how pictures on official websites can be deceiving... So it was a lot more practical to see another blogger's review. I had so much confidence with the decision because the place was quite new. At least the facilities would be pretty new! And reading the review basically reassured me. 

**The following article is in Chinese (Traditional) only.
**本篇文章僅以繁體中文撰寫

這幾天因天秤颱風來襲，新聞上一直報導著花東的狀況，真是令人憂心。但依照以往的經驗，新聞總是會把事情嚴重化。每次都報說颱風有多嚴重，在實地報導的時候也選最嚴的拍攝，讓人很難判斷到底是真的那麼嚴重，還是...！？每次以為很嚴重，打電話或事後關心當地居住的朋友，卻又都跟我說沒事。如果真的都沒事就好。是說講到颱風，就想到去花蓮的這兩天，冒著雨跑去自強夜市的那個晚上。因為第一天晚上已經吃了海景蓋飯，第二天就想來大家都推的自強夜市朝聖一下。據說是有間烤肉必吃。那就來看看自強夜市到底有啥好吃的呢！

發文這天剛好是周一，又要開始面對各種壓力了！平日壓力的累積，其實很多人是否到了周末都還覺得很疲憊呢？原以為只有我，但後來發現很多人都認為台北捷運車廂上似乎要看到微笑是一件很困難的事情。你可說都市人煩惱多。也可以說天龍國嘛！就是不懂的微笑。微笑是自己的責任。微笑可以讓心情更輕盈，讓思想更正面。所以為什麼不？

The release of this article happens to be on a Monday - time to face our stress and pressure again! With the accummulation of stress over the week, many people are still unable to relax even after a weekend! I thought it was just me, but apparently a lot of people have noticed how rare it is to find a smile on the MRT in Taipei. I guess you can say it's because city people are grumps, or because Taipei people can't smile. Smiling is your own responsibility. It makes you lighter, and more positive. So I say why not?

雖說路是人走出來的，但走在人家已經開拓好的步道確實是比較舒服呀。

A Chinese saying states that roads are created by the footsteps of men. Well, sometimes it is a lot easier to walk a path someone else had created.

One of the most famous and popular tourist destinations in Eastern Taiwan, is Taroko Gorge. The scene is spectacular here. The sun was shining, but the weather was perfectly mild. Reaching this destination here, was a significant moment for me. There are beautiful places within my own island that I have yet to explore. People keep telling me how gorgeous these places are, and now for the first time, I was able to see the place with my own eyes. And anyone who has taught English at cram schools here in Taiwan, would have, no doubt, come across Taroko Gorge before in textbooks. I, myself, had uttered the name in classrooms for years... And now, I'm finally here.

東台灣最出名與最受歡迎的景點之一就是太魯閣囉。這邊的風景真的很漂亮。別看那太陽這麼強烈，其實這春天的陽光是很溫和的。抵達這裡對我來說是個很重要的時刻。雖然在這座島上藏著許多我未曾親眼目睹過的美景，也常聽人家說那兒很美那兒很棒，這次卻是我第一次親眼看見太魯閣的美。更尤其是在台灣教過美語的人一錠都常常在補習班課本裡教過太魯閣這個地名。就連我自己都在教室裡不知道教了幾百次這地名。而如今，我終於來到這裡了！

原本想先把英國遊記全部寫完之後，再來好好專心寫三月底的花蓮．墾丁遊記。不過由於友人剛好在策畫花蓮行的過程中詢問到我當時選擇的民宿，所以就想說先把這篇寫出來提供他參考。這段旅程的緣由，我將會在日後補上。不過目前我想討論的是單獨旅行的問題。我想如果你迷戀單獨旅行的過程，你就會知道很多時候即使你很愛這種可以一個人自由放空、自由安排行程的感覺，現實層面總是會狠狠地給你來個當頭棒喝：許多旅行社的行程都是兩人成行，網路上寫的價格也是算人頭的（除非你願意出兩倍的錢），更不用說住宿了。這個社會對單身的人就是這麼的不公平啊！所以一氣之下，我還真的上「股溝」查了「花蓮　單人房」。後來找到一篇好心人整理出來的一些有提供單人房的民宿。點了進去，研究了一番，最後選擇了「柚子家」。

I was planning on completing the 2010 England series first before moving on to my Hualien/Kenting articles. But it just happened that my friend is also planning a trip to Hualien and is asking me about the place I stayed at. That's why this article is being posted right now. I'll get into the reason why I decided to take this trip later, but for now, let's discuss an extremely serious issue: why is society so unfriendly to single travellers? For those of us who enjoy the freedom of going where ever we want at any time we want, and glazing into nothingness whenever we feel like it, reality often comes as a serious shock. Most package tours are designed for two people. Accommodations are more affordable when you've got company. It's unfair for singles who wish to travel on their own. So I Googled 'Hualien' and 'Single room', and found a list of accommodations especially designed for single travellers. In the end, I chose this place: Yo-tze's Home (You-tze Jia)