【德倫】Durham Castle @ il Giardino Romantico

P had been such a wonderful host. I really think he had done more than he needed. What I enjoyed more about spending time with western host is their directness. Sometimes the orient can be a little too concerned with pampering their guests. This can often times make your hospitality become a burden. The reason I mention this, is because when I insisted on visiting the castle, P asked me to do the tour on my own, which was completely fine. Although I felt a little guilty since he'd have to find something to do to kill the time, I thought it worked out for the best - he got some time to catch up his own errands, and I got to see the castle.

Ｐ實在是個很稱職的導遊。他真的是很熱情的在招待我。不過比起東方人的招待方式，我真的比較喜歡西方人的直接坦率。有時東方主人的過度關切，只會造成客人的困擾呢。我會提到這個呢，是因為我真的很想參觀城堡，可是Ｐ很堅持他不要進去（應該是因為看過太多次了）。所以Ｐ就請我自己去。我不覺得這有什麼不好的。不過對於他必須找點事情來殺時間這件事情，我倒真的有點不好意思。但我想最後這樣的安排還是好的：他利用這點時間去做點他自己的事情，而我也參觀到了我想參觀的城堡。

Are you envious of Hogwarts students, who get to live in old castle buildings? Well, tell you what, you can be envious of students of Durham University as well. Because one of the buildings of this castle, is student hall...

你羨慕「哈利波特」裡的學生嗎？因為可以住在城堡式的建築裡？那我可要告訴你，德倫大學的學生你更要羨慕！因為這城堡的其中一棟，就是拿來當學生宿舍用的！

If I remember correctly, it's that round building. The student hall, that is.

如果我沒記錯的話，宿舍就是山丘上的那棟。

Pictures were not allowed, so this was the only shot I managed to take sneakily.

因為內部禁止拍照，所以只有偷拍到這張。

It was not a very long tour, but it's a strange feeling to see a castle put into use like this one. Mind you, this is property of Durham University.

這導覽不會太長。但是見到這麼一間目前還在使用中的老建築，真的是一種很奇妙的感覺。這可是德倫大學的財產喔！

This marks the end of my Durham tour. I am fully appreciative of P and his wife's hospitality. When P was getting ready to walk me to the train station to see me off, he offered to carry my 5kg backpack. It was good training for me, so I didn't really want him to carry it for me, but both P and his wife insisted. P said he would've carried it for me when I arrived had he realised how heavy it was. (It's a 15 minute walk, up and down hill, from his house to the train station) I think there is a reason why some teachers will always have a secure place in your memory, and influence your way of thinking and behaving for the remainder of your life.

德倫之旅就在這畫下了句點。對於Ｐ以及師母的招待，豈能是一兩句謝謝就能夠表達到位？（那三句夠嗎？）Ｐ正要送我走去車站時，自告奮勇地說要幫我背那5kg的背包。那背包對我來說是個很好的訓練體力的工具，而我也不好意思請他老人家幫我背。但是師母跟Ｐ都很堅持不讓我碰自己的背包（綁架啊！）Ｐ還說，我剛抵達的時候若有發現我背包這麼重，來的路上就會幫我背了！（從他家到車站距離約十五分鐘–坡路！）我想有些老師會永遠的存活在我們的記憶裡，影響我們後半輩子的思考以及行為，不是沒有原因的。