il Giardino Romantico

我又來到了烏來。

Wu-lai, I'm back.



這次不一樣的是，我是一個人單獨來的。雖然獨自一人，但有著大自然的陪伴，當然就不寂寞。這次的經驗與初次造訪的體會全然不同。因為一個人，腳步的速度可以自己決定。停留的時間可以自行決定。雖然結伴同行也是不錯的，但偶爾獨行，也是不錯的選擇。

The difference this time, is that I'm alone.  With the company of Mother Nature, however, I feel anything but lonely.  The good thing about traveling alone is that I get to decide the pace of my steps, where I should stop, and how long I should remain there.  Of course, having a friend or two wouldn't be such a bad idea, but being alone give you the opportunity to spend some quality time with your inner self.



[聖地 Holy Ground]



也許是經過幾次颱風侵襲，這次在大老遠的地方就已經能聽見瀑布聲。瞧，這次上次被我們誤認為瀑布的排水口。其實這樣看起來，也能算是個小瀑布！？

After the invasion of a few typhoons, the waterfall could be heard while still far away.  See, that's the outlet that we had mistaken as THE waterfall.  From the look of it, perhaps it is a mini-waterall?



[烏來瀑布 Wu-lai Waterfall]



瀑布變大了。水流聲更清脆了！

The waterfall has grown bigger!  The flowing water has also gotten louder and crispier!



到了瀑布面前往下一看，因為光線還看得到彩虹！不過一轉眼，就又不見了。

When you look down below, you could even catch the sight of a rainbow.  But within a blink of an eye, it would vanish.



[勇士廣場 ]



來到上次說適合野餐的觀賞瀑布的平台，決定在這休息。要記得，來到這可是要先挑戰一段階梯的呦！

I came to the waterfall viewing platform, and decided to take a little rest here.  This is, of course, after a long flight of ascending stairs.

[圖片以刪除]

瞧我一身利物浦裝，就知道我是帶著夢想來這。

Wearing my Liverpool shirt, it's almost as if I've brought my dream with me.



就連鴨舌帽也是 Liverpool FC的～  [還有我兒子的毛在上面耶～ @.@]

Even the cap. [That's my Prince Angelino's fur you see stuck on the cap...]

到這邊一定得先聊聊那件衣服。話說，那是2000[?]在清邁渡假時碰巧看到的。當時其實自己都還沒決定要去哪所學校。但現在回想起來，也許冥冥之中早就註定好了？

I found that shirt while doing some random shopping that summer back in year 2000.  I was on vacation in Chiangmai visiting my folks.  At the time, I hadn't decided yet where I'd go for my master's degree.  Now, looking back, perhaps everything had already been planned.



於是我坐在那啃我的全麥麵包。目不轉睛盯著瀑布看。大自然可真是威力無比呀！

So as I sat there chewing on my whole wheat bread, staring at the waterfall, I experienced a revelation.

嘿！毫無藝術天分的我，竟然也會畫出五分像的瀑布水彩畫！真是太神奇了！

Without any innate artistic skill, I was actually able to paint something that looked rather similar to the waterfall!  The power of Mother Nature, simply cannot be underestimated.



誰說一定要是藝術家才能動筆畫畫？記得某人曾跟我說過：『畫畫不是攝影，一定得畫的一模一樣。』每次拿起水彩筆，心裡就回想著這句話。只要自己畫的開心就好。何必一定要成為大師呢？

Whoever said only artists could paint?  I recall the words of a very wise person:  It's not photography.  And so whenever I'm holding a paintbrush, I'd remind myself that.  I'm painting because it makes me happy to do so.  There is no need to become a maestro.  We have plenty already.

未完待續...
To be continued very soon...