2007-08-07

[UK] Edinburgh (02) 終篇 & 補充

在愛丁堡的最後一天是自由活動,因為每個人搭的火車班次和時間都不一樣,所以大家自己協調、組團到處逛,我和Keiko 在Princes Street 亂晃,看看有什麼東西能買。


早上快中午的時候到The Meadows 看表演,那裡就是一大片的草地,有很多表演活動,重點是有很多的free chips,我和Keiko 拿了很多包準備當中餐和點心。也許有人會想,那片草地真的就直接叫 The Meadows 嗎?沒錯,而且我找到了地圖,本來還在想沒把地圖帶回來很難解釋,沒想到用Google 隨便搜尋一下就找到了愛丁堡的萬用地圖,請點此看地圖



之後在Princes Street 的花園聽了一下塞尼維亞小提琴手的演奏。



請Keiko 幫我照一下街景,這應該是High Street (Royal Mile)。

其實在 Edinburgh 能看的不只這些,在節慶期間,在某個地方(抱歉,我真的忘了是哪,但是是在鬧區中央,非常容易找)會有個圓形的大帳篷,裡面有很多台電腦讓你查看看有哪些表演,在哪裡、什麼時間及票價,找到你想看的表演後就可以買票進去觀賞,有些是免費的,但是大多數在 $5-15 英鎊中間,沒記錯的話。我和Keiko 有買票,但是就在表演開始前的半個小時左右,Keiko 發現我們的票不見了,所以... (泣)。

因為從Edinburgh 到Leicester 大約四個小時的火車車程,加上又是禮拜日,班次很少,所以我和Keiko 下午一、兩點就離開了。下面補充部分 IAESTE 當初給我們的愛丁堡行程文案,想去的人可以參考一下。



This is it guy... your chance to see the city of Edinburgh, Scotland's capital. Visit the medieval Old Town, take a walk along the Royal Mile, from the Castle to Hollyrood Palace or wander round the Georgian New Town-Edinburgh has plenty to offer.

We will visit during the world famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival so take advantage of this opportunity to see a few of the hundreds of shows going on. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, bars in Scotland do not have to stop serving alcohol at 11... making it a city of 24 hour partying!

Meet at 10am at the youth hostel and head to the castle where we will go on a tour of the Royal mile (also called high street). This street goes from Edinburgh castle down to Holyrood palace, the official Scottish residence of her majesty the queen and is funnily enough one mile long!! During the festival the street is filled with street performers, bagpipers and people plugging their shows.

The rest of the afternoon is free to do as you please, here are some ideas:

1. Visit the Museums of Scotland and the Royal Museum:

Both are located on Chambers Street, which is right next to the youth hostel. Admission is free and they are open from 10am-5pm. Scotland is an amazing country, capital of the world some may say so I’m sure there are many interesting things to see. Both museums offer free guided tours at the following times:

1pm: Intro tour
2pm: Themed tour (Sunday only)
3pm: Highlights tour
4pm: Intro tour

Intro tour = 30minute introduction to the building and collections
Highlights tour = 1 hour tour of the museum’s main treasures
Themed tour = 1 hour tour exploring one specific theme in detail

2. Go to a show:

Head back to the royal mile where you will be faced with a crowd of actors trying to get you to go to their show. Most shows range from £5-£15.

3. Princes Street

Princes Street is Edinburgh's main street. On one side you have Princes Street Gardens, which is a great place to chill out if the weather is nice. Near to the railway station you have the Scott monument, which is, well a big statue!! You can climb it to the top giving a nice view of the city. Further along is the National Gallery, Scotland's major art gallery for any of you cultured types. Admission is free. From the national gallery you can walk up the mound, which is usually filled with market stalls selling cool stuff, back up to Edinburgh Castle. On the other side of Princes Street you have the shops... need I say more!

Some general tips about Edinburgh:
* Don't be deceived by the maps -- there are lots of hills!
* Buses are a great way to get around, the best way is to get a day ticket which costs around £1.75. But be warned buses in Edinburgh DO NOT GIVE CHANGE so you need to have the correct money unless you want to pay more!
* Most of the nightclubs in Edinburgh have quite a strict door policy and will not let you in wearing trainers. So dress to impress!!!
* Compared to England, Edinburgh can be very cold, so bring a jumper and an umbrella!



以上,就是我的 Edinburgh weekend。



在這裡補充一件趣事。我在愛丁堡的時候,寄了幾張明信片給朋友們,但是有位高中同學我不知道她家的地址,只知道她在某家星巴克的分店當店長,正巧那家店在台北捷運站附近,而那個站附近又只有那一家星巴克,於是,我的地址就寫:「台北市捷運XX 站旁的星巴克」

後來我回台灣的時候,我同學跟我說:「我收到你寄的明信片了,你寫的地址也太有趣了吧!」

「什麼?你收到了?竟然寄到了,太神奇了。台灣的郵差杯杯真是太厲害了!」我說。



【題外話】

每次 IAESTE 的活動,晚上都會有「去pub 喝酒」這一項,我在去英國之前從沒去過任何pub,但是在英國短短的十個禮拜,我已經去到我不知道我去了幾家pub了,而且通通混在一起了,現在來想想看我去過的 pub...

第一次去是實驗室某人的生日,晚餐去吃印度料理慶祝,不過吃飯前大家還先去pub 喝酒。吃完晚餐後又去另一家pub,這家感覺還不錯,讓人感覺就像是在朋友家喝酒聊天看電視,挺親切的感覺。ㄧ個晚上就去了兩家。

第二次是和IAESTE 去參觀Cambridge 的時候,行程的的最後一站是pub。(好像所有IAESTE 活動行程的最後一站都要去pub 做結束?!)

第三次就是 London Reception Weekend 那一次了,第一家很大,可是很擠。後來沒多久就電線短路,之後要看證件那家不能進去後,Alice 又找了一家,那ㄧ家的印象是裡面是窄窄長長小小的。說實在,去了太多家了,我都搞混了哪家是哪家了,反正裡面都是又黑又吵。好了,這個晚上也去了兩家。

後來,我記得有一天,我忘了是為了什麼事情,和實驗室的人,還有後來來實習的法國女生又去了一次pub。(那個法國女生說她要開始研究所課程之前,要來我工作的那個實驗室先實習六個禮拜,因為她之前沒做過任何分生的實驗,完之後再回去唸她們的研究所。)

最後一次應該是去愛丁堡玩的那個週末。在愛丁堡的第二個晚上先去hostel 隔壁的 The Three Sisters,不過我們一起逛的幾個也只是去那裡找Alice。那家外面有個廣場,有桌椅讓人坐著喝酒,裡面則是音樂超大聲,我們講話要用吼的才聽的到。不過裡 面外面都超多人,我們走都要搭著前面那個人的肩膀走以免走散。找到Alice 後就轉移陣地到愛丁堡最大的nightclubs 之一 -- Espionage。 這家說開到早上五點,有五層樓,每層有不同音樂。在這家是我覺得最好玩的一次,雖然我不會跳舞,只是跟著音樂節奏扭,可是同行的西班牙人、墨西哥人、巴西 人,還有葡萄牙人都很熱情,很愛跳。我們還圍了一個圈圈,然後會跳那幾個人輪流到中間跳,後來還尬起舞來了,超有趣的啦!好了,這也是我有生以來第一次去 nightclub。

這樣算一算,我去了七個pub 和一個night club。而和IAESTE 去pub 的時候,忘了是在哪一個pub,我和Arianna 一起,然後有個忘了是哪裡來的人(只記得他講西語)過來跟我們搭訕,說他有個朋友想跟我認識。哈,這是撘訕吧?第一次碰到耶!

還有,我發現英國人去pub 喝酒喜歡「續攤」,這家喝一喝換另一家喝。為什麼呢?是因為待在同一家喝很無聊嗎?還是習慣去pub 的人都會一家喝了之後換另一家繼續喝,並不限於英國人?







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