红砖巷,肯辛顿宫 (Brick Lane, Kensington Palace)

6月25日,星期日 Sunday, June 25

Brick Lane

走了这么多天了,感觉确实很累了,昨晚很晚回家,今天上午PJG和我上午基本上在家休息了,出门的时候已经中午12点了。第一个地方去的是红砖巷市场,去那里的主要原因是想找一家地道的印度餐,以弥补刚来时吃的那顿印度餐的失望。会来这里是因为在一个酒馆遇到的一个人的介绍,他说很多印度和巴基斯坦的移民都到了那个地方,是那种地道的既便宜又好吃的。我俩兴冲冲的坐地铁直达过去了。

We’ve been walking for many days already, and we feel really tired. Last night we came home very late from Susan’s and this morning we are basically staying home to rest and finally went out at around 12 noon. The first place we went was Brick Lane market. The main reason we went there is to find an authentic Indian restaurant to make up for the big Indian meal disappointment from the other day. We had heard of this place from the man from in the pub the other night –  he said that many of the immigrants from India and Pakistan go there, and had opened many inexpensive and tasty restaurants.

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大英博物馆,科文特花园,见亲戚 (British Museum, Covent Garden, Harry & Susan)

6月23日 星期六 – June 23 Saturday

大英博物馆 – The British Museum

今天早上和PJG去了大英博物馆,该馆建于1753年,是世界上规模最大的博物馆之一,永久拥有的藏品高达800万件。更值得称赞的是博物馆是免费的!伦敦所有的博物馆应该都是免费的。博物馆非常大,展品也非常多,在这里仔细看的话,花个几天也是可以的。我俩当然不要花那么多时间在这里,只看了一些罗马和埃及时期的展品。在观看展品的时候,看到很多中国旅游团有讲解员带着,顺耳听到一个男讲解员在讲解一组希腊神话的浮雕的时候,真的是很有中国味儿啊,而且听起来很像北方人。他讲到人马族人去参加邻居拉庇泰族人举行的婚礼,“人马族人喝高了,把人家媳妇给抢走了。”  怎么样,听起来很容易理解吧?

This morning we went to the British Museum, which was built in 1753, and is one of the largest museums in the world with a permanent collection of 8 million pieces. What is more unbelievable is that the museum is free! Actually all the museums in London are free. This museum is very large and exhibits many things, and it would really take more than a few days to see it all. Of course we won’t spend that much time here, we only plan to see some of the exhibits of Rome and Egypt.

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白金汉宫,卡姆登区 (Changing of the Guard and Camden Town)

白金汉宫皇家卫队换岗仪式 – Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace

皇家卫队换岗仪式每天有固定的时间举行,这项已成为英国王室文化的重要元素之一的仪式,每年都会吸引世界各地的游客前来观赏。今天是11点进行,我和PJG做了地铁赶到后,白金汉宫的门前就已经里外三层的站满了人,想要看到换岗仪式是不可能了。PJG机智地咨询了一个警察,他建议我们等在一个地方,那里还没有人满为患,可以近距离的看到皇家卫队及军乐团走方队步入白金汉宫。 我俩便迅速的去了那边占了位置。

The Royal Guard’s ceremony is held at 11am every day, and the ceremony, which has become one of the most popular elements of British royal culture, attracts visitors from around the world every year. Today PJG and I took the subway and arrived at Buckingham Palace about 10:30am. At the gate there is a throng of people stacked many levels deep. Being able to see the changing ceremony from there would be impossible. PJG went to consult a policeman and he advised us to wait in a place across the street, where there were still not many people. You can get close to see the Royal Guard and band marching into Buckingham Palace. Perfect! We quickly went over there and took up our position.

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他乡见远亲 (Connecting with a Relative)

我俩这次的旅行能在见到James的远方亲戚真的很难得。PJG对追逐研究家谱这方面很爱好也很执着,他研究出来的最早的族谱追溯到1720年左右。这次见到的远亲的Alison也是一个研究族谱的爱好者,他俩就是通过这个爱好三年前在Ancestry.com网上认识的。Alison是James的曾姥爷的弟弟的曾孙女。Alison从都不知道她父亲这边在美国竟然有血缘亲戚。从三年前他俩在网上找到彼此,并到今天的亲自相遇,真的很奇妙!

It is really special for us to meet one of James’s distant relatives on this trip. PJG is very keen on the pursuit of genealogy research and he has studied his earliest genealogy dating back to about 1720. Alison, a relative on his mother’s side through a shared great-great grandfather, was also a fan of genealogy and they met online through ancestry.com three years ago. Alison is the granddaughter of James’ great-grandfather’s brother. (Isabel’s grandfather John Lowe). In fact, Eve had met the entire Lowe family as they lived in the same neighborhood together in Liverpool. Alison never knew that her father had a blood relative in America and they were all excited to meet each other. Three years ago they found each other on the Internet, and to meet in person was really wonderful!

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巴士观光车,圣保罗教堂 (Big Bus, St Paul’s Cathedral)

因为昨晚回家太晚,没能完成昨天的记录,下面是昨天6/21/18的记录:

Because we came home late last night and couldn’t finish yesterday’s blog, here is the blog for 6/21/18:

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伦敦塔,伦敦塔桥,西敏寺 (Tower Bridge, Westminster)

今天去了伦敦塔,伦敦塔桥,西敏寺。因为PJG提前买全面观光一卡通 (London Pass), 这三个著名景点就不需要再买票了。这个一卡通的价格是130英镑,所以一定要充分利用它的价值啊~~

Today we went to the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and Westminster Abbey. We didn’t need to buy tickets for these three famous sites because PJG bought the London Pass (which cost 130GBP), so we will make sure to make full use of its value. Haha ~ ~

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印度菜和中国菜 (Indian and Chinese food)

昨天晚上在一个酒馆里,PJG和一个当地的英国人聊天,我问他伦敦有什么本土的特色小吃或是菜肴,他看似严肃的说蛋炒饭,然后哈哈大笑。他认为伦敦没有什么值得一提的本土美食,如果说是寻找美食,最好的就是尝试来自各个国家不同的菜系,因为伦敦是这样一个集合世界各地人的大都市。他说的很有道理哦.

Last night at a pub, we were chatting with a local Englishman and I asked what he considers a local special dish in London – he seemed serious when exclaiming, “egg fried rice”, and then we laughed. He felt that there is no real local food in London to mention, and said that if we are to look for food, the best thing to do is to try different cuisines from various countries, because London is such a metropolis that it brings together people from all over the world.

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巨石阵,乔治旅店,和初入伦敦 (Stonehenge, George Hotel)

今天是PJG需要在英国开车的最后一天,上午首先去了巨石阵。大概离我俩这次旅行唯一的一个酒店住宿地方一个小时的车程。PJG其实已经去过那里。巨石阵是英国,也是人类最著名的史前古迹之一,它的建造起因和方法至今仍是個不解之謎。

Today is the last day that we will be driving in England, and this morning we went first to Stonehenge. It’s about an hours drive from the only actual hotel accommodation on our entire trip. PJG had been to Stonehenge before, once as a young boy and then again in 2002. Stonehenge is in the UK and is also one of the most famous prehistoric monuments in the world. Its construction and ultimate purpose are still a puzzling mystery.

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皮尔顿,罗马浴场 (Pilton, Roman Baths)

皮尔顿(Pilton)

今天是开车在伦敦周边速游 (因为停留的时间比较短暂,所以叫她速游 😅 )的第三天,第一个停留的地方是皮尔顿,也是PJG大姨 – Sylvia 的故居所在。这是一个非常小的村庄,有很多房子也都有一,二百年的历史了。PJG来过这里很多次了,这次是专门带我来的。我没有见过他的大姨,不过见过很多她的绘画作品,她去世后,有很多她的画都在 PJG这里,我们曾在山景城的家里挂了满墙。所以这次很高兴能够来到她的故居看看。

Today we left Cornwall and are driving towards the Cotswolds where we will stay at a hotel in Swindon, that is our only real hotel on the trip.  On our third day in England, the first place we stopped on our way to Bath was Pilton, which was also PJG’s Aunt Sylvia’s former home. This is a very small village.

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天涯海角和毛斯尔 (Lands End, Mousehole)

今天继续追寻PJG父亲的脚步,去了天涯海角(Lands’ End) 和毛斯尔(Mousehole)。今天是父亲节,说起来他过的还挺有意义的 😊 PJG开了有10个小时的车,真的很疯狂!在英国的乡间小路开车还真是特别,有很多小路过一辆车都很困难,根本无法错车,如果开到半路遇到对面过来的车,有一辆车就需要后退!不过其实这是一个很有意思的经历,我们今天只需要后退了一次 😅, 不过停下来让路有很多次。 这种事情似乎很平常,看起来英国人都习以为常了,每次小路错车或者让路后,对方的司机都会打手势表示感谢。其实总体来说在英国开车非常容易,因为大家都很遵守相同的规则,左车道开车,右车道超车,非常井然有的,这样更有效率和更安全。

Today we continued to pursue PJG father’s footsteps, we went to Lands’ End and Mousehole (pronounced Mouzel). Today is Father’s Day,  he said it made it even more special 😊.

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阿伯茨伯 – Abbotsbury

在赫尔辛基停留了三晚后,今天飞到了英国。在去伦敦之前,PJG租了一辆车,我们要去伦敦周边的地区,沿途经过他爸爸以前旅游过的地方和他妈妈的故居。因为安排的比较紧凑,每个地方只能做短暂的停留。

After staying three short nights in Helsinki, we flew to England today. Before going to London, PJG rented a car and we drove to the southwest part of England, specifically to retrace some of the locations his father had visited in 1949 as well as his mother’s former residence.

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市场午饭 – Lunch at Market Hall

今天中午原本要去Hakaniemi市场,吃那里一个摊位有名的三文鱼汤。可是到了地方才发现原来的那个两层的市场正在进行重建改建,摊位搬到了旁边的一个市场里。转了两圈没有找到卖三文鱼汤的那个摊位,不过找到了一家只卖三款汤的摊位。看起来顾客都是当地人。我和PJG每个人点了一个汤,餐馆提供免费的无限量的面包。

We were going to the Hakaniemi market today for lunch to eat the famous salmon soup from a stall there. However, when we arrived at the place, we found that the original two-story market was being renovated, and the stall was moved to a nearby market.

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西贝流士纪念碑,基亚斯玛当代艺术博物馆 – Sibelius Monument and Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art

西贝流士纪念碑 – Sibelius Monument

摘自Wiki: 西贝流士纪念碑显而易见的是为纪念芬兰著名作曲家让 ∙ 西贝流士而建,建于1967年,芬兰艺术家埃拉·希尔图宁的设计。让 ∙ 西贝流士是民族主义音乐和浪漫主义音乐晚期重要代表,他的音乐对英国和美国作曲家影响尤大,在英美两国他曾被视为最重要的当代作曲家。他的创作重心是管弦乐作品。他善于使用管乐器营造出阴郁,幽森的气息,令人联想到芬兰的自然风景,同时也善于表达雄壮,恢弘的音乐效果。

According to wikipedia, The Sibelius Monument, was designed by Finnish artist Ella Hiltunin in 1967 to commemorate the famous composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) . He is widely recognized as his country’s greatest composer and, through his music, is often credited with having helped Finland to develop a national identity during its struggle for independence from Russia. His focus is on orchestra works and he is good at using wind instruments to create a gloomy, dark atmosphere, reminiscent of Finland’s natural scenery, but also good at expressing majestic and magnificent music effects.

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The Elevator at our Airbnb Apartment

国内看不到这个视频,所以这篇写英文了。

This is the interesting elevator at our Airbnb apartment building which can barely hold two people at one time. When PJG and I were in there together, it was hard to squeeze past him 😅  I have never taken such an elevator and only seen something like this in movies 😄 very cool!

集市,午餐和晚餐 – Market Square, Lunch and Dinner

从芬兰城堡回来,刚好停靠在集市港口,看到了具有赫尔辛基代表性的照片。

Back from Suomenlinna, we just docked at the market square and saw this iconic scene of Helsinki as we arrived into the harbor.

远观赫尔辛基大教堂和集市广场. The view of the dome of Helsinki Cathedral and the Market Square from afar.

集市上很多都是卖给游客的旅游纪念品之类的东西,我和胖金哥并不感兴趣。还有很多卖新鲜水果的摊位,樱桃看起来很诱人😍

Many of the street vendors are souvenirs for tourists (a lot of cruise ships come here) in which we are not interested. There are also lots of fresh fruit stalls, and the cherries look fresh and yummy.😍

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芬兰城堡,赫尔辛基大教堂,岩石教堂 – Finnish castle, Helsinki Cathedral, The Rock Church

今天有满满的行程去看那些知名景点。一大早起床坐船去芬兰城堡,我和胖金哥意外的去了一个没有游客的港口,意外的遇到了也去那里的一群小学生去夏令营。船上还装载其他车辆去那边,包含一辆装满沙子的大货车。

Today we had a full schedule of sightseeing. We were up early in the morning to see the Finnish castle on the island of Suomenlinna (Castle of Finland), but in our rush PJG and I accidentally went to the wrong port – a car ferry port without tourists. But it turned out to be more fun because we also met a group of primary school students going to summer camp on the island.

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