On my way to Barcelona/ Carlos Pueblo

On my way to Barcelona/ Carlos Pueblo

Ending of my London trip, I took a speedy train to London Gatwick Airport

to catch a TAP Portugal flight to Oporto, Portugal and then transfer to

Barcelona, Spain. However, my luggage was lost at Oporto Airport and was

delivered to the hostel the following day. By the fact, it saved all the trouble

for me to get in and out of the train and up and down of the station.

Because of the early arrival, I could not check in for that date, yet the clerk

allowed me to use the free WiFi at 7^th floor near the terrace. I ran into a

pretty girl from Hawaii, Connie Premar, on the floor. She was there to use

the free internet as well. I spoke Japanese to her and she surrendered

immediately because her mother did not insist this language when she was

a kid. She works for the Cruise liner which I try to get a last minute. I asked

her to check on my computer for the availability, She did and yet in vain.

Later that day, I went to the cruise terminals and found out that should be

done with a travel agency. So I made it with a ticket for that Mediterranean

route a week after her schedule. She was so kind to inform me what were

exciting on the ship while she was on the trip.

Actually, I am planning to have a cruise trip to Hawaii islands this fall along

with Amy, then continue mine to Japan and Taiwan. We may see her on her

ship.

I had started my practice in speaking Spanish while I was in London. A hostel

clerk speaks the language and very patient with me. I can only recite some

sentences which I have worked hard with. After I arrive in Barcelona, I find

that Spanish are very nice talking to a foreigner in Spanish and appreciate

my effort to speak. I started to take a lesson 10 years ago along with Japanese

lesson, on and off; therefore my progress is very limited. All what I can say is

greeting, how much, when, where etc., and the rest is depending on English.

English is very common in Spain, Italy, and France as I know off.

Portugal is a nation which I like to make a visit in the future. Formosa, another

famous name of Taiwan, is Portuguese, which means the beautiful. I shall

remind people as well as Portuguese Taiwan is Formosa. I also may go back to

Europe this fall to take a re-position cruise across the Atlantic Ocean to Houston.

On my first stop will be an island of Funchal, a Portuguese colony, which is like

a paradise.

赴巴塞隆納途中/莊峻華

赴巴塞隆納途中/莊峻華

結束倫敦旅行，我搭快速火車，到北郊蓋特維克機場，搭一葡萄牙班機

，經葡國奧波投機場，轉巴塞隆納，我的行李，在奧波投機場，沒跟上

班機，機場隨後，再專人送到旅社，省了我上下地下跌，和上下地下跌

車站，拖提行李之困難。

我因為早到，尚不能投宿，但旅社許可我到七樓，通陽台前廳，使用電腦

，於是我遇到一位美麗之夏威夷小姐，康妮‧普類摩，她清晨到七樓使用

智慧型手機，因為旅社網路此刻，只有七樓開放。我和康妮講日語，她馬

上投降，小時後母親未強調，康妮來巴塞隆納休假，準備搭郵輪旅行，地

中海一週，剛好我也有興趣，搭上該輪，她正好服務該公司，於是我請她

使用我之電腦，在該公司網站，尋覓最後一分鐘特價不果，結果我在當日

清晨，跑到郵輪碼頭，問好方法後，在一家旅行社，買到一張票上船，和

她之班次，差上一週，我在網路告知她，她上船後，很滿意該郵輪之一切

，寫簡訊來通知，我們在等候她夏威夷郵輪特價，準備年秋，到夏威夷，

搭上她服務之郵輪，然後我再到日本旅行，再回虎尾，投票選蔡英文當台

灣總統。

我在倫敦旅社，已經開始練習西班牙語，旅社小姐為多語，很有趣，其實我

只能背誦幾句，來到西班牙後，發現西班牙人，很有耐心與我西班牙語對話

，而且非常感謝我之努力，我可以問路，問多少錢？點菜，嫌太貴，和問候

等語，其餘就仰賴英語，英語在西班牙，義大利，和法國港口，都非常方便。

葡萄牙也是，我想拜訪之國度，臺灣之福爾摩莎，就是葡萄牙語，我發現有

一郵輪行程，經過一葡萄牙屬小島曰，芳雀爾，在北非外海，人口11萬，相

片上像是世外桃源。

The traveler/ Carlos Pueblo

The traveler/ Carlos Pueblo

The traveler always runs into the traveler, especially at a hostel and the

cruise. I run into several travelers and new acquaintance during this 10

days trip in London, England. I should describe some of my experience

before I close this chapter. I stay at a hostel at Bayswater and there

are more than 100 customers in and out every day. The hostel provides

a very simple breakfast every morning; therefore, you can meet travelers.

Most of these travelers are young students and some older travelers a

Little bit younger than me.  Some of them are solo travelers, some of them

are groups from their hometown, some of them are classroom tours. I

mentioned that I met an exchange student from Taipei in Plaque, Czech

Republic, two Taiwanese ladies from Tainan, three Chinese ladies from

Singapore, two Japanese, and a southern Indian lady at Kensington

Park.

This southern Indian lady was similar with one I ran into at West Houston

Hersey Park where I took a walk 18 years ago. Both were from south India

spoken English fluently yet no former school education. The former worked

at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her Houstonian family friends brought

her to Houston for a visit. My surprise is her English. This Indian lady at

Kensington Park, Rose Marie, speaks good English as well and both told me

that they did not receive any former school education. She is a nanny for

a small baby girl. The baby was very corporate sleeping all the time. She used

to work in Hong Kong and her employer brought her to London eventually.

She likes Hong Kong and the people. Her husband is a chef also from her home

town in India. His chef job is not quite stable and less than her nanny’s income.

They have had a 22 years old daughter who gives them hard time all the time.

She has to ask a guru type of consultant in India for help on her life.

I scarcely with the patience to listen to her description and started my thought

Of materialism, of course, she understood well. She mentioned that in her

Childhood, she used to have two meals a day and her father could not afford

the dinner would ask the children to go to sleep before sunset. She asks her

daughter to seek governmental  help to find a job, yet her daughter was very

unreasonable. I say that is a problem of home economics. I know that may not

be all yet covers 80% of a family problem. My mother told me so. I say that our

kid, especially one child family, is the only one that we must help all the time.

It is not their choice to be our children, it’s God’s will. We must show our support

to this kind of child that we are on his or her side to face the changing world.

I believe that a meaningful life means in Buddhism. We must live in a meaningful

life every day. She understands saving and I believe that time can resolve her

anxiety. The baby was awoke and we said farewell. I went on to Kensington

Palace according to her recommendation, it’s really a pretty place indeed.

I was conversing to a traveler from Tokyo, Haruhiko Yamada san, about

Japanese Enka. Another Japanese girl student thought that I was a Japanese

which made me very happy. Yamada san travels to Europe every year collecting

classical watches. He works for a government job and lives at Meguro River

area where I have been once to the annual cherry blossom festival. I proudly

mentioned that I had been to various places in Japan by train.

There was also a Japanese girl from Nagano. After she graduated from college,

she had been wondering in Europe as a waitress in Japanese restaurants. She

told me that was a hard life. She wishes that one day she can live in the United

States. I sent her an e-mail according to her hand written note. The e-mail

returned for undeliverable. I wish her well on her travel.

  

旅行者/莊峻華

旅行者/莊峻華

喜歡旅行者，經常遇見喜歡旅行者，尤其是旅社和郵輪，這次倫敦

10日居停，遇見多少旅行者，若無記載描述，無法結束倫敦遊。我

投宿在西敏市灣水鎮，一家旅社，每天都有百名旅客出入，歐洲旅社

，提供簡單之早餐，所以可以遇見許多旅行者，這些旅行者，許多是

青少年學生，年輕者，多半是隨團旅行，有的是同一鄉村，很多是跑

單幫，年輕和年老者均有，我提到一位台灣學生，是在旅社認識；兩

位台南小姐，在車站認識，我在旅社，還認識兩位日本人，一位是上

班族，一位也是流浪女孩，在劍橋遇見三位中國小姐，結束前日，特

別散步到堪新頓公園，遇見一位南印度女士，和我聊上兩三小時，她

說她叫羅絲‧瑪莉。

約是18年前，我在荷西公園散步，也遇見一位南印度女士，她是在吉

隆坡市，一家大飯店上班，一休市家庭，帶她來美旅行，和羅絲‧瑪莉

一般，都是英語流利，但均未受過學校教育。她在倫敦當褓姆，小孩很

乖，都在小車上睡覺。她曾經在香港工作過，對香港印象非常好，先生

是位廚師，工作不甚穩定，有一女兒22歲，不上軌道，令她煩惱。

我甚難得有此耐心，聆聽她之敘述，於是我開始我的物質論，當然她也

想到過，她說小時後，父親無法提供晚飯，只好叫小孩們早睡，她要女

兒參加英國就業輔助計劃，但效果不佳，於是我又說，女兒只有一位，她

之到來，也非其所願，所以此為父母親，非幫此忙不可，要讓這些弱勢子

女，永遠有一家庭父母為靠山，共同面對這複雜，日息萬變之社會，這是

我體會出之佛門真義，就是每日過一有意義之生活，天下有意義之生活，莫

過於幫助弱小子女。

小孩睡醒，我們互相道別，我按她推薦，拜訪堪新頓宮。

我和東京來之旅行者，山田晴彥兄聊天，談到日本演歌，旁邊有位日本小姐，

誤會我為日本人，令我好生高興。山田兄工作於東京政府機關，家住目黑川

附近，我去過目黑川和東工大校園，他每年都來歐洲旅行，收集手錶。

另外一位來自長野之小姐，大學畢業後，就流浪歐洲，在日本餐廳打工，我

按其寫下住址，通訊不果，希望她旅行平安愉快。

Visiting Greenwich/ Carlos Pueblo

Visiting Greenwich/ Carlos Pueblo

Greenwich village is an out skirt of Westminster, downtown London,

and is an harbor. There are several visiting points attracting to me

such as the old naval college, the national maritime museum, the old

Palace of Placentia, big church, Royal Observatory, and the Greenwich

Park etc. Almost everyone recommends Greenwich when I visit London.

even though I have been there twice already, there are still four memorials

which I still feel very strongly, Elizabeth I Memorial Museum, Nelson’s

National Maritime Museum, James Wolfe’s Statue up to the ill on the side of

The Royal Observatory, and the campus of old Naval College. The last is due

to a piece of movie about a naval battle between Japan and  Manchu China

in 1894, both nations’ leading admirals were trained at Greenwich Naval

College simultaneously.

A clipper, Cutty Sark, is on the river’s bank near by the train station. It’s

Very close to a corner of the old Naval College campus. I can see the school

Yard in that movie at the old Naval College. As a matter of fact that Japanese

Admiral, Toko Hebachiro, was also the one lead Japanese Navy defeating Tsar’s

Naval fleet. I have visited both sites of treaty, Portsmouth and Shinomoseki.

The old campus has been divided into the University of Greenwich and Trinity

College of Music, and the Maritime Museum in memory of Horatio Nelson,

hero of Trafalgar.

The story of Queen Elizabeth I is very dramatic, people call her Good Queen

Bess. Before her coronation at 25, she was declared illegitimate, been exile,

jailed at London Castle, accused of treason etc. Finally became the queen

because of her half-sister, Queen Mary, could not produce a successor.

44 years on the throne, she had had good share of luck and had been credited

on Spanish Armada’s victory, one of the decisive naval battle; the era of Elizabethan

literature due to William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. Several years

ago, there was a movie about Shakespeare, the one who played Bess who stepped

on a muddy ground in order to watch Shakespeare’s show, won the best supporting

actress of that year.

The National Maritime Museum is honored by Nelson. It is a very completed collection

of British Naval history. Nelson died at the sea battle of Trafalgar, yet British Naval

defeated the united fleet of France and Spain. The Britain has been experienced so

many naval battles and there are paintings, arts work, weaponry, model ships etc.

the Britain work hard to describe the battles, the territory conquered, and their heroes.

All of these naval officers were from ranks and files. Horatio Nelson joined the navy at

13.

So was James Wolfe, who joined the army at 13 at Greenwich. The Britain

honor him at the hill top of Greenwich Park next to the Royal Observatory

with his statue observing Greenwich, the Palace, the Maritime Museum, the

harbor, and even London far away. Wolfe died at the decisive battle of Quebec.

He was 32. I was visiting Montreal, Quebec several years ago. I listened to an

old French guide describing both leading army figures erected at the Old

Montreal Square. 4 years ago, we I first reached the top of Greenwich, I

Read the story of Wolfe’s statue, I felt that I knew this person and with a

very passionate feeling to this kind of hero. I decide that I must come to

say hallo to him. A true man should be like him.

遊格林威治村/莊峻華

遊格林威治村/莊峻華

格林威治村，已經在倫敦城中西敏市之外圍，是一海港，有幾處景觀

點，舊海軍官校，海軍紀念館，舊宮殿博物館，大教堂，格林威治天

文台，和公園。幾乎每人都推薦格林威治，去了兩次，仍舊是意猶未

盡，此地有許多歷史故事，其中我已經知道者，已經有四件，伊莉莎

白一世之出生處，帕樂西地亞宮，現在是她之博物館；納爾遜英海軍

博物館；天文台旁之，握爾夫銅像，握爾夫在加拿大有戰功；最近我

稍瞄過一小段中國電影，有關甲午之戰，中日雙方海軍主將，均同時

在此地英國海軍學校就讀。

車站河畔，有一巨大之快速帆船，喀地‧薩克號，非常美麗，已經是一

收費博物館，緊鄰就是舊海軍官校，風琴大教堂仍在，甲午戰爭片中

一小段，一定在此拍攝，學校有一大部份，已經捐給兩座大學，格林

威治大學，和一音樂學院。伊莉莎白一世之博物館，和納爾遜海軍館，

都在緊鄰，原來是宮殿內戰時失修，有大臣將它改成海軍學院，有一

建築，改為海軍館。 英人暱稱伊莉莎白為貝絲，貝絲故事波折，25歲

就位前，放逐監禁，甚至重審要判死刑，都能解危，上任44年，國家

大治，功勞都算在她身上，海軍也有大勝，她的海軍擊潰西班牙，連

莎士比亞和馬洛等人成就，也算在伊莉莎白之文學，最近十年，有一

電影，描寫貝絲去觀賞莎翁戲劇，腳踩踏泥淖，演她之女星，得到當年

最佳女配角獎。

海軍博物館，以納爾遜命名，特拉法格戰役，納爾遜陣亡，但英海軍大

敗法西海軍，博物館有船，有畫，有武器，有歷史，大英帝國，歷經多

少戰役，，英國畫家和作家，幾乎盡全力記載，博物館解釋，這些英國

海軍軍官，都是行伍出身，像鈉爾遜，13歲就從軍當學徒。

詹姆士‧握爾夫，也是13歲從軍，從軍時家住，格林威治村，父親也是

一位陸軍軍官，他在加拿大魁北克一役陣亡，時年32，我在蒙特婁旅行，

在老蒙特婁廣場，聆聽一位老法語導遊，描述這一戰役，雙方主將均陣亡

，蒙特婁市府，許可兩位同時立碑共存，四年前，初遊格林威治天文台，

見到握爾夫英姿，俯視格林威治村，宮殿，軍校，博物館，海港，甚至

倫敦等，大丈夫當若是也。

Taking a walk at London Castle/Carlos Pueblo

Taking a walk at London Castle/Carlos Pueblo

It became a small hamlet around current London Castle area a thousand

years ago. William, the Conqueror, built the Castle, London Towel, then

London Bridge in 19 century, and later of the financial district, Taking a walk

at London Castle is no longer a matter of one or two days. It becomes a

project. We had visited here three times in 2001, and this year I had come

here twice and taken a bus passing through once, and still not quite completed.

I first passed the bridge and back, following the Thames River bank and the

Destroyer Belfast, across the new London Bridge to enter the Castle. Circle

around the Castle and exit, walk toward the direction of the Egg shape building,

Gerkin, 30 St. Mary Axe.

 The twin tower bridge has been built above the Thames. Both towers are small

Museums. They are unique and beautiful. They were remodeling four years ago

And not allowed to pass through. You can see how busy the Thames is from

the bridge, London Castle, Belfast, and water taxi etc. Walking path is wide and

benches are provided for the tourists. I carried a binocular to look far away,

visitors on the battleship and Castle.

The Castle has been about a thousand years old, yet it looks like new. The pedestrian

Path is above the ground level; therefore you can observe the Castle inside and out,

the sounding canal, the green ground, and every entrance, there is an introduction

for the name and why. Every royal prisoner was transferred from the Thames by a

small boat to enter the Castle. There is a water gate likes a lock, for instance, Anne

Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth I, was brought here

through this Traitor’s gate and beheaded. Even Bess had been here as a prisoner by

her half-sister, Queen Mary, for a year. This is an interesting part of English history.

Entering to the Castle, you need to purchase a ticket and you can see from the above

groups of groups visitors under red coats guides spread all over the Castle.

I walk out of the Castle toward the egg shape building in distance. That is the Gerkin

Building. The building is as famous as the Castle for the modern architecture of London.

I ask Londoners by pointing the building and this is inside the financial district of London

and not very far away of St. Paul Cathedral. Only few people are around due to the

weekend. The building used to be a Swiss re-insurance building and was destroyed

by an Irish bomb some years ago, and the British re-built it for the unique egg shape.

Away from the downtown on the upstream of the Thames, you can see a very much

Different London.Four years ago, I was much better shape myself, I had walked entire

morning on an area which I forgot the name, passing by the Mayor’s villa and a small

palace. On the backyard of that Palace, I saw an art gallery with an artist actually

painting. I did pass a small woodcraft boat factory. London is big and interesting.