Visiting York, England/Carlos Pueblo

Visiting York, England/Carlos Pueblo

Yorkshire is one of the most recommended to visit in the United

Kingdom. We can easily understand the history of this great Empire

by the well preservation of architecture, streets design, and

illustrations., i.e. the Clifford’s tower for the Romans era; the Jorvik

Viking Center for the Viking invaders after Romans; the eldest son of

William, the conqueror; the Micklegate Bar of the civil war;  the

distinguish Cathedral York Minster for the medieval era; Monkgate

for Richard III and more. These significant scenery are all within

working distance and very easy to approach. I also had visited the

city wall twice, the campus of the famous University of York and I

took a day off to visit the city of Leeds.

Constantine acclaimed his Romans Emperor with the support of his

father’s legion at York when he died. He went back to Rome to square

of the interior difference and settled at the east currently day Istanbul,

Turkey. I am satisfied for now my historical knowledge of him, his

Eastern Romans Empire, Byzantine, Ottomans Empire, and Turkey and

I have had the connection. I still like to know the definition of Renaissance

In connection to him. There is a Clifford’s Town, the remain of the Romans

Castle now called the York Castle on top of a small hill surrounded by

the Museum, the courthouse, and city hall, etc.

The Viking, current day Denmark, invaded York and England after expelled

the Romans. Jorvik is pronounced as York. In the U.K. we can see some tall

and blonde population, I think that they are related to the Vikings or Dan.

Now, move to Richard III. I just learn that he is the last English King residing

at York. I need to know the difference between the Lion King Richard and

him. His death was the end of the famous Rose War. There is a small museum

on Monkgate where I didn’t go inside yet passed by twice while I walked on

the city wall. The Micklegate bar is near where I stayed. On the wall, there is

a plate described how the gate was saved during the civil war of England. We

know the story of Oliver Cromwell and the movie about him during the conflict

between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists. The Parliamentarians did surround

York and forced the Royalists to surrender in order to save the Micklegate. There

were residents on the gate right after WWI. Now, it is kept as a small museum.

York Minster is gorgeous and I’ll have a piece to describe it. It is a Catholic Cathedral.  

約克市行/莊峻華

約克市行/莊峻華

幾年來，多人推薦拜訪約克市，終於如願以償，我從牛津，搭火

車，在伯明罕站換車續行北上，經過許多火力發電廠，有美國核

電廠型狀之冷卻塔，最近始發現台北市政府，為用電問題，特別

請教英國，英國有許多發電廠，尚未發展核電廠。訪問約克市，

可以迅速溫習一遍英國歴史，此市保存許多歴史古蹟，有將近兩

千年之歴史，羅馬時代，維金時代，諾曼時代，到中古世紀，和

克倫威爾之國會時代，約克都扮演重要角色，工業革命後，許多

鄰近城市崛起，像曼徹斯特，利物浦，伯明罕等，還有近代之里

治市，約克市仍然市全英國之鐵路運輸中樞，也是英國全民健保

管理中心。

我在約克市有五夜，除一日搭車拜訪里治市外，都在市內外徘徊

，一日行軍到郊外，參觀約克大學，兩度爬上約克城牆，城門，

雖言未曾見識中國萬里長城，來到約克城，心願足矣。走過幾遍

羅馬古城堡，敏斯特大主教堂，約克市中心老街，我住客棧，在

米凱爾城門街上，城門也有歴史，獅王里察領十字軍東征前駐此

，克倫威爾國會軍，逼迫保皇軍於此門，火砲威嚇，終於和解，

事蹟均記在牆上，一直有人居住到第一次歐戰後，今為收費小博

物館。

我在市中心用餐，就在仙布洛中心，著名之歐洲老街，仍舊非常

繁華，尤其一小街，真是人擠人，也是在哈利波特影片中出現，

都是店面。我在雨中經過博物館花園，也有古教堂廢墟，仍舊保

持整潔，藝術美觀，花園內許多花果，仍是寒雨中爭艷。

敏斯特大教堂，十分龐大，雄偉美觀，而且維謢特佳，我在歐洲

旅行，真是見識到許許多多，美麗教堂，因為古歐洲建材，用石

居多，火災不易，和日本之巨木建築不同，威脅較小，因此保存

古蹟較多。我也在歐斯河行軍多次，多次上城牆，兩次走向約大

方向，終於第二次如願，約大校園美麗，仍舊使用原始磚樓建築

，前面有一龐大修葺樹欉，非常寂靜。

Yang Ming/Carlos Pueblo

Yang Ming/Carlos Pueblo

Get to know Yang Ming on my way to York from Oxford, England.

We met at the platform while I asked her the right train in Mandarin

she instantly recognized my Taiwanese accent. She brought two of

her physician cousins from Nanjing, China to her graduation ceremony

in Birmingham. She has already worked in her hometown Chengzhou,

Henan at a travel agency. She was very interested in my knowledge of

Henan and flipped her i-phone to check a county where was the home

town of my classmate at high school in Taipei, Ling Chang. She finds

out that county is in another famous city Handan of Hebei Province.

Handan was the capital of Chao during the War states era before the

Century for about 250 years while Ling Chang, under an old name Xu

Chang, was the capital of Wei Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms Era

about 220,D.C. Now I know that her hometown is the current provincial

capital of Henan.

We continued our conversation on the train for many subjects of her

Interests. She has a boyfriend of the engineer major who is studying

at the University of Colorado in Denver, Colorado. I corrected her at

Boulder, Colorado yet she insisted. Before I wrote this journey, I did

check with Google and she was right. The CU does have a campus in

Denver provided Ph.D. programs for engineers. I explained to her about

the pension systems in the U.S., the welfare program for the poverty,

and the Obamacare were her interests. I did mention to her that I couldn’t

get any unemployment benefit under the current unemployment system

because I was under commission base compensation. She says that she

is also commission base compensation as well; therefore, I advise her

saving money for the retirement.

It was very short conversation on the train and finally, I asked her permission

as my daughter and she agreed in whole heart. One of the cousins took

photos for us to remember. She gave me a postcard of an old street scenery

of Luoyang, also an ancient Capital of several Chinese dynasties. I hope that

she would read my blog in the future and keep in touch.

愛女楊茗/莊峻華

愛女楊茗/莊峻華

楊茗在牛津車站候車，準備帶兩位南京醫生表姊，到伯明罕市

，參加她之畢業典禮，我們有緣，短暫談話，甚為愉快，不禁

收她為義女，合照紀念。我問她來自中國哪一省？她說河南鄭

州，於是我甚感親切，我高中摯友鵬霄兄，來自河南，我一時

憶不起縣名，只知曾是許昌，曹魏之京都，鵬霄曰古趙地，現

已併入河北，她真感好奇，此台灣老頭，懂如此多河南？不久

記起河南臨漳，她連忙翻手機，說是邯鄲市，這是古趙都也，

於是我們談得更投機。

她已在鄭州營業旅行社，是學以致用，有位男友，在科州丹佛

市，攻讀工程博士，我說應是波德市科大本校，她說丹佛市無

誤，回來我查谷歌，她果然無誤，丹佛市確有科大校園，而且

提供工程博士學位。

我們談到美國退休制度，社會福利，和美國就業機會，她甚感

興趣，臨別前，贈送我一張古都洛陽古街卡片，我就鼓勵她閱

讀我之遊記，介紹我之讀者來源，我有漢英兩版，讀者遍佈歐

美，並非暢銷，但我自信有如此豐富，旅行經驗，而且又勤於

作文者，非常鮮少。於是我提出收養義女之要求，這位美麗之

河南姑娘，大方接受，令人興奮。

這次英國旅行，我收了四位義女，已經介紹三位，希望下週旅

行前，能介紹第四位，一位阿根廷姑娘，還有一位收養未成之

，西藏姑娘，下週，我將到波士頓，搭乘郵輪旅行四週，此郵

輪有75位愛女。

Twice march across Magdalen Bridge/Carlos Pueblo

Twice march across Magdalen Bridge/Carlos Pueblo

Magdalen Bridge is on the River Cherwell separated the Oxford City

Center and a suburban area. I have marched across twice across the

Bridge during my stay. First, there is an old Magdalen College on the

High Street and a private high school with a pretty flowering garden

across the Street. There is also a set up for rowing rental by a coffee

restaurant. People were sitting on the benches by the street for a

break. There is also an internet fame gift shop which gathered many

visitors for shopping right across a bench by the College. An old man

was selling his plants on the Bridge.

I turned to the first street on the left toward a gathering local youths

on a huge park after a square. There are several oriental eatery on the

street. I even saw an English ate sweet rice covered by a bamboo leaf

and found the store. It was a kind of festival on the park which gathered

many youngsters with their parents for some activities including water

splashing and cross country march, etc. There were also bystanders like

me sitting on the ground to watch and enjoying a brief sunshine under

a threat of rain in the fall. I walked back to a Subway restaurant to be

settled with a vegie delight sandwich. My server is a young lady from

Timor Island. We had a very good conversation; therefore, I came back

to see her and missed.

The next day, I started again to make a left turn on a bridge near the hostel

to see more of the upstream of the Thames. I came to another township

and another river with rowing activity. I decided to march again toward

anywhere. It is not on the map for the visitors. On my side of march, there

is a huge field full of seasons birds, Swans, geese, ducks, etc. and horsing

farms with horses covered by cloths. There are housing boats pier on this

side. I can see the rooms division of the boats. A coach was on a bike yelling

to rowers on a narrow boat which was on training. I reached to another

bridge with a rowers club and turned back. The march was way more than

my daily 2.2 miles.

I passed by the beautiful and busy City Center and understood that I was at

the end of my lovely visit of Oxford. I did have an interesting conversation

with several guests including Louise about the international politics, about

the minimum wage, etc. They are all from foreign countries and coming here

to seek their future opportunity.     

兩過謀德冷橋/莊峻華

兩過謀德冷橋/莊峻華

沿高街走，經過謀德冷學院，就是謀德冷橋，跨過其維爾河，旁

有一私立高校，一座美麗花園，是私產需許可始能進入，一日，

我經過老學院門口，見著許多東方遊客，群集一禮品店，顯然是

一網路景點，禮品不外乎汗衫，糖果，紀念品等，有小姐先坐我

旁，然後隨伴入店，或是先出店等候同伴。橋底溪畔，有餐廳咖

啡店，並兼營租船業，橋上兩側也有座椅，有多人乘座，甚至販

買小園藝花草，我繼續前進，經過一小圓環，靠左邊一條街，走

向一廣大操塲，有許多人聚集活動。

 這已經是市中心外，許多住宅區，街上也是店面餐廳，幾家中餐

廳，甚至看到有人吃粽子，也找到店家，我仍舊續行，操塲上已

經活動多時，多半是青少年，一團團散佈在塲中，有成人指揮者

，家長觀眾則旁觀，或是遠坐草皮，少女約是戲水，身衣有泥濘

，有家長已攜子女回家，我未詢問是何節日活動。

回程在一地下鐵三明治店，購買素三明治，這是最為廉價之餐，

服務店員，來自帝汶島，這是古葡萄牙屬地，我們有很愉快對話

，翌日再來，她不在餐廳，其他店員也是東方面孔，和藹可親，

說不定是親戚家人，在英國創業。

又一日清晨，我又經一橋，看見河中有划船，這是划船運動之划

，尖舟似箭，旁邊偶有教練，騎鐵馬么喝，於是我決定下橋健行

。近橋處，十餘艘船屋停靠，英國居民，有人船居，在倫敦攝政

王公園附近，許多船屋華麗，佈告上有示，租金和權限，全英國

河川都適用，非常有趣。對岸是一些較新型住屋，也有步行徑，

但有中斷，我行軍之徑，較為可靠，旁邊有一大片草原，有棲息

之候鳥，天鵝，鵝，鴨等，有著衣牧馬等，我直走到盡端，需上

另座橋，有人勸我沿原路回市中心，此站對面是一划船俱樂部碼

頭，甚俱規模，牛津人故知我所言為何。

我不甚肯定此河濱公園何名？但我是沿客棧旁小溪畔下游，經過

牛津市旁一市鎮，到這座橋，我是拍攝許多相片存檔，若有需要

，可以再行追究。

Leisure tour of Oxford City Center/Carlos Pueblo

Leisure tour of Oxford City Center/Carlos Pueblo

The city center of Oxford is very unique, a college town and full of

the worldwide admirers. A little bit more than 3 years since I came

to visit the city in a day, I always like to have another opportunity to

revisit the city. Mr. Su, the young engineering student, guided me

through the city where I repeatedly circling around this time with

joy. I have found the clock tower, the old square behind the bus

station, the suspended alley of the city hall, colleges and nice gardens,

while I have missed the spring cherry blossom on the edge of an open

field while I chatted with a couple of the U.K. fans from Dallas, Texas.

In addition to the city center, I did march out of the city limit, across

two or similar one creek of the upstream of the Thames to observe

the rowing sport.

Of course, it is because of the fame of the city. Oxford maintains a

very lovely architecture of the past and the colleges are among them

with beautiful court yards full of gardens and greens. I feel that this time

that colleges are more exclusive that visitors must obtain permit to enter,

i.e., I would not able to run into Dr. Laow in front of a college building like

my last visit; however, I still had a very good time. I believe that I make a

turn after the Queen’ College to enter a garden like park to the front of

the main building. A group of Chinese physicians were taking photos of

the college and waiting for the opening of breakfast in the restaurant

where Harry Potter dined on the famous movie. An open field with

horses is in the front. I walked along the path to another part of the city

center.

It is very easy to bring back my memory when I come to the center with

many heads on the wall. There is a church inside or something significant

inside the square where one day I did see a group of students wearing

caps and gowns for the commencement ceremony with their family.

Oxford University is famous of producing many politicians who help the

Kings and Queens to rule the Empire.

There is a street where the city proudly posted as one of the most beautiful

European street full of innovated stores, churches, and historical architects.

I was very fortunate this time with 3 nights stay at the city.