Eva Chan
My First Day 07/27/1996
The First day of my long-desired Europe vacation had pretty much been spent in the air. After surviving the torture of a long flight, I finally had my feet settled in Rome ( 羅馬 ). Due to the need of up keeping the ancient outlook of the historical buildings, the city looks very antique and gracious, which, in another word, speaks old and worn-out. Though the cobber stone streets gave me a tough time in walking, they spelt out a very special European scent which I adored very much. The first attraction we visited was Fontana de Trevi ( 許願泉 ). I was too anxious to have an appreciation of the site that I had missed out the instructions of how to make a wish given by our tour guide, Kimmy. There are only three wishes that you can choose from. With a coin held in your right hand, facing back to the fountain, you have to throw the coin over your left shoulder. Then, oosh! Jump around and if you can watch the coin dropping into the water, Congratulations! Your wish will come true. Oosp, forget to mention about the wishes. These are, come and visit Rome again, to have a great love, or to have a very successful marriage.
After visiting Fontana de Trevi ( 許願泉 ), we went to several other highlight places as well. In Vatican City ( 梵蒂岡 ) we have the smallest country in the world, under the rule of the Pope. We visited St. Peter's Cathedral ( 聖彼得大教堂 ). Inside we saw Michelangelo's ( 米高安治盧 ) first statue, the Pieta ( 聖母抱子像 ), which is a sculpture of Mother Mary holding the dead body of Jesus Christ . The statue is being highly appreciated for the detailed description of her melancholy facial expression. However, due to the meticulous protection of the sculpture, we were forced to watch the statue at a certain distance, which stopped me from having a careful appreciation of the beautiful historical scrupture. Besides the Pieta , there is also a very famous sculpture of St. Peter ( 聖彼得像 ). He is holding a key, which represents the key to heaven, and a book, which represents the Bible, the rule of God. His right toes had been flattened by the touch of worshippers, who claimed that by touching the toes they would have good luck. Before leaving the cathedral, I bought a collection of stamps from the vendor, costing 10,000 lire, which is approximately HK$50.
After St.Peter's Cathedral , here comes the Colosseum ( 鬥獸場 ), the most famous building in Rome. Sorry guys! Don't be fooled by the postcards. Built in the era of the Roman Empire , after the baptism of wear and tear since then, this ancient building has become non-attractive. Its outlook somehow disappointed me. The sun was already on its way to the west. All the travelers were tired and exhausted. We returned to the hotel for the night, and that ended our first day in Europe.
The Second Day 0 7/27/1996
The second day of my Europe trip started off with a long traveling from Rome to Florence ( 佛羅倫斯或翡冷翠 ) the place where Renaissance ( 文藝復興 ) flourished. On our way to Florence , our tour guide, Kimmy, explained in detail the significance of each building in Rome. She also had told us the reason why we say, "Bless you" to those who sneeze. Long long ago an unknown illness had attacked the city of Rome , and all the people who lived there kept sneezing and sneezing. Hoping to end this disease, the King had made a parade, hoping God will help them. By the end of the parade, the King saw an angel waving at him, then, all the sneezing stopped. After that, whoever sneeze will receive a blessing from their friends. While traveling through the highway from Rome to Florence, a sculpture of Saint Mary ( 聖瑪琍 ) stands on one side. Waving her left hand welcoming those who are entering the City of Roman Catholics, and at the same time bidding farewell to those who are leaving the city. The first attraction we went to after we had arrived Florence was Pizzale Michelangelo ( 米高安治盧廣場 ). There placed a replica of Michelangelo's sculpture of David ( 大偉像 ), in a position to fight giant Gloria ( 巨人歌莉亞 ). Besides the statue of David, Pizzale Michelangelo also provides an incomparable panoramic view over the city of Florence. From there, we could clearly view the Dueno , known as Santa Maria del Fiore ( 聖瑪琍亞大教堂 ). Even from a certain distance, I was still amazed by the great architecture of the cathedral. From Pizzale Michelangelo we could oversee Ponte Vecchio ( 黃金橋 ), which has linked the city's two banks for almost 700 years. It is the only bridge in Florence that survived the bombing after WWII. After we left Pizzale Michelangelo we continued our journey to Venice ( 威尼斯 ) We made a stop at a small town for an Italian lunch in a villa. We ordered a bottle of red wine to accompany our on-tray of beef. I used to think that red wine must very delicious. However, after having a sip, my dream was totally crashed. It tasted bitter rather than sweet. On our way to Venice , we stopped by a leather jacket shop. There sell a special kind of leather, with hair intact on sheep's skin. They are very tight, warm-keeping and fashionable too.
The Fifth Day 07/30/1996
Finally I came to Switzerland ( 瑞士 ). This place is renowned for three very special things, its watches, its banking system, plus the beautiful scenery of the Alps ( 阿爾卑斯山 ). Early in the morning, we started our journey to visit the world-famous Mount Titlis ( 鐵達士山 ) There are three types of cable cars ( so called "Gondola") that can bring us up to the top of the hill, and at the same time allow us to have three different views of the sceneries of Mount Titlis.
Since it was summer, most of the snow had already melted. Up from the cable car, all I could see were cows and sheep, lying peacefully on the green grass. As we got closer and closer to the top, the temperature dropped gradually, and the amount of oxygen get lesser and lesser. The lack of oxygen cause hazard to those who have heart and lung problems, it has caused human life before. However, this does not mean that they cannot have a nice look at the Alps. If they can slow down their movement and relax their breathing, the scarcity of oxygen will not be a problem to them. When we reached the top of the hill, at last we saw snow everywhere. There is a little path, which allows us to walk on the snow. Since we did not wear proper snow hiking shoes, we only walked up a little bit and took some pictures of the beautiful scenery there. I could see many children snow fighting and making snowman (though it was mid-summer) After having a pleasant look at the site, we had lunch in a restaurant at the top of the world. We tried a very special type of Switz sausage, and it tasted wonderful!
The banking system of Switzerland is very famous as well. It is renowned as the world's safest bank. The main reason is that Switzerland has remained a neutral position in different world affairs. They barely receive any threats from other countries or have any enemies. The second reason that I overheard was that during the holocast, many Jews had deposited their monies in the Swiss Banks. However, not long after, they were all sent to the concentration camp, and the huge sum of money was left with the bank. Since there weren't many descendants of the Jews asking back for the money, they automatically belonged to the bank and this has given the bank a very strong and trustful base.
The Sixth Day 07/31/1996
After a long traveling from Switzerland to France , I felt tired and exhausted. However, since a night trip of Paris was already planned, I had to boost up my energy to take a pleasure sight of this city. First, we joined a boat ride, sailing along River Seine ( 賽納河 ). During the boat ride, we had a nice evening scene of Norte Dame ( 聖母院 ), Louvre ( 羅浮宮 ) and many ancient European buildings. Though these building were being built hundred of years ago, they were being renewed constantly. Therefore they all look very stylish and modern, spreading out a scent of elegance and sophistication. We also came across Pont Neuf ( 黃金橋 ), which is a beautiful white bridge with genuine gold decorations on it, that includes two pairs of beautiful angels sparkling under the sunlight, guarding the front and the back of the bridge. Alexander III built this bridge before WWI1.
After the boat ride, the sky turned into complete darkness. The beauty of night Paris had blossomed, and all the fluorescent light in the city had lightened up the place. The first site we went to was Effiel Tower ( 巴黎鐵塔 ). Effiel, celebrating the centennial of the French Revolution, built the tower. This building was finished in 2 years time. However back then most of the ministers in Paris disliked it very much, and had planned to demolish it after 20 years. The reason Effiel Tower is still with us here today is that as years goes by, the media technology in France had advanced rapidly, necessitating a place to send out radio waves. Effiel had suggested in time to use the tower as an antenna, sending out radio wave of TVs and radio broadcasting. As the lift slowly rose up to the third floor, I received an excellent view of the whole Paris. Up from the tower, I could see clearly the well construction of Paris's city planning, with the Triumph Arc ( 凱旋門 ) at the certre, and twelve boulevards radiating from it. Trees are being planted in a nice order, roads are wide and clean.
The Seventh Day 08/01/1996
Early in the morning, we started off our exciting excursion in Paris by visiting the Versailles ( 凡爾賽宮 ), the extravagant palace which Louis XIV - XVI and the aristocrats lived during the reign of the Bourbon Monarchy . Considering the sizes and the content of the chateau, one and a half hour tour did not seem to be enough for admirers. Anyways, we were given a map, outlining the location of each specific area; then, we were all by ourselves! The first area we came across is the Royal chapel inside the palace. Though we can only appreciate it by the doorway, I could tell that the decorations inside are very elegant and luxurious. The chapel was painted in the brilliant colors of yellow, white and gold. The mixture of these three colors made it very noble and sumptuous! Along the hallway of Versailles, there were many paintings and sculpture of the Royal Families. In the Coronation room, there is a well-known painting known as “ The Coronation of Napoleon “, in which Napoleon was painted about to crown his queen , Josephine . There is a myth inside this painting. In fact Napoleon asked the pope to honor him in the cathedral of Notre Dame ( 巴黎聖母院 ). However, being not from the noble origin, the pope was reluctant to crown him. With impatience and anger. Napoleon crowned himself. The painter arranged the scene delicately to avoid sensitivity and irritation. Another place you cannot afford to miss is the King's bedroom. The bed which Louis XV and XVI was borned is still in perfect condition. The decoration of the room is the most exaggerated among all. With marble as wall and genuine gold as bed, it still could not bless the fortune of the Louis's empire, but provoked the bourgeois revolution ultimately.
During the French Revolution ( 法國大革命 ), Versailles was seriously devastated by the revolutionaries. Many of the marble walls were destroyed. To mend the damages, they had used wood with marble prints to replace real marble. However, they all looked very real. There is one interesting thing about the palace. To use the Royal washroom, you need to pay 2.5Fr in order to enjoy the comfort and cleanness of the special toilet.
After we finished visiting the Versailles ( 凡爾賽宮 ), some of our team members went on their way to the Disneyland . We had the whole afternoon free to ourselves! The first place we went to was the Louvre ( 羅浮宮 ), which ranks the second largest museum in the world. All the exhibits are not originated from France , but from all over the world. They all are the souvenirs from the victory of France war. Different types of sculpture and ancient paintings can be found here. Of course, that includes the three most world-known exhibits. Mona Lisa ( 蒙羅麗莎的微笑 ), the Venus ( 維納斯女神 ) and the Victory of Samothrace ( 勝利女神 ). Painted by Leonardo da Vinci , Mona Lisa is renowned for its' ever lovely smile and charming eyes (beaux yuex). Looking at the painting from any angle, you can still perceive the warm smile from Mona Lisa. In order to keep all the exhibits in perfect condition, the temperature of the museum has been specially adjusted. The entrance of Louvre is marked by the Pyramid, which was designed by a Chinese architect Teoh Ming Pei ( 貝聿銘 ) for the bi-centennial of the French Revolution.
Traveling with the Metro was a really interesting experience. To exit the vehicle, you need to pull the doorknob yourself. That serves not just to save energy, but also to safeguard the safety of passengers. The fare for traveling through all stations is all the same. All the maps are informative and easy to read. When I had queries about the purchase of Metro tickets, a young French girl stopped by and offered me some help. Though her English was not fluent, so was my French, and we found body language helped a lot in expressing our ideas. Finally, with the help from this lovely lady, I reached Centre de la Pompeidu ( 龐比度中心 ).The style of this museum is totally different from that of Louvre. This museum shows various modern arts including paintings from Picasso ( 畢加索 ), Matisse, Keith Harimg and F. Ledgrer. Though some of the paintings were beyond my age for a full appreciation, I was really excited to have a chance to enjoy the original art of my favorite painters.
At night, we went to a world-famous nightclub, Lido ( 麗都夜總會 ) to enjoy a fascinating show of topless dance, which were accompanied with special laser effects. Although it was named topless dance, dancers wore expensive feather-made dresses. With strict practice, all the dancers were able to present excellent performance. They were not only rewarded with great applause from the audience, but also with a very high-pay salary as well.
The Eighth Day 08/02/1996
My eighth day started off with a visit to Notre Dame ( 巴黎 聖母院 ), where the setting of the fiction " The hunchback of Notre Dame " ( 鐘樓佗俠記 ) by Victor Hugo( 雨果 ) was placed. The cathedral was having a renovation at the time, and they were employing laser to clean the building. Scaffold was placed in the front part, which prevented us from having an unobtrusive view of the cathedral. The foundation of the cathedral was built in the shape of the cross, as were every other cathedral. Looking up to the vault, we found beautiful stained glass with the stories of the Old and New Testament on it. They were all made in the ancient era, when glasses were very expensive, not to mention stained glasses as well. By the roadside of Notre Dame, there were some little gift shops, selling souvenirs and postcards. After finished shopping, we continued our journey to Belgium ( 比利士 ).
There was not much to mention about Belgium, and actually we were just passing by, except for the statue of "the Urinating Child “ ( 撒尿小童 ). There was a myth behind this statue. Long ago once Brussel was being attacked by the Germans. During the war the Germans had placed fire bombs connections throughout the whole city. All the people were just running away, trying to escape from the war. During the exodus, however, there was a child, who knew that there would not be enough time for the great escape, and he decided to stay behind to save the city. But, what could he do? Under this emergence, he urinated onto the fire bomb connection just in time. Being wetted by the urine, the firebomb could not work anymore. This child saved the whole city. To honour the heroic action of this child, the government had built this memorial. At different festival, this child will put on different kinds of clothing. They are from all over the world, celebrating the cleverness and braveness of this little child.
After having a look at "the urinating child", we continued our journey to Netherland ( 荷蘭 ). By nighttime, we finally came to the country, which is famous for its tulips.
The Ninth Day. 08/03/96
Early in the morning, we went to visit the wooden sandals village ( 木屐村 ). We saw the process of making the sandals. I had bought some little sandals as souvenirs for my friends.
After that, we visited a diamond factory. A diamond specialist explained to us the process of cutting a diamond into a perfect shape. Netherland is renowned for the 57 surface cutting of the diamond. No matter what shape is the diamond, the first-class specialist can still perfrom a 57 perfect cut under any circumstances. It takes 20 years of training to make a first-class specialist, and their skills are the best in the world. Diamond is defined by 4Cs. What are the 4Cs? They are carat, colour, clarity, and cut. Carat is the weight of the diamond. Of course, the heavier the diamond, the more it costs. Colour, is the colour of the diamond. Light blue is regarded as the best colour of the diamond. Clarity is the clearness of the diamond. Blacks dots and cracks are most unwelcomed, their presence cause the diamond a drop in price. Cut is the cutting of the diamond. The more cuts a diamond has, the more it shines, 57 surface cutting is now regarded as the most perfect cuts.
The Eleventh Day 08/05/1996
My day in England begun with a visit to the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. This museum displays a variety of different wax products which includes the statues of the Royal Family, famous British film star Hugh Grant , American President Bill Clinton , Beethoven and The Beatles, etc. They were all being hand-made by Madame Tasse and her successors. Madame Tasse was a lady who had experienced the Second World War whose violent scenes impressed her most. With her excellent skills of wax-statue making, she relived those scenes by creating those models by wax. They were all being placed in the "Terrify House”. The Terrify House has displayed all kinds of horrifying execution, mostly describing the tragic story of the human kind. Since some of the wax models look very realistic, there were some funny people who were trying to act like one! Some of them really shocked me!
The next museum that we had visited was The British Museum. It is alson nicknamed as the treasure of Ali Baba . Like the Louvre, we could see many antiques of different cultures there. From these we could learn the lifestytes of the ancient people. Inside the museum, there are about twenty different types of mummies from Egypt , which.\ in their original country, owns five only. Other than the mummies from Egypt , the museum also got the whole temple, which is the tomb of the first Greece emperor. A statue of Budda, which is 15 feet tall, is from China too. Beside all these antiques, they also have treasures from different countries too. These were the souvenirs they won over the past wars. In the museum, there is a library, which serve the famous only. The idea of “ Three People's Principles ” ( 三民主義 ) from Sun Yixian ( 孫逸仙 ) was claimed to be inspired in this library. A famous economist , Karl Marx ( 馬克斯 ),. his idea of socialism ( 社會主義 ) was also nurtured here.
The last place we visited was “ Buckingham Palace “ ( 白金漢宮 ). Due to the tightened schedule; a visit into the palace was impossible. We could only have a picture of the outlook of the building. With red interlock representing red carpet, golden angels guarding the gates, the front of the palace gives out an impression of power and wealth. A public visiting of the palace is opened once every year.
You must be familiar with the name London Bridge . However, do not expect too much from it! When you come near and take a closer look at it, it is nothing but an old simple bridge! Though it is so famous, nobody will bother to go there and take a look. Next to London Bridge, there is a beautiful bridge called Tower Bridge. Painted in grey and light blue, the antique bridge attracts much attention from tourists. By the side of the Tower Bridge, there is the Tower of London. It was a Royal Castle before. At the same time, it was also the execution place for prisoners too! However, because of the long queue, we had to abandon the idea to have a visit in it.
After that, we had a bus ride through the heart of London. On our way, we came across the Big Ben ( 大笨鐘 ), River Thames ( 泰唔士河 ), the Westminster Cathedral ( 西敏寺大教堂 )where the kings are being crowned and the Royal marriage are being held, the House of parliament ( 英國國會 ), Trafalgar square ( 白鴿廣場 ) and Hyde Park ( 海德公園 ) Every Sunday, a public discussion will take place here. Those people who are dissatisfied with the government will come here to criticize the authority. However, before they start their speeches, they need to bring along a wooden box and stand on it, meaning they have left the territory of Great Britain and they will not be prosecuted. We also visited the Covent Garden, where the setting of the movie " My Fair Lady “ ( 窈窕淑女 ) took place. It was an old market place before, but now it has turned into a gathering place for artists.
The Extra Day
1 spent my extra day in London visiting the university town, Oxford . It had been a tough time for me to choose between Oxford ( 牛津 ) and Cambridge ( 劍橋 ) since I did not have enough time to go to the two places at the same time. Finally, I had but to leave Cambridge behind because I was not borned to have a big mouth to argue with my friend Josa. It took me one and a half hour time to come to Victoria station , then two hours time to go to Oxford.
When I arrived Oxford , I got an impression that this was a tourist attraction rather than a quiet university town as I had expected. Tourists with maps were everywhere (including me of course), I could hardly catch any students here! I felt quite uncomfortable because a university place had not been used for its original purpose. Anyways, as I was walking through the small town, I found quite a lot of university bookstores. The books they sold were quite helpful to my studies, too bad I did not have enough money and strength to own all these treasures.
When I was reading the university newspaper, I found that they were holding a Shakespeare Festival ! Different plays from Shakespeare would be shown during the month, that includes Romeo and Juliet ( 羅拔歐與朱麗葉 ), Hamlet ( 皇子復仇記 ), King Lear ( 利察皇 ) and Twelve Nights. As a great fan of Shakespeare , of course 1 would like to appreciate all the shows. However, again, I had to make a choice. At last, I chose Romeo and Juliet because this is a world famous romantic tragedy, and it is not as bloody and violent as the others. The play did nottake place in a grand theatre, but in a garden by the riverside. Unlike most formal plays, we had the beautiful green lawn as our seats and the nature as the stage . As we were enjoying the play, we also received a friendly welcome from the wind. When it was time to watch the play, it was already sunset. The colour of the sky added a romantic hue to the setting. I was quite surprised to learn that a thirteen years old girl acted out Juliet, and Romeo was acted by a short, inconspicuous boy. This arrangement may be close to the original.
However, because of their age, they probably did not have enough experience to act out the theme. Romeo's cousin, Mercuio was turned into a female-role. She saved Romeo by taking the sword of Tybot . 1 thought the change in role was fantastically successful. It added substantial strength to Romeo's revenge to Tybot. Overall, the whole play was a great success.