我在上個帖子中提到，英國深度環島遊第一站將會去 Lichfield。出發啦!
In my last post I said I would start my Round the Isle UK trip at Lichfield. Let's go!
Lichfield是位於伯明罕以北一個市鎮。它不算大，而且較其他著名旅遊點如牛津，Stratford upon Avon 或巴斯等, 沒有那麼多人認識。但它有深厚歷史，市內建築物也很有特色。
我只短暫停留一天，當然要參觀著名的Lichfield大教堂。大教堂從公元700開始已建在這裏，經過時代的洗禮，重建，加建，改建，現在這一座是 14世紀建成的。而它獨特之處，是英格蘭唯一一家有三座尖塔的中世紀大教堂。
Lichfield is a cathedral city north of Birmingham. It is fairly small and not as famous as many other English tourist locations like Oxford, Stratford upon Avon or Bath, but it has a rich history and bags full of character.
During my short stopover, a visit to Lichfield Cathedral was a must. Lichfield Cathedral has been on the present site since AD700, and over the years its been rebuilt, modified and extended on various occasions. Its present architecture has been in place since the 14th century, and is the only medieval cathedral in England that has three spires.
雖然我沒有宗教信仰，但去旅行卻很喜歡參觀教堂。我覺得它們很寧靜，久經歲月，每一塊石頭，室內的一樑一柱，雕塑及玻璃窗都像在跟大家說自己的故事。
Although I'm not a religious person, I always find churches and cathedrals an oasis of calm. They have all stood the test of time, as if each stone, pillar, statue and stained glass tells its own story.
另外Lichfield 可算是一個博學多才的地方，以往有好幾位著名學者曾在那裏居住, 我同時也去參觀了两位名人故居。
英語歷史中最具影響力的字典之一"詹森字典"編輯者塞繆爾。詹森就是在這裡出生。他的名句 "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life" 到今天仍然有很多共鳴。塞繆爾。詹森出生博物館在 Lichfield 中心，外表很普通所以我並沒有拍照。博物館地下是一間二手書店, 實在是對詹森很真摯的尊重。其他樓層用蠟像人物展示當年不同的生活情況，有些房間就放了舊家具。我覺得展品很一般，所以裡面也沒拍照(出門旅遊不是所有觀點都要拍照)，但展覽內容卻非常豐富，絕對可以長知識。
Lichfield is home to quite a few famous scholars such as Samuel Johnson and Erasmus Darwin to name a couple.
Johnson wrote the authoritative The Dictionary of the English Language back in the 18th century and his famous quote "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life" still resonates with many. I went to the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum in town. From the outside, it wasn't a particularly interesting building so I didn't take any photos. The museum has various floors, and ground floor entrance had a second hand bookshop which I thought was a very fitting tribute to Johnson.
The other floors had exhibitions of his life and works. Some of the exhibits were wax models depicting what life would have been for Johnson in the old days, and other rooms had bits of old furniture. I didn't find the actual presentation very attractive, so again didn't take any photos (I don't believe taking photos for the sake of taking photos). However, I was very impressed with the contents and information about Johnson, and certainly came away much more knowledgeable about this great English scholar.
Photo credit : http://www.visitlichfield.co.uk/samueljohnson
另外著名生物學家達爾文的爺爺Erasmus Darwin也在Lichfield居住了很長時間。爺爺在十八世紀時，是一位著名學者，更是位很出色醫學家，詩人，哲學家及植物學家。從大教堂走路到Erasmus Darwin House只需一兩分鐘，很近。可惜我去那天沒有開放，因為在冬季他們只開放週末。我跟另外幾位美國遊客都吃了閉門羹，只能在屋外花園散步，欣賞一點冬末僅有的草本植物。
Erasmus Darwin is Charles Darwin's grandfather. Darwin senior was one of the leading intellectuals in the 18th century, as well as a successful physician, poet, philosopher and botanist. The Erasmus Darwin House is only a stone throw away from the Cathedral, but unfortunately it was closed when I went there in the winter season. A few other American tourists were also caught out, so we could only wander around in the herb garden outside.
接著我到曼徹斯特市，英國有兩隊著名足球隊都以此為基地。若不是因為看愛黛兒演唱會，我沒打算到這裡，畢竟我住在倫敦，環島遊目的不是要去大城市，而是想到郊外及小村莊體驗。反正已到了，也總要去逛逛。剛好我聽說香港有一位塗鴉藝術家在曼城有街頭展品，所以我到市內去找。這是他繪的兩個香港漫畫人物，兩個都是蠻著名的，但原因卻很不同。
My next stop was Manchester, home to two of England’s best known football clubs. Had it not been for Adele’s concert I probably would have by passed this large city all together since I lived in London and was more interested in the rural side of England. Anyway, I heard that a graffiti artist from Hong Kong had a few of his works on display in Manchester city at that time, so I went to look for it. Here's his caricature of two characters from Hong Kong, both are well know but for very different reasons.
到曼徹斯特市也不是完全沒有別的收獲。我找到一家很舒適的咖啡店，什麼也沒做休息了一個下午。店裡有幾台古老打字機讓顧客隨便使用。我在哪裡打了一小段感想，為我新的一頁做好準備。
In the afternoon, I found a great café to chill out before going to see Adele in the evening. The cafe had a few old typewriters, and I spent a few moments typing, reflecting on the new chapter ahead of me.
晚上到了，終於是時侯去欣賞期待已久的愛黛兒演唱會。我在這不再作詳細介紹，大家可以看我這帖子。但我想分享幾張坐第一行座位拍的😎照片，及一條短片給大家欣賞。希望你喜歡!
Finally, it's time for my first rendezvous. If you haven't read my post about Adele, you can check it out here, so I wont dwell on it too much here. I'll just share a few photos with you
from my first row seat if I may say so! 😎and a video clip I took. Enjoy!
下次我會到Yorkshire Dales 及全英國海拔最高的酒吧，記得留意噢！
Next time, I will go to the Yorkshire Dales and the highest inn in UK. Remember to stay tuned!
!steemitworldmap 52.685176 lat -1.830511 long 🆁🅾🆄🅽🅳 🆃🅷🅴 🅸🆂🅻🅴 🆄🅺 🆃🆁🅸🅿 #1 d3scr