Travelled in Yorkshire

We went to visit Sheffield, Derbyshire, and Leeds last week and drove to see the famous Chatsworth house, owned by Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. This house is famous for appearing as Mr Darcy’s house in the 2005 Pride & Prejudice movie, as well as the upcoming calledThe Dutchess (featuring Keira Knightley).

Unfortunately when we were there they were holding a country fair so I didn’t get chance to visit it properly but I’m sure I will do so in the future.

We also drove to Bakewell in Derbyshire and the Peak District. It’s a small, peaceful, and very pretty market town. It reminds me of Europe a lot.

Another day we drove to North Yorkshire from Leeds to visit Harrogate . It is a very large and wealthy city, we enjoyed our time there.

Sheffield a city of many hills with views into the city centre or out to the countryside. There is a National Park next door and it was famous for producing steel. It’s quite a small city (could be like Shantou, not sure), but the hills remind me of Hong Kong.

Leeds is not bad, got a lot of young modern buildings and restaurants near the canal.

Here is some pictures I took.

The picture of the cover is from www.theage.com.au (Chatsworth House at sunset.)

我们上周去了谢菲尔德德比郡利兹,去看了很多周边的小镇,去参观了电视剧 /电影-达西先生住的房子(傲慢与偏见),还有9月5号即将上映的电影(女爵)也是在这个房子拍摄的,来头不小啊!听说那整片地区包裹房子都是属于一个公爵的,太富有了!但因为我们刚好碰见公园在举行活动,人山人海,没有仔细进入里面,以后再去罗!我们也去了利兹,利兹还好拉,蛮有小伦敦感觉的。谢菲尔德也不错,到处都是树木花园,国家公园也就在隔壁,居民的房子都建在山腰上,感觉象香港的半山腰。这是最新的照片和大家分享拉。

The Dark Knight at London IMAX

the-dark-knight

We reserved tickets to see The Dark Knight at the London IMAX Cinema over two months – the seats there really are that popular, and the main reason is that it is the largest cinema in the UK.

We’ve been wanting to see the movie for a long time since we saw it being filmed in Hong Kong at the same time we happened to be there in 2007.

The movie is directed by Christopher Nolan. Normally I dodn’t care about directors but I have to say that Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors I’ve seen. He produced The Prestige (2006) and The Dark Knight (2008). It seems he likes Christian Bale in his films. There is no doubt about Christian Bale’s professional acting. I love all his movies, such as American Psycho (2000) .

People said The Dark Knight might break Titanic’s record in the movie history. I hope so as well. It is a big budget movie with the latest technology, good story and good actors, and looked absolutley fantastic on an IMAX screen. In fact, the movie was specially shot so that certain scenes were recorded on an IMAX camera, which really gives you a great feeling of being directly in front of the action.

The bad character in the movie is called The Joker and was played by Heath Ledger, who recently died of an accidental drug overdose. His most famous movie is Brokeback Mountain (2005).

I really enjoyed thismovie and was glad that we waited so long to see it at an IMAX cinema.

我们在一个月前终于定到了(蝙蝠侠之黑暗骑士)的电影票,在伦敦imax 电影院放映。因它是英国最大电影屏幕的3D电影院,所以超级受欢迎,每天都暴场。在里面看蝙蝠侠,就象你会跟着镜头走,跟着蝙蝠侠飞,超级逼真,超级动感,再说,能用3D看蝙蝠侠更是最大的享受。

我们不只是因蝙蝠侠的超人气要看它,还因为我们07年底在香港旅游时,当天刚好碰上蝙蝠侠摄影组在香港桥上拍摄的那一段,还有拍摄的直升机在我们头上飞过,所以我们势必一定要看。

这电影的导演Christopher曾拍摄几部我超级喜欢的电影,包裹(致命魔术,当然还有这部蝙蝠侠拉, 都是蝙蝠侠主角Christian Bale 主演的,那是因为Chris导演知道他能胜任这些难度超高的角色。看过Christian的演技,大家公认他是十分出色的演员,我也喜欢他演的(美国狂魔),总之有他的电影都值得一看。

听说因为蝙蝠侠的超人气,票房可能打破Titanic的最高票房历史纪录,希望吧。看得出电影的经费特高,排场超大, 好主题,好电影,值得去电影院看。听说里面的小丑坏人主角是(断背山)他在08年1月因意外自杀了。真可惜,不然他会是好莱巫以后很抢手的演员。

蝙蝠侠黑暗骑士是部不能错过的好电影,值得一看。

The Tudors

the-tudors

The Tudors was first presented by Showtime in 2007, and they are back again this year for season 2. Along with Dexter they are producing my favourite TV programs. It is a historical fictional drama about the early reign of the King of England Henry VIII. Henry VIII was famous because he overthrew the Roman Catholic Church so that he could marry Anne Boleyn, and then continued on to marry a total of six times.

In the TV series Henry VIII is played by super handsome Jonathan Rhys Meyers . Along with being very handsome, Jonathan plays the part of Henry perfectly, and makes the series especially compelling.

The first series finished in 2007 and now the BBC is presenting season 2 in HD now – fantastic! 2 thumbs up!

The Tudors 是关于15世纪亨利八世的历史故事,我只记得当我们在学历史的时候,亨利八世为了娶安.波林而推翻天主教罗马教会,这也是英国社会在当时一个重要的转折点,还有他因结了6次婚和推行宗教改革而在英国史上出名了。

在电视上,除了演技出色并超帅气的Jonathan扮演亨利八世这个主角和激动人心的奢华场面,还有最特别的是人物性格描写得特别仔细,这也是亨利八世这部电视剧成功的理由。第一季在2007年放映完毕了,现在BBCHD在放映第二季,值得推荐看的一部电视剧。

Nintendo Wii Fit

wii-fit-for-fun1

We bought a Nintendo Wii games console over one year ago in Guangzhou and recently bought the Wii Fit in London. Apparently we have influenced at least six friends to buy it after they have played it, and they are extremely popular in the UK and we had to order the Wii Fit online shipped from German because UK ran out of stocks.

Using the Wii Fit you can practice your yoga, balancing, and other fun exercises to burn your calories. It’s really good for the lazy people such as myself and when I have time I use it to excercise and keep track of my weight. It’s really fun to play with freinds and makes for a good purchase.

不知不觉我们在广州买了Wii 任天堂游戏机有一年多了,之后在伦敦才买Wii Fit。我们成功的说服了至少6个朋友也买了它。Wii 在哪里都超级受欢迎,我们还要上网订购Wii fit,而从德国运过来才行,因为当时英国卖短货了。

我用Wii Fit锻炼俞加或是一些平衡的游戏,每天锻炼,它不仅让你流汗,还真的可以消耗卡路里,对我这些懒人又可以玩游戏,又可以做运动,何乐不为呢?我要保持苗条的身材,或要再瘦点!当你有很多朋友来你家时,大家可以一起玩一些互动游戏和一起开怀大笑。我觉得是不错的投资!希望你也买一个玩玩吧!

Arrived in London

I packed my luggage and it took me 7 hours to get to HK airport. Luckily I could see the Olympic Opening Ceremony while I was waiting to check in. Even thought I am tired of Olympic topics in China, the opening ceremony was stunning and I almost burst into tears when I saw our national flag and everyone was singing our national song.

Anyway, after another 13 hours on the plane I finally arrived at Heathrow airport and went through the immigration. I thought I would need to take an x-ray on the spot because I’m staying in the UK more than 1 year, but apparently you don’t anymore. Great!

I arrived and felt like I had never left, everything was so familiar. The next day I registered with the police. Hopefully I will open my bank accounts on tomorrow morning. The weather is not fantastic here, chilly and raining, although often with a blue sky.

拿起包袱,做了7个小时的巴士到香港机场,在机场看奥运开幕式。虽然自己有点反叛不想老听到奥运的东西,因好像2008年就离不开奥运话题,但看到精彩及令人惊叹的开幕式,觉得自己真自豪!在升旗和唱国歌,自己也情不自禁的想落泪,香港机场气氛很好,各个都拍掌惊叹多么漂亮的开幕式。

到了伦敦机场,因假如在英国停留过于1年,就要求做胸透体检,啊,居然不用,太好了!到家了,好像我从没有离开过,隔天去警察局登记,明天去银行开户就大功告成了。这几天的天气都不是很好,一会蓝天白云,一会倾盆大雨,而温度象是秋天了,我要我的夏天回来啊!

My newborn niece

My sister told me that her baby was one week late. Since I said goodbye to Guangzhou and came back to Shantou to see my family before I fly to London. I am so surprised that the baby is so eager to say hello to me and the baby was born on 30th July at 3: 35 pm – exactly the day I arrived in Shantou. It’s a baby girl and weighs 5.8kg, with big eyes and looks like exactly like my brother-in-law. I am now officially an aunty.

My family is overwhelming excited; even thought sister was a little bit disappointed it was not a boy, because she was expecting a boy. My brother-in-law and I are happy to have a baby girl anyway! I will be flying this Friday and next time when I see the baby girl, she can speak, and will be more cute. Baby’s English name is called Natalie.

我的侄女出世拉!

姐姐告诉我说宝宝1个星期迟来报到了。已经跟广州告别,想在飞伦敦之前回到汕头见见父母,也希望姐姐的宝宝快出世,在飞之前能见上我侄女一面。惊喜的事,宝宝在我到达汕头的第一天就出世拉!姐姐虽然比较虚弱,但宝宝是顺产,5.8斤。大小都健康,宝宝超级小,两个大大的眼睛,就像我姐夫一样,长得很漂亮和大气,我还帮忙换尿布呢!哈哈,我终于做了小姨了!等我下次回家,她可能就会说话了。宝宝的中文名叫奕希,英文名叫Sissy,因大家都叫希希,所以我给她命名为Sissy!

Moving to London

Moving to London

As some of you know, my time in London was a testing period to see what the city is like. Very shortly I will be moving there to study for a masters degree at the University Of London.

Saying goodbye to Guangzhou, and especially my good friends, is not easy. I have spent a total of seven years in Guangzhou, arriving here as an innocent girl from Shantou. I’ve enjoyed my life, my studies, and my jobs here in Guangzhou and it is not without some sadness that I leave. However, although I am scared I am also excited to have something new and challenging to look forward to. I will need to start from scratch and work very hard, but the rewards should be well worth it.

I really wish I could take all my friends with me to London and I will miss them all. I am so glad they are always there for me and want them to know that they have played an important part of my life. I wish the best of luck to all of my friends and hope to see them in London.

See you soon Guangzhou.

5月在伦敦旅游了一个月,又回到熟悉的广州开始工作了,好像觉得从没有离开过广州似的。已经辞职的我,再工作多半个月,就生活在伦敦了。现在在准备好所有的一切,开始我的学生生涯,我将在其中一所伦敦大学读硕士。

其实很舍不得跟广州说再见,特别是我的朋友们,毕竟我在广州生活了7年了。4年的大学生活到3年工作;从一个什么都不懂的汕头妹,到可以说能自力更生独立生活在广州。我喜欢我的工作和简单的广州生活,但我意识到是时候为将来而准备而冲刺,让自己的英文水平更近一层,拿个更高的学位和国外的工作经验。说真的,我又是担心又是兴奋,因什么东西我对来说都是从头开始。前路茫茫,但一想到新的东西,新的朋友,也是给自己的一种加气的鼓励把。

真希望能把所有的朋友都打包跟我一起飞到伦敦,我会多么想念你们的陪伴和笑声。谢谢大家对我的厚爱和支持,你们在我生命中是如此的重要,祝大家心想事成,记得一定要来伦敦看我哦。

再见了广州,我把我的青春的黄金时间都奉献给你了,咱们后会有期。 

Sex and the City Movie

Sex and the City Movie

As a big fan of Sex And The City, I have have been waiting to see the movie. London was chosen to host the premier, and all members of the cast showed up in Leicester Square on 12th May 2008. It’s a pity that I wasn’t arriving in the UK until the week after and so missed the chance to see them. Never mind, the movie opened to the public while I was there, and I did get chance to see it.

Love is complicated…

The movie is a continuation of the last season from TV, and begins by filling in the gaps of the time immediately after the close of the TV show. All the actors are very professional and give skillful performances in the movie. The movie contains different elements which will touch and break your heart, as well as give you joy. I will not say too much about the details of the movie, but you will find out when you watch it. Actually I was in tears several times for the humorous conversation, heart-breaking moments, happy unions, and especially the understanding of different kinds of love in the movie.

I enjoyed the movie so much and there are many moment I felt so connected. I guess the movie is also the end of our legendary story of Sex And The City series. Like the movie says: there are always perfect ending in fairy tales, but in reality, there is not always a perfect ending in our lives.

I gave it 4.5 stars of 5.

作为Sex and the City 忠实fans,我们期待已久的电影版终于上映了,虽然我赶不上12号他们来伦敦的首映,但上周末去电影院就让我一饱眼福了。

爱是复杂的…

电影的主题是关于不同的爱,也是续最后一集连续局接下去的故事。有我们期待想发生的,也有我们不想发生但却发生的故事。每个演员的倾力演出让这部电影更加有味道。电影有很多触动人心感人的场面,有幽默的对白和场景,有伤心落泪,幸福的喜悦和女主角们的坚固友情,这都在短短的2个小时里呈现出来。我不能说太多关于剧情,大家到时候看了就知道。感情十分丰富的我,都被很多场面感动得满面泪水。

Sex and the City 就象是陪伴我们一起长大的故事,2008年这部电影也是对这部连续局10年来划上一个句号。象电影里面说的,童话故事都有完美的结局,但现实上不是每个人都有没有完美的结局,但当然我们还是要保持生活的积极态度。我们会想念这个传奇故事的连续剧,我们也会想念他们的服装,更想念曾经陪我们一起走过的岁月。

London attractions

carmen in london

John took me visit all the attractions in London at the weekend. We have been through London eye, The Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square,The Tower of London,The British Museum,Tate Gallery of Modern Art, China Town, Buckingham Palace, OXO Tower, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul`s Cathedral, Shakespeare`s Globe Theatre and Brick Lane. I can’t believe that we have done so many tourist places in these two days, but I got a lot of fun and different experience as well.

On the way I also went to play on the Mary-go-around for few minutes. It sounds childish, but actually I haven’t done that since 1990; it just reminded me of my childhood. Many cool artists perform their show near London eyes. You put some money, then they will move or perform for you. Funny things is I wasn’t expect to see a man dressed up with a horror mouth in his stomach and I was screaming and everyone was looking at me. And then the man decided to make me scream one more time; he was chasing me and used his scary month to bite my arm. God…so funny but I couldn’t help screaming.

I have to say there are so many places to visit in London and I love the city atmosphere.

My First Day in London

paris hilton in london

Today I am writing from London. I arrived at Heathrow airport after 12 hours flying with British Airway. BA was great with money and services. I arrived at terminal 5, which is very new and I have heard some negative news – unluckily I experienced it too. I was met at the airport and entered an elevator which then got stuck. We pressed the emergency button and the staff helped us to restart the system.

Leaving the airport we took the London Metro, known as ‘The Tube’. My first impressions are that it is very small, especially compared with Hong Kong and Guangzhou. I’m told that the metro is over 100 years old, so maybe that explains it, and would certainly explain the lack of air conditioning.

We arrived at John’s new two-floor house where he has his own garden and parking place. As a city girl, I have never experienced living in a house with two floors. I walked through the garden and entered the house to find it is stylish, modern, cozy and most importantly, feels like a proper home. I will take some pictures to show later.

We walked around the local area and then went Oxford Street. While there we entered Selfridges, a very big department store, where we amazingly saw Paris Hilton promoting a new perfume. Paris is so tall and slim and was surrounded by a lot of people. Wow, I thought it was so cool and the first time for me to see a celebrity in real life.

Anyway, in the afternoon we also went to Sainsburys supermarket to buy some food. There are lots and lots of different kinds of food from all over the world, food selections and they are far to expensive if you convert to RMB. For example, vegetables in China are generally only a few yuan while here they are many times more expensive. However, you can’t think like that as you are comparing different countries and different standards of living.

It is exciting, exhausting, and very strange to explore London. I have seen I saw a lot of stylish and chic people walking the street. I’ve seen many different types of interesting people and I am still not used to hear so many people speaking British accent around me. Right now I’m still overwhelmed with everything and my body is too excited to feel any jet lag.

The weather was hot and sunny until the day I arrived, then it was chilly and cold. I didn’t expect this after leaving hot and humid Guangzhou. Another difference I’ve noticed is that you can see daylight until about 10 PM. They have long daylight in summer, but short daylight in winter. I guess everyone like more daylight!

John has booked the Delays concert later tonight and we will have a Rock and Roll night. I can’t wait.

伦敦的第一天

今年利用年假计划五月份去英国旅游,因为5-6月份是英国最好的旅游季节。12 小时的飞机在早上6点钟到达了英国。乘着英航到了伦敦希思罗机场,进了5号航道,出了机场,在入了关的时候,没有任何的指示你应该排哪里,我就跟着大队就行!移民官会问题一些基本的问题哦!

拿了行李,英国人都很有礼貌,见我个子小就帮我搬行李,出了机场,约翰已经在机场等我了,听说5航道的设计有很多问题,晨早留留我们居然困在电梯里,真是有问题啊,按了紧急按钮才帮我们打开门,超搞笑!人生一次困在电梯里!伦敦的地铁因是很早就建成,容纳人数超小也很拥挤,听说有很多条线也很慢。幸好广州和香港因后发展所以都是用了采取最新的地铁和设备!对了,他们地铁是有暖气而反而没有空调的,外面舒服过里面呢。爱鞋子的我瞄了一下大家的鞋子都超干净。这时刻对我来说,什么都是超级新鲜!
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