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La Corse, of course! 山水之間的科西卡島

A holiday is always a nice sequel to a conference! While looking up where the conference venue was, I noticed that there was the port city of Livorno (also known as Leghorn in English) which had plenty of ferry routes. Since Livorno is very close to Pisa and I could make use of the conference bus to get to Pisa, it would be quite easy to hop onto a ferry and go somewhere interesting in the Mediterranean. Eventually I decided on a 3-day trip to Corsica (La Corse in French), starting right after the conference on 20th June.

會議後可以放假了!一早知道大會方面會在會議結束後提供旅遊車往比薩(Pisa),而當初查看會議地點時,把地圖縮小一點,給我留意到離比薩不遠的港口城市利沃諾(Livorno),那裡渡輪航線可不少,心想不如趁機體驗地中海風情,渡海到科西卡島(Corsica,法語La Corse)遊玩兩三天吧。6月20日那天一大早從會議山莊出發,開展我的三天遊。











The cruise ships to Corsica (I travelled on the left one)
前往科西卡的郵輪(我乘坐左圖的船)



Dumping sand right next to a cruise ship - whose clever idea was that?
在郵輸旁堆沙,不怕刮風時會把船弄髒嗎?






At Livorno, I boarded a cruise ship which was 10-storey high, with a car port in the bottom 2 or 3 storeys, underneath the cabins for overnight or longer crossings. Above the cabins were restaurants, bars (and the like) as well as the open-air decks. It’s actually all to easy to forget that one is actually on board a ship, since the vessel is so stable and its interior décor reminded me more of a small shopping plaza or entertainment centre.

渡海坐的是大型旅輪,船高原來有十層,最底兩、三層停車,接着是套房(專為長途或過夜航班而用),再上兩、三層是餐廳、酒吧之類,還有甲板,在船艙內走動,絲毫沒飄浮的感覺,而室內的裝潢,則有如小型商場或娛樂場所。













The 4 hours on board alternated between casual chit-chats with an Australian couple whom I met at the pier in Livorno, catching up on sleep, and strolls on the deck. The voyage didn’t feel long at all.

航程四小時,時而跟上船時碰到的澳洲夫婦閒聊,時而小歇,時而走到甲板吹吹風,很容易便打發了。













The sunny decks 甲板上陽光多好!



The island of Capraia (Italy) en route
途經Capraia島(意大利)






Corsica was in the horizons three hours into the voyage, and the destination Bastia slowly opened up in front of everyone’s eyes. This port city was already vying for our attention from afar, and as the ship entered the port, I couldn’t wait to disembark and see what lay beyond the colourful façade at the waterfront. A stroll in the streets after disembarkation indeed reinforced my first impression of Bastia as a jolly and welcoming place.

渡輪航行三小時後左右,科西卡島已遙遙可見,目的地巴斯蒂亞(Bastia)也逐漸展現在眼前,這個海濱城市從老遠已展現其姿采,渡輪剛進港時,其風光已深深吸引着人,下船後,在市內的街道穿插,更是引人入勝。







On approach to Bastia 郵輪將抵巴斯蒂亞



The first impression of Bastia
巴斯蒂亞的第一面







My trail through Place St. Nicolas and several other streets took me to the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Bastia. The port was packed with yachts, surrounded by a variegation of buildings lining the waterfront and dotting the nearby hills, against the backdrop of the high mountains of Corsica. The contrast in the scenes and the colour was particularly striking under the brilliant cloudless skies. I couldn’t ask if I have found the quintessential Mediterranean seaside scenery that I have longed for. The view unfolded further as I ventured out to the jetty enclosing the port (Jetée de Dragon), where I could enjoy a wider perspective of the port, the city and the mountains. I fell in love of this scenery at first sight, and couldn’t get tired of staring into it, except I was on a run and couldn’t stay there forever.

從碼頭出來,經過St. Nicolas廣場及另外幾條街,便到達市內的舊港(Vieux Port),但見港內帆船點點,岸邊和附近的小山上有一列高矮和顏色不一的樓房,再背後的是島內連綿的高山,有山有水,一片晴空下,色彩特別分明,難道給我找到了心目中的地中海海濱風情嗎?單看第一眼,景色已很迷人,沿着海邊的路徑走到包圍舊港的小碼頭(Jetée de Dragon),從碼頭的堤上回望,更能感受到景色的層次感,令人百看不厭,祇可惜時間匆匆,不能在那裡流連。




















Place St. Nicolas St. Nicolas 廣場













Some of the streets en route from Place St. Nicolas to the Vieux Port
從St. Nicolas 廣場往舊港途中的街道











Vieux Port, close-up (left) and from the jetty (right)
舊港近觀(左)及從碼頭遠觀(右)











Jetée de Dragon and the azure seas of Bastia
舊港的碼頭和蔚藍的海水











Now for the panoramic view of Bastia from the jetty ...
從碼頭盡覽巴斯蒂亞



The Citadelle built on the hill by the port was the oldest part of the city. From the jetty, I walked up there and soaked up the idyllic atmosphere permeating through its streets.

之後登上碼頭畔的堡壘區(Citadelle),那是全市最舊的部分,在那裡的街道逛逛,感受普通民居悠閒的氣氛。













Relaxing by the sea in the Citadelle 在堡壘區悠閑的日子




One of the gates to the Citadelle
前往堡壘區的其中一道城門








What a pity that I had to rush for the coach for my next destination of Ajaccio and had to take the most direct route through one of the main streets. How nice it would be if I had a whole day to savour Bastia and its sea to the full.

祇恨要趕長途車往下個目的地阿雅克修(Ajaccio),從堡壘出來,經過另一條大街前往車站,不然在巴斯蒂亞市內和海濱流躂一整天就更能體驗這個城市的風味。



I entered a different world as the bus set off from Bastia. Here the mountains and valleys dominated the scenes. Sometimes the view was simply an endless verdure covering the rugged relief; sometimes the nature was interspersed with signs of civilisation from the secluded villages or the odd house or two along the road; at other times bridges could be seen standing linking one mountain after the other. Every stretch and turn of the road kept bringing surprises to the senses!

巴斯蒂亞和阿雅克修,隔着一座又一座的高山,山與山之間隔着一個又一個的山谷,有時看到的是一片無邊的綠色,有時看到山坡中座落了小村落或小鎮,山與山之間亦架了一道又一道的橋,總之令人目不暇給!





























Nature without bounds 無邊無際的大自然



















Civilisation nestled in nature 大自然中人類的足跡



It was already the evening upon arrival in Ajaccio. I first headed to the seaside to let myself refreshed by the breeze and the view.

到達阿雅克修時已是黃昏,先到海邊吹吹風,感受海濱風情。












Place Foch
Foch廣場








Ajaccio held an important place in French history being the birth place of Napoleon, and his childhood residence has now turned into a museum that I visited on my second day in Corsica (21st June). The furniture and the décor were quite preserved from those days.

阿雅克修在法國歷史中的來頭可不少,是拿破崙的故鄉,所以翌日(6月21日)先慕名參觀拿破崙故居,室內保留了當年的家具和佈置。



A statue to commemorate Napoleon at the Place de Gaulle
戴高樂廣場的拿破崙像

















Musée National de la Maison Bonaparte (National Museum for the Bonaparte residence)
拿破崙故居













The interior of the residence, including an oil mill (right)
故居內部,包括提煉食油用的磨(右)




Afterwards I went for a stroll around Ajaccio, and came across a military training school which, as expected, was off limits. But it was somewhat unusual that the beach at the foot of the military school was openly accessible! Of course I ventured down for a look.

之後在市內閒逛,走到一個軍事訓練院校,屬軍事禁區,但奇怪的是院校下的海灘是對外開放的,所以好奇下走下去看看。












The military training school (top left)
左上圖:軍事學院





(Did I get bored visiting the seaside the second time, so you may ask. Not at all! I was itching to go for a swim, but it was forbidden due to pollution. Maybe another walk along the beach was the best antidote.)

(為甚麼海邊也要去第二次?其實我是很想碧波暢泳,奈何因污染禁止下水,唯有望梅止渴了!)


There was still a lot of spare time, so I paid a visit to the local market. I bought some of the locally produced ham and jam, so that I could bring a taste of Corsica with me back to Munich.

還有時間,便到市內各處及市集逛逛,買了當地出產的火腿和果醬,好待日後慢慢享用。




The local catch
在德國久違了的新鮮海鮮

















Ingredients of a good French/Corsican life: ham, chesse and wine
享受科西卡生活的三大要素:火腿、奶酪(芝士)及酒











Lively paintings on buildings (left: Musée d'Histoire Corse/Corsican History Museum)
建築物外牆的畫(左:科西卡歷史博物館)















Cours Napoleon (left) and Cathédral St. Roch (above two)
拿破崙街(左)及St. Roch大教堂(上二圖)






Corsica boasts of a culture and identity distinct from the rest of France, and the sense of independence is particularly strong inland, as I could felt it from my next coach trip from Ajaccio to the central city of Corte. Some of the French/Corsican bilingual traffic signs had the French part smeared out, while graffiti in support of independence were so easy to spot around Corte.

科西卡島向來有一套跟法國本土不同的文化,獨立意識在島的中部尤其強烈,從阿雅克修乘車到中部城市科爾特(Corte)途中,有些雙語路牌(法語及科西卡語)的法語部份被人塗黑,而在科爾特市內,也不難找到支持獨立的塗鴉。



Local brew of another kind
科西卡也有自己的可樂!

















Calls to independence 獨立的呼聲




Even the French president's private life is considered fair game ...
法國總統的私生活,也是塗鴉的上佳題材





Corte was famous for its Citadelle on top of a steep hill. Unfortunately the buildings in the Citadelle were already closed by the time I reached there. But it was still a good spot for a good look of Corte under my feet.

科爾特最出名的景點,就是建在山上的堡壘(Citadelle),到了山頂,才知堡壘已關了門,無法入內參觀,不過仍可欣賞到山下的風光。




The whole view of Corte
科爾特全觀
















The views near my hotel 酒店附近的景色




The main street of Corte, Cours Paoli
科爾特市內的大街——帕歐利街









Place Paoli, at the end of Cours Paoli and the start of the walk to the Citadelle.
(Paoli led Corsica to a brief period of independence between 1755 and 1769 before it became French territory.)

帕歐利街未端的帕歐利廣場,也是上山往堡壘的起點。
(帕歐利曾帶領科西卡島於1755至1769年短暫獨立,直至被法國統治為止。)























The road uphill 上山的道路




The Citadelle aloft on this lonely hill
孤山上的堡壘







Musée de la Corse (Museum of Corsica) within the Citadelle
堡壘內的科西卡博物館













Views from a vantage point near the Citadelle
從堡壘附近的觀景台俯瞰四周




Fontaine de 4 canons
噴水塔










Near the Citadelle I treated myself to some local fare for dinner, including an omelette with the local cheese Brocciu and mint, followed by a stew of wild boar (sanglier). It was difficult to pin down to the restaurant itself or Corsican cuisine in general, but I thought a stronger flavour would be needed to do justice to these distinctive dishes.

在堡壘附近用過晚飯,點了兩道地道菜,計有以地道奶酪Brocciu配薄荷作餡料的西式蛋捲(香港:地道芝士Brocciu配薄荷奄列)及野豬肉煲(Sanglier),賣相可不錯,不過不知是餐廳或是地道風格,味道偏淡,不然更有風味。













After the dinner, I took a short cut back to my hotel through a rather challenging path downhill. Looking back at the Citadelle halfway through my descent, I came to appreciate that its precarious relief made the Citadelle a most suitable place for a military post. That’s probably one of the factors for which Corte used to be the capital city of Corsica.

飯後走捷徑回酒店,行經一道陡斜的山路,在半路回望堡壘更能體會到地勢有何險要,作軍事要塞甚宜,怪不得科西卡未屬於法國時以此地為該島的首府。













I only wished I had a few more days to take in the culture and scenery of this beautiful island at a more relaxed place. But home was calling on my third day, and it was a full day of travelling starting with a train trip from Corte to Bastia. Although not advertised as such, this train trip was definitely worth the name of a scenic train as I could once again enjoy the majestic views of the Corsican mountains. From Bastia, it was a ferry ride to Livorno, where I managed to undertake a very quick tour before embarking on two further train trips, first to Florence then back to Munich. Let me write about my Italian ventures – if I remember it after clearing my backlog of blog posts from my other travels!

在科西卡短短兩天已令我見識不少獨特文化和風光,這個島真值得多留幾天,如能輕輕鬆鬆的遊山玩水多好,可惜時間匆匆,第三天早上11點便要踏上歸途,乘火車到巴斯蒂亞,再次觀賞科西卡壯麗的山色,然後渡海回到意大利的利沃諾,匆匆逛了個多小時乘火車往佛羅倫斯,再坐一程過夜火車回慕尼黑。在意大利的所見所聞,日後有空補記!

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The birth of our daughter at the end of September marks a new chapter and brings about new life experiences for me and my wife. 小女9月底出生,為我和太太揭開人生新一章,也帶來新的體驗。 Mum was admitted to a nearby public hospital for the birth. The maternity ward is a lifely and buzzling place, subdivided into many rooms occupied by up to 4 mums and their babies at a time. Visiting hours is from 08:00 to 20:00, and up to one person can visit at one time and two different people each day. These limitations are part of the hospital's covid policies when the rest of the society has moved on as if nothing had happened - apparently there used to be no limit to visitations before covid, so a dad could in fact accompany the mum and baby all night long. One long-lasting impression from the maternity ward was the symphony of baby cries in which all babies took their turns to join including mine. Calming down the baby was almost impossible in this ambience and was very tough on mum especially when she was battling her

不求甚解,可以嗎?

端午節在尖沙咀海傍的無人機燈光表演,事後廣受網民嘲笑俗氣、像長輩圖等,屈原「現身」在空中飄更讓我覺得是其於死忌顯靈,很是詭異。 我在臉書轉發了ReNews的報導,想不到有人會點讚,而且是一個多年沒見的外國人,我納悶她究竟喜歡什麼、知否「到底發生什麼事」,只可猜想是她從沒見過用無人機砌出漢字,欣賞此藝術吧。 我在港大工作時,有國內同事有次跟我路過英皇書院時,對我說他對那學校沒好感,因為他討厭楊受成。我聽了先是心中有點驚訝,但沒流露出來,並笑着解釋道:英皇是英國國皇的意思,英文叫King's College,是政府辦學,跟楊受成的英皇集團一點關係也沒有!那同事沒意會背後的殖民史,更與搞娛樂事業的公司穿鑿附會,不過不應嘲笑,我反而覺得其不把自己困於校園、留意附近社區之精神可嘉(很多港人一向覺得國內人來港後往往不踏出自己人的小圈子呢)。 文藝創作和社會/社區的形成,固然與背後的歷史和文化息息相關,但評析時又是否完全不可抽離背景呢? 近年對香港流行曲的評論(尤其對當紅的鏡仔),時常着重「咬字」,例如姜濤最新的《DUMMY》就獲多人稱讚咬字清晰聽得明歌詞。歌手追求發音清晰,固然對歌唱是有好處,但如以發音不清就批評歌曲又會不會太輕易抺殺了整個作品?世界音樂如此多元,不懂外語是否就要封閉自己不接觸其他地區的音樂?而就算我們這些外國人聽得懂外語歌詞,我們大概也不夠資格評論歌手咬字是否清晰標準吧。正如閱讀文字作品,讀者又會不會因為不明白其中幾個字的意思而認為作品不值一讀?又如果對作品的評語只是「用字淺顯易明」,除非是兒童書,不然作者也會啼笑皆非或覺得膚淺吧? 不求甚解,原意是要領會大意而不必着眼於字眼之意思,到今天則演變成不深入理解。了解相關背景,明白作品的細節,固然定品評和鑑賞甚有裨益,但現實中大家受時間和個人知識所限,往往只能對背景資料簡單了解、略知一二,只可看到事物較表面之處。然而,不完全理解創作背後的原意,也不一定妨礙受眾對其之欣賞和評價;不完全理解一地的歷史,也不全然妨礙人們對當地建築、規劃等表達讚賞或提出疑問。聽歌不要執着要求歌手字正腔圓,歌詞大意聽一兩遍一般都可明瞭大概,就算不想深究歌詞,旋律節奏等也可以是欣賞音樂的切入點。不過話說回來,無人機燈光表演,如果主辦者用心思考主題和舖排,再在字體設計下功夫,同時彰顯漢字的內涵和美學,豈非更妙?