Skip to main content

A golden Saturday away 留一天與太太喘息

April is a good time for the great outdoors. My wife and I were keen to explore somewhere new and thus visited Warrandyte on the fringes of Melbourne, for the State Park and a winery there.
4月是郊遊的好時光,我和太太趁機發掘新去處。9日那天我們到市區邊陲、開始帶點郊外氣息的Warrandyte區的州立公園和一家酒莊一遊。

There are actually four parts to Warrandyte State Park. We went to the part which was a gold mine in the 19th century and was the first site of gold discovery in Victoria, although it did not end up with the same level of fame as the other gold rush towns of Ballarat and Bendigo. The park has preserved some relics from the mining days, including the Geraghty's Tunnel whose entrance is still open for a small section.
Warrandyte State Park州立公園其實分四部份,我們郊遊的部份,前身是金礦場,而且是維多利亞州首個發現金礦之地,雖然沒有後來的淘金城鎮巴拉瑞特Ballarat和本迪戈Bendigo那麼有名,但也算在維州淘金史中佔一席位。公園保留了些採礦的遺跡,包括一個仍開放一小段的Geraghty's Tunnel礦洞,鑽進去再出來時不期然令我想起鏡仔Ian新歌《留一天與你喘息》的MV馬鞍山礦場的片段,所以後來太太撿石頭留念時,我也打趣學MV中女主角的開場白說「石頭係有生命嘅」(石頭是有生命的)。

Geraghty's Tunnel



The park was not particularly big and we could see several cars parked when we arrived, but in our walk lasting more than an hour we could not hear and see anyone else. It was a blessing to have the whole park to ourselves, enjoy the walk and take in the scenery!
公園範圍不算特別大,而且我們到達時停車場已有幾輛車,但我們前後在公園逛了一小時多也看不到和聽不到其他人的跡象,能獨佔公園享受二人世界,輕鬆地走和欣賞樹林景色,是挺愜意的!



We walked from the southern end to the northern end of the park, and before turning back we strolled along a small section of the Yarra river in Warrandyte. The hustle and bustle at the river was a contrast from the tranquility of the park as it was a popular place for walking dogs and we easily saw tens of dog owners in about 15 minutes.
我們從公園南端走到北端,折返前順道到離北端出口不遠的雅拉河逛一小段,河畔人潮如鯽,溜狗的人一個接一個,跟靜無一人的公園成一大對比。


After our walk in the park, we visited the Pietro Gallus Estate winery which offered wine and liqueur tasting in an outdoor area. Had we known that the tasting area also offered à la carte dining, we would not have needed to bring lunch ourselves! The outdoor tasting area was not big but was surrounded by picturesque views which made for a relaxing setting to enjoy a meal or a drink alike.
公園後的下一站是Pietro Gallus酒莊,那裡除了有餐廳也有試酒區,可以在戶外坐,如果早知試酒區也可以點菜就不會自備午餐在車吃了!戶外區範圍雖少,但可遠望酒莊四處開揚的風光,心曠神怡,在如此環境品酒,心情放輕鬆,實在是賞心樂事。



(More photos of the Estate on Instagram 酒莊的相集在此


A short trip away on a Saturday to explore new places at our own pace is simply golden!
星期六來一個這樣短短而不匆忙的行程,留天給自己與太太喘息,確實不錯!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

正字正確

廣州最近掀起保衛廣東話運動,早前星期日明報副刊一篇 文章 ,已對此作了精譬分析,我也不必插嘴了。 不過我想談談另一個相連的問題,相信久不久也會困擾好些港人,就是怎樣才算「正確」、「正統」的書面語。 我們自少便被老師耳提面命,廣東話絕不可用於寫作(雖然現在大行其道,我在網上留言甚至偶而寫電郵都會用廣東話),粵語和港式詞彙應以書面語(以普通話為標準的用語)取代,於是把雪櫃寫成冰箱、櫃桶寫成抽屜,諸如此類,從小已習慣,我也沒異議。 但香港實在很多獨有的或跟國內有差別的詞彙,應用於主要給香港人看的場合當然沒問題,但國內或其他華人就可能覺得蹩腳甚至不一定明白。同樣國內的好些用詞,港人看到也會覺得有點不自然甚至礙眼。我寫網誌不時都會掙扎,究竟用國內的用詞好(我想一般來說應該是比較「正規」的,而且近幾年跟來自國內的人多了交往,或多或少都學到一點他們的用語),還是香港的說法好(始終不少讀者都是香港人,用上國內的詞語他們或許會覺得有點怪怪的),所以我盡可能兩者兼用,港式說法通常以括號並列,但我有時祇會用國內的用詞,也有時祇用香港的說法,可見我也往往拿不定主意。 問題是應該怎樣劃界線,區別「正確」和「不正確」的書面用語呢?我們應該遵從甚麼的「標準」?比方說在香港,學生寫了一句「我的志願是太空人」,公認是沒有問題的,老師一般也不會勉強學生寫「我的志願是航天員」,好了,這樣便是承認了香港和國內的用語確有區別,但既然如此,為甚麼把該句寫成「我嘅志願係太空人」時,老師便一定不會容許?又或者為甚麼寫作時硬要把雪櫃寫成冰箱、櫃桶寫成抽屜?這道界線是誰定的,定立時又有甚麼理據?香港可不像很多國家般,有一個高高在上的法定語文機構(例如法國的Académie française),又或有權威性的詞典(例如英國的牛津字典,和國內的辭海),對語文作出一定規範,難免令人寫作時感到無所適從,甚麼香港和粵語詞彙可以用於書面、哪些不可。 用語的取向,也涉及文化取態的問題,我像一般港人一樣也認同寫作時要用書面語,盡量跟隨普通話的「標準」,但不會全盤用國內的詞彙和行文,一來不習慣,二來不免總有種維護本土文化的潛意識,特別是香港和國內社會制度上和文化上始終有點隔閡,這種矛盾不一定輕易化解。 究竟甚麼才算是「標準」、「正確」的書面中文,我想大概沒有「標準答案」,往往靠個人的見識和學養才可作出定奪,但隨著香港跟國內交往越來越...

Newborn, new experiences (1) 新生兒,新體會(1)

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...

吉隆坡(2)——離不開食

到吉隆坡旅遊,有什麼好做? 當然是入鄉隨俗,吃個飽!當你見到宜家家具店餐廳佔用兩層樓面,你也不禁懷疑,馬來西亞的宜家主要賣家具還是食物! 就算是到宗教的地方遊覽,食也是重要的一環! 其中一天我們到市邊錘的黑風洞(Batu Caves),那裡的重點是272級七彩階梯和梯頂的山洞。走進山洞,地面的嘈音和熱力頓然被清幽和清涼取代,很是洗滌心靈。不過到走回到山下時,看到很多人都輪着買新鮮椰子水,我也覺得,滿足心靈後也應滿足口福,給自己買一個即場砍開的椰子喝。 另一天的行程是到一小時車程外的雲頂高原作一天遊,除了山上的花花世界,山腰的岩水寺也同樣可以讓人暫時拋離現實世界,都是值得參觀。坐長途巴前往的雲頂高原要轉乘吊車登頂,但正值新的登山吊車年度維修,不可以直接搭吊車到岩水寺,唯有搭舊吊車到山頂後雇計程車前往。一口氣登頂,愈靠近山頂愈見到更多的雲霧飄過,雲頂此名果然起得沒錯! 下山時霧更濃 建岩水寺的人,真懂得選址,在山腰,背靠雲頂,面向山下,盡收大地精華以及四周山色。寺廟之地,有齋菜吃絕不為奇,但此地還可容下其他小食、 星巴克咖啡甚至榴槤攤檔,我也把握機會買一個新鮮榴槤現場吃,在寺的安寧中盡享榴槤香濃又香滑的精華! 回到雲頂高原,食的選擇則更豐富。不過我這次做資料搜集可算失策,查看多個英文網頁皆寫雲頂美食匱乏,甚至應該在山腳搭吊車的鎮填肚才上山,所以根本不知雲頂有什麼非嚐不可的食肆,而且我們剛上到山沒多久便覺肚餓,但因相信資料,連美式炸雞也光顧(雖也點了些有當地特色的食物),真令我們後悔。我不禁懷疑,那些評論是誰寫的,這麼離譜! 雲頂眾多食肆之一 雲頂除了吃,玩樂選擇也非常豐富,全集中在纜車站的大樓。我小時候已聽到什麼歌手到雲頂登台表演,所以那天也看到好幾張演唱會海報。喜歡碰運氣的,那裡有賭場,我們坐長途巴士時也聽得出有兩個上年紀的正有打算進賭場玩一下。此外,大樓有一個敞大的室內遊樂場,商場內名店琳琅滿目,消磨一整天甚至兩三天也沒問題。要住宿的話,雲頂有家號稱最世界最大、有最多客房的酒店,正反映旅遊業有多發達了。 ...