I know it's been a long time... Okok, finally!!!

Don't know what's going on with my laptop. It's been really weird and become such a pain, so I'm not gonna write long. Enjoy the pictures!

 

A few notes:

1. A Roman pole is smooth in appearance. A Greek pole is chracterized by the "flutes" (or aka. channels, grooves.) Greece used to be occupied by the Romans and they added those Roman poles.

2. Be sure to bring a pair of sneakers when you visit Greece. A lot of the ancient sites were built on the top of the hills. You'll need to climb a long way to reach them.

3. Weather, especially on the islands: it can get very windy and chilly at night, even in summer. A light jacket is necessary.

4. Many years ago, I ate in a Greek restaurant with some girl friends in Taipei. We didn't like the food, very sour and feta cheese was so strong. However, this time I discovered that there's actually a big variety in Greek foods and most of them are pretty good! So Vera and Carol, give Greek food a try one more time. I think you'll like it.

5. 3 days in Athens are just not enough. There are treasures all over this city.

6. Last but most important, I found that I've got so many blues and whites in my closet now. Haha~ 'coz before the trip I shopped so much, just tried to match the colors of Greece. Crazy~

 

 

 

My laptop has been acting really weird these days. Can't type Chinese. But still wanna post some more pictures taken in Greece, since I've been lazy updating my blog for 1 month!

 

6/7: Volcano and hotspring tour + Donkey ride to Oia + Dinner with Oia sunset

The only active volcano in Europe.

 

6/8: Ancient Thira + Black sand  beach

A very tough stone road to ancient Thira, which was built at the top of the hill.

一邊在hotel的泳池畔吃早餐, 一邊欣賞眼前的火山view和這美麗的城鎮, 大滿足!

早餐後租了四輪摩托車(經驗了Mykonos那超強風, 我們學會了租較穩定的四輪)去古文明遺址Akrotiri和那附近的Red Beach, 結果我心中Santorini的一大目的地Akrotiri竟然因整修而關閉, 而且觀光資訊也沒提, 真氣!

Red Beach則是被紅色岩壁包圍著的海灘, 要到海灘還得徒步爬一段不太好走的山路, 在海邊懶洋洋一陣子後, 我們決定去Oia看夕陽, 那以有著全世界最美的夕陽的小鎮著稱的Oia… 這是一個可愛的小鎮, 不如Thira或之前的Mykonos Town喧囂, 漫步其中, 嗯… 有童話世界的感覺, 另外還有許多藝廊並列, 或許Oia的美麗吸引了這些藝術家吧!

(照片沒辦法達到專業水準, 照不出那世界最美的夕陽)

 

Having breakfast at the poolside of the hotel and watching the fantastic volcano view and the pretty towns- What a great experience! After breakfast, we rented a four-wheeler (a lesson learned from the super windy Mykonos: 4-wheeler was definitely a much better and more stable choice) to the ancient site Akrotiri and the Red Beach close by. We didn’t know until we arrived that the must-go destination in my mind- Akrotiri was closed for restoration. And nobody, travel agency, hotel staff, etc. told us about that! What a pity…

Red beach is a beach surrounded by red rocks. We had to walk through some rocks (not easy) to reach it. After being lazy on the beach for a few hours, we decided to go to Oia to watch the so-called “most beautiful sunset in the world.” Oia is a very cute little town, not as noisy as Thira or Mykonos Town. Kind of felt like walking in a fairy tale town. Art galleries and art shops stand along the roads. Maybe the beauty of Oia attracts so many artists here!

(The photos are not pro, can’t really show the “most beautiful sunset in the world”…:p)

今天我們搭乘高速船到愛琴海南端的火山島群Santorini, 這是個新月型的島, 西元前一千五百年左右, 一次史上超大噴火後, 島的中心下沉, 而成為今日所見的形狀, 大家認為它就是傳說中的, 有著璀璨文明的“消失的亞特蘭提斯”! 書上說只有到這個島時一定要搭船進去, 因為它特殊的景致和其他島嶼相當不同, 果然沒錯! 在即將到達Santorini時, 從船的窗口望出去, 只見火山懸崖的最高處建著一排排白色的房子, 就像是陡峭懸崖上的白雪一般, 除了美景之外, 在這樣嚴厲的自然環境下所發展出的人類文明, 令人讚嘆!

巴士載我們經過了一段段險峻的山路, 終於到達頂端的最大城Thira, 離Thira不遠處則是我們下榻的旅館Cliffside Suites & Studios, 恰如其名, 每間房是蓋在峭壁上, 雖然得爬好長一段令人氣喘噓噓的階梯, 但景觀真是棒極了! 一放下行李我們就迫不及待地開始拍照, 呵呵~ 而且跟老闆聊天時, 我不經意地提到這是蜜月, 房間還被升級到寬敞的有廚房和客廳的suite唷!

Today we took the high speed ferry to Santorini, the volcanic islands at the south of the Aegean Sea. Around BC 1,500, one of the largest volcanic eruptions in the history caused the centre of the island to sink and left the island the shape we see today. People believe it is the Atlantis, which is said to have had a glamorous civilization but whose existence has never been confirmed. Our guidebook says that Santorini is the island that you should go by ferry. And it is absolutely right! When approaching Santorini, I looked out from the window and saw the many white houses only on the very top of the island, like snow on cliffs. The scenery is very different from other islands. Besides the beauty, the human civilizations developed under this kind of tough environment are just amazing!

The coach took us through the steep hills and finally reached the biggest city on the top of the island, Thira. Our hotel, Cliffside Suites & Studios, is not far from there. And as you can tell from the name, all the rooms were built along the cliffs. The view was fantastic! We couldn’t wait to take pictures after unloading our luggage :p. What was even greater: I carelessly mentioned it was our honeymoon to the hotel staff and our room was upgraded to a very spacious suite with a kitchen and a living room!

Hubby一早就準備好我們的小摩托車, 好去那排成一列的六個風車, 到了之後因距離太近, 勉強拍了張把全部風車都擠進去的照片, 哈~然後我們徒步開始了Mykonos town著名景點的觀光!

首先看到的是在Mykonos島上棲息著, 所有島民都認識的兩隻大鵜鵠鳥的其中一隻, 牠們時常出沒在taberna附近, 央求餐廳老闆給魚吃.

然後我們延著曲折的石板路, 爬到Ano Mili丘上的風車, 在這可以鳥瞰整個城鎮和港口(strongly recommended), 加上徐徐吹來的海風, 感覺真是好極了!

下了小丘肚子也餓了, 小丘的底部正好就是號稱Mykonos最好吃的gyros pita店"Alex'is"! Gyros pita是將烤豬肉. 薯條. 洋蔥. 蕃茄. 和生菜包起來的捲餅, 在希臘到處都有這樣的小店, 類似台灣的美而美一般大小, 雖然捲餅看起來沒多大, 但是料很紮實, 可以吃得很飽唷! 嗯... 真的滿好吃的...

傍晚我們散步到另一個有名的教堂Paraportiani Church, 是座全白的教堂, 結束了Mykonos town的觀光行程!

對我來說, Mykonos的魅力, 除了那picture perfect的白色屋子和藍色屋頂外, 就是那一排排白色間錯綜複雜如迷宮般的小路了, 不論你怎麼走怎麼迷路, 路的盡頭總是那一片湛藍 :) 看今天的照片吧!

 

Early in the morning, Hubby started the engine of our small scooter to go to those 6 windmills in a row. But when we arrived there, we figure tha it was kind of too close to take a picture of all the windmills. We managed to squeeze all of them in 1 picture though, Ha~ Then we started sightseeing in Mykonos town on foot.

The 1st famous thing we saw was 1 of the 2 pelicans living in this island. All the Mykonos residents konw them very well. They usually fool around near tabernas to get some food for their big stomaches.

Then we climbed along the small winding paths to the windmill on the top of Ano Mili Hill. Here we got a panorama view of the whole town and the port (strongly recommended) with the sea breeze. Feels so good!

After descending from the hill we were a bit hugry. The bottom of the hill is the so-called "best gyro pita place" in Mykonos-- Alexi's. Gyros Pita is like a pita wrapping roast pork, french fries, onions, tomatoes and lettuce. You can find many Gyros Pita shops wherever in Greece. The gyros pita doesn't look big but it can make a guy full enough, and it tastes so Good!!!

In th evening we took a walk to another famous church, the Paraportiani Church, a totally white church, and a nice ending of this Mykonos sightseeing course!

To me the attractiveness of Mykonos (besides the picture perfect white houses and blue roof) lies in the many crooked narrow paths, which can easily get you lost in between those cute white houses. However, no matter which path you choose, it always leads you to the big blue Aegean Sea :) Take a look at the pictures for today!

 

 

 

 

早上醒來到陽台往外一看, 是一排排白色的房子映著湛藍的愛琴海, 我們真的到了希臘啊! 還看得到Mykonos的代表-- 明信片必有的排成一列的六個白色風車! 這麼好的view, 真開心!

Mykonos是歐美人的渡假勝地, 除了美麗的風景外, 最著名的就是nudist beach, or clothing optional beach (就是天體營啦)! 還有點疲憊的我們, 租了台摩托車出發去super paradise beach, 好relax一下... 不過天體營果然位於隱密的地方, 花了我們一個多小時才找到! 海灘上清一色是洋人, 許多女生上空作日光浴, 或許這就是為何叫super paradise吧... 呵呵~

傍晚我們散步到Mykonos的中心-- Mykonos town, 這鎮就像希臘風景明信片一般, 白色的房子藍色屋頂的教會和蜿蜒的石板路, 雖然眾多的觀光客帶來不小的商業色彩(餐廳與酒吧林立), 這還是一個很美的地方!

今天晚餐在希臘人稱的taberna (taverna): 灑了很多羊奶起司的希臘沙拉, 蕃茄鑲飯(rice-stuffed tomato), 烤肉串(souvlaki), 還有傳統甜點baklaba(超甜~), 配希臘咖啡!

PS: 希臘的餐廳有taberna (or taverna)和restaurant兩種, taberna是大眾化平民化的希臘餐館, restaurant則是高級餐廳, 在taberna以合理價錢可以吃到道地的希臘餐, 是觀光客的好選擇!

PPS: 希臘咖啡如同阿拉伯咖啡, 把咖啡粉和糖放進小壺加水一起在爐子上煮, 水滾後等咖啡粉沉澱後才喝

 

Right after my eyes were open this morning, I walked out to the balcony. Wow~~~ those white houses and the Aegean Sea! We were really in Greece! We could also see the postcard favorite of Mykonos: the 6 windmills in a row! Such a good view from room, happy!

Mykonos is a popular resort for Europeans and North Americans. Besides the beautiful scenery, the most famous thing is the Nudist beach (or, Clothing optional beach)! Still tired from the long trip, we decided to rent a scooter to the Super paradise beach to relax a little bit. It took us more than 1 hour to find it (probably because a nudist beach has to be in some sort of secretive place, haha~) Many ladies were half-naked, maybe that's why it's called "Super paradise"!

In the evening, we strolled to the center of Mykonos-- Mykonos town. It is just like the postcard from Greece! White houses, churches with blue roofs, and stone-paved small roads. Although the big crowds of tourists have made this place quite commercialized (so many bars and restaurants), it's still a very pretty town!

Today's dineer was in a taberna (or taverna): Greek salad with lots of feta cheese, rice-stuffed tomato, souvlaki (like BBQ on screwers), plus traditional Greek dessert Baklaba (super sweet), and Greek coffee!

PS: There are 2 kinds of restaurants to eat in Greece-- Taberna and Restaurant. A taberna is like a typical place for local people to eat and offers typical Greek food with reasonable price. A restaurant is high-class, pricey. For tourists to have a bite on Greek food, taberna is not a bad choice.

PPS: Greek coffee is like Arabian coffee. Put coffee powder, sugar, water in a small pot and boil with the stove. Drink after the powder goes to the bottom.

 

 

 

結婚後忙著搬家到多倫多, 沒時間去蜜月旅行... 終於六月初Hubby能夠休個長假, 我們選擇了"聽起來很浪漫"又兼具海島與古文明的希臘, 渡個遲來一年的蜜月

從多倫多到雅典約十一小時的飛行時間, 一下飛機, 馬上搭車到港口搭乘high speed ferry到我們的第一站-- 愛情海的觀光勝地密克諾斯島(Mykonos)! High speed ferry相當舒適, 坐位寬敞, 是長途飛行後挺好的休息! 到Mykonos時天色已暗, 沒辦法看清風景, 所以決定在旅館(K Hotels)泳池畔燈光美氣氛佳的餐廳, 好好吃頓晚餐! Hubby點了瓶希臘當地啤酒Alpha beer, 再加上傳統的炸起司(saganaki), Octopus in vinegrette dressing(不會翻譯), 和希臘代表性的千層麵mousaka(茄子,馬鈴薯和肉醬千層麵), 嗯... 今晚很希臘~~~

 

Why Honeymoon now? After getting married, we were too busy to go to honeymoon (busy moving to Toronto). But finally Hubby could take a long break in June. We chose Greece, which has beautiful beaches and ancient civilization. Plus, Greece just sounds ROMANTIC!

It takes about 11-hr from Toronto to Athens. Right after getting off the plane, we were transferred to the Pireas port to catch the high speed ferry for our 1st stop, famous sight-seeing island-- Mykonos. The ferry was fairly comfortable and spacious, a nice break after the long flight. When we arrived at Mykonos, it was already too dark to see the scenery. So we decided to have a good dinner at the pool-side restaurant in our hotel. Hubby ordered a bottle of Greek local beer-- Alpha beer, plus the traditional Saganaki (deep-fried cheese), Octopus in vinegrette dressing, and the symbolic Greek food-- Mousaka. What a Greek night~~~

 

 

說到加拿大就不能不提楓糖了!三月到四月中旬,天氣突然變暖和時,是採集楓糖漿的時節,因為這時樹根必須將樹液往上送,好提供長葉子所須的養份,所以在樹幹上鑿個洞,楓樹液就會源源流出,再經過煮沸後就變成我們所說的楓糖漿

所以這陣子加拿大許多的楓林農場(maple farm的中文翻譯?)都舉辦了Maple Syrup Festival,我們既然來到了這ㄦ就當然要去實地體驗囉!Whitemeadows Farm離多倫多車程約一小時,我們付六塊加幣參加他們的sugarbush adventure(糖灌木探險?哈哈!),卡車載著我們到楓林裡,一邊在楓林散步一邊看他們展示從原住民(natives)到現今加拿大人製作楓糖漿的技術發展,我們還自己鋸下一塊木頭烙上楓葉痕,並試了pioneers(當初最先來到加拿大的英法移民)時代的"taffy on snow"(將熱熱的楓糖漿放在雪上凝固成的太妃糖), It was pretty fun!Adventure結束後則到他們的pancake house吃午餐,並試吃不同等級的楓糖漿: Light, Medium, Amber, Dark-- 顏色愈深代表距採收的時間愈久楓味也愈重,通常我們在超市看到最多的是medium,因為是大多數人喜愛的,我們試了dark後,某種特殊的味道一直在口中久久都無法散去,直接吃的確是有點太濃了,難怪大家都拿dark來作料理而已...

小知識:楓糖富含鈣和鐵和維他命b群,據他們說以前農業技術不發達在寒冷的冬天種不出蔬菜時,楓糖是人們的維他命來源唷!

 

You can't forget maple syrup when it comes to Canada. From March to mid-April, when the temperature suddenly goes up, is the season for the maple syrup harvest. During this time, the tree root has to send the tree liquid (sap) up to provide nutritions for leaves to grow. So you can easily get the sap once you punch a hole on the tree. And after boiled, the sap will become the so-called "Maple syrup."

Many maple farms in Canada hold the Maple Syrup Festival during this time, so we decided to really experience this famous Canadian thing. The Whitemeadow Farm is about 1-hr drive from Toronto. We paid 6 CAD to join their sugarbush adventure. A wagon took us to the maple trees. Then we took a walk along the small path and watch their demonstrations on how to make maple syrup, from the natives time until now. We also cut a piece of maple wood by ourselves and had it branded, and tried the "taffy on snow." It was pretty fun! After the adventure was done, we had lunch at their pancake house and sampled different grades of the maple syrup: Light, Medium, Amber, Dark-- the one we can usually find in supermarkets is Medium, 'coz most of people like it the best. We tried the Dark and it was so so so strong, didn't feel good. No wonder it is used for cooking only.

Maple syrup is rich in calcium, iron, amd vitamin Bs. They said before when the agricultural technology wasn't advanced enough to get vegetables in the winter, maple syrup was an important vitamin source for people.

 

 

 

來多倫多已半年,因為前三個月努力準備考試沒出去玩,考完了又因為天氣變粉冷而常躲在家裡(或mall裡)... Hubby說:"不行!我們得做些加拿大的活動!" 加拿大是釣魚相當盛行的地方,一年四季皆可釣魚,於是上個月我們到了多倫多北邊叫Barrie的城市,準備到附近的Lake Simco去冰上釣魚

早上從當地hotel出發時瞄了一下溫度,我的天啊!零下17度!果然從hotel門口到車上短短的30秒中,我的腳已經凍得跟冰棒一樣!所謂的ice fishing,是在結成厚厚的冰的湖上搭好小屋,在有暖爐的小屋中將裝有魚餌的釣鉤丟進屋內的薄冰中,然後就是等魚上鉤啦(解釋不清,請看照片)!釣魚之於我,是困難又需要極大耐心的活動,還好我完全不抱著會釣到魚的希望,早買好Cosmopolitan去殺時間,呵~ Hubby因為之前在West Virginia曾釣到魚,還有點ㄦ努力地研究一下,可冰上釣魚和river fishing(河川釣魚?)的技巧不太一樣,等了三小時,魚沒上鉤,決定放棄, 就當做花錢買經驗和照片吧!!!至少我們可是有融入local的生活哩!哈哈!

Btw,開車到Barrie的晚上,順道去多倫多北郊的The Izumiyas' all time favorite-- "鼎泰豐"去吃飯,小籠包是有維持一定的水準(可總還是覺得信義路的最好吃),但這邊的鼎泰豐竟然有賣紅燒獅子頭,砂鍋魚頭,炸大腸等等一堆在台灣鼎泰豐絕對看不到的菜,這真是太不符合它在我心目中的brand image啦~~~

 

懶得寫英文,因為連用中文都解釋不清ice fishing

 

荒廢英文中的Shu-wei...

 

 

U of T的日文課有點ㄦ簡單

與外國人練漢字不是太有趣

下課後獨自走在零下九度下著雪的Bloor St.

氣氛頗寂寥

然而我享受著紛飛的雪花與從不熄燈的精品店所交織成的北國城市特有的美感

那天收到妳的信

心是暖的

我知道我從不寂寞

因為身邊一直有妳同行

給卡蘿

洗了三ㄊㄨㄚ的衣服床單毛巾等等(我想住過北美的人都知道去laundry room洗衣服是多麼煩人),拖了地和大掃除,貼上從中國城買來的春聯,新年快樂!!!發覺自己是挺ritualistic的人,不管在哪就是要有過節的氣氛,這幾年住在國外,對Christmas不是特別有感覺,反而是咱們的農曆春節總令我忙得喜孜孜的.....晚上和Hubby去韓國城吃飯並買了許多火鍋料,明兒個我們也要在多倫多圍爐唷!!!

 

Did 3 rounds of laundry (so tired of going to the laundry room so many times in a day), cleaned the apartment and put the red new year poster on the door. Happy New Year!!! Maybe I'm a ritualistic person. No matter where I am, I need to feel the festival atmosphere. Living in foreign countries these years, Christmas isn't that special to me. It is the Lunar New Year that always makes me excited. This evening Hubby and I went to the Korean town for dinner and bought lots of the new year foods. Tomorrow we will have a big hot pot dinner in Toronto!!!

一邊吃蛋糕一邊打字.....這蛋糕可是我特別去人氣的法式糕點店買的,在多倫多法式東西不難找,可這一家對我來說是特別的,因為它可是和我同年誕生的他們的蛋糕看起來都超好吃,操法語口腔賣蛋糕的老婆婆人又很好,害我一下就給她買了三塊蛋糕回來,呵呵~

下午打扮好就出門逛街,每家精品店都進去晃了一圈,還意外發現了幾間可愛的小店,在路上走著走著時,驚喜地發現多倫多飄起了細細的雪,是今年冬天的第一場雪唷,在我生日這天!雖然粉冷(today's high:3C),耳朵快被凍僵的感覺,可還是粉開心

晚上自己煎牛排配上最愛的有機超市的洋芋泥,點了蠟燭許了願,再吃蛋糕配上妹妹之前送的生日茶,這是個很nice的生日!

謝謝依同學,愛麗絲,卡蘿,彼得,史堤夫,山缪爾,安德魯,表姊蕎西的祝福.....謝謝Daddy的"I'm proud of you".....謝謝Mommy在臺灣時間23:45當年她生下我的時候稍來的盡是關心的email.....謝謝吳小妹的生日包裹,知道我為這邊乾冷的天氣所苦還貼心地塞了幾片我慣用的面膜.....這是我婚後的第一個生日,媽說她覺得27年這樣彈指而過但對她來說可是歷歷在目,我想看著我長大的家人們心裡可能感觸良多吧.....好想大家喔~~~我想吃豬腳麵線.....

 

Having my birthday cake and typing now. The cake was bought at a popular French style patisserie in town. It's easy to find French food in Toronto, but this patisserie is special to me. It was established in 1978, my birth year. Their cakes all look so yummy!!! And the old lady with heavy French accent English was so friendly. I couldn't help buying 3 pieces of cakes. :p

This afternoon, I was dressed up and went shopping immediately. Went into every single brand shop and also found some other cute stores. While walking on the streets, light snow started falling. It was the 1st snow this winter, on my birthday! Although it was so cold, I was still excited!

For dinner, I made myself a steak with the mashed potatoes bought from my favorite organic supermarket, lit the candles and said wishes, then had cakes with the birthday tea I go from sister. This is a very nice birthday!

Thanks for the wishes from Iro, Alice, Carol, Peter, Steve, Samuel, Andrew, Cousin Josie..... Thanks for Daddy's "I'm proud of you"..... Thanks for Mommy's email sent at 23:45 Taiwan time, the time when she deliverd me 27 years ago.....Thanks for sister's birthday package. She knows that I'm bothered by the cold dry weather here and included some facial masks. Very thoughtful. This is my 1st birthday after getting married. Guess my family have some very complicated feelings. I miss you all~~~

 

Happy Birthday! Hubby is on business trip and I don't know anybody else here. It's a birthday by myself. Well, last Friday he was considerate enough to take me to the best French restaurant in Toronto rated by Zagat survey. He knows I love French food.

Anyway, I had my manicure and pedicure done. Put on my favorite perfume. Cheers~

Finally I feel I've settled down in Toronto. Waited for 2 weeks to get the fixed line and 3 weeks to get the internet connection hooked up at home. Canadians are slow~~~

Except for the slow Canadians and the freaky cold weather, things are ok here. Our apartment is on the 16th floor, with a nice view. And it's much bigger than any 1BR in Tokyo, I guess, with a cheaper rent. And And And, the location is just perfect! All the brand shops are close by!!! Chanel, LV, Tiffany, name a brand and you can get it within 5-min walk!!! WOW~~~ I told Hubby: Don't blame me for spending money. Blame the location! When I need a shampoo, Aveda is only 1-block away! If you long for some relaxation and wanna be lazy, make an appointment at 1 of the many spa salons around here and after that, have a nice afternoon tea at the hotel just around the corner.

I know these sound really tempting to my girl friends. So come visit me!!!

 

終於有些安頓下來的感覺了,在等電話線等兩星期等網路接通等三星期之後,加拿大人動作真慢!

除了沒效率和粉冷粉冷的天氣之外(today's high:12C, low:2C),其他都還ok,我們住在十六樓,從窗戶望出去的view很不錯,也比東京的1BR大且便宜,重點是:公寓就在名店區附近!!! Chanel, LV, Tiffany,只要走路五分鐘哪個牌都逛得到!!!哈!!!我跟Hubby說:別怪我愛花錢,要怪就怪你找公寓找在這!呵呵~~~連買洗髮精都無法省錢,Aveda只要過個block就到了!如果想要放鬆一下,附近有許多spa salon可供選擇,之後再去轉角的hotel好好喝個下午茶,真讚!

我想我的女友們大概都很心動吧,來找我玩唷!