Bute Park in Cardiff, Wales, is an extensive area of mature parkland easily accessible from the city centre. Flanked by the River Taff, Sophia Gardens, Pontcanna Fields and Cardiff Castle, Bute Park is a very popular 'green lung' full of historic and wildlife interest. Few cities have such a spacious green area in the heart of their city. The Taff Trail can be accessed at the northern end of Blackweir Fields. A water bus stop is located adjacent to Canton Bridge at the southern end of the park offering trips to Cardiff Bay, Penarth and the barrage.

 

 

 

 

Due to its location at the historic core of Cardiff, Bute Park contains a wealth of historic interest dating back to Roman and medieval times. Cardiff Castle, the famous Animal Wall, the Gorsedd stones and the Blackfriars site are just a sample of the park’s rich history. The park was landscaped in the late eighteenth century by Capability Brown and had alterations in the late nineteenth century by the 3rd Marquess of Bute. In 1947, the 3rd Marquess of Bute presented the park to the Council. Today the park is still owned and managed by Cardiff Council.

 

 

 

 

 

The Bute Parks are increasingly threatened by developments by Cardiff Council. The building of the Swalec Stadium - which faces Bute Park across the river - was the subject of massive, but ultimately unsuccessful opposition. A new campaign - Bute Parks Alliance - is campaigning for an immediate moratorium on any development in these heritage registered parks. The local council has given itself permission to build roadways and a bridge for 40 tonne lorries in Bute Park, to develop car parks on tennis courts in Sophia Gardens, and has delayed restitution of Sophia Gardens following its use by the National Eistedfodd for at least another year.

 

 

 

 

 

The size of the park and its variety of habitats make Bute Park a haven for wildlife. It is possible to see a great variety of wildlife including woodpeckers, kingfishers, egrets, bats and grey squirrels. The woodlands adjoining the River Taff contain an excellent spring flora and there is an interesting range of wax cap fungi within sections of closely mown lawn in the arboretum. Salmon and sea trout can be viewed on Blackweir.

 

The Brecon Beacons range consists of the mountains to the south of Brecon. The highest of these is Pen y Fan (886 m); other notable summits include Corn Du (873 m), Cribyn (795 m), and Fan y Bîg (719 m). These summits form a long ridge which forms a horseshoe around the head of the Taf Fechan river to the south-east, with long parallel spurs extending to the north-east. The round of the Taf Fechan skyline forms a popular ridge walk known as the 'Beacons Horseshoe'. Many other fine walks exist in this part of the National Park but the mountains are known for swift changes in weather conditions, even in summer. In winter they can be dangerous.

The Brecon Beacons are named after the ancient practice of lighting signal fires on mountains to warn of attacks by the English, or more recently to commemorate public and national events such as coronations or the Millennium.

The National Park was established in 1957, the last of the three Welsh parks; Snowdonia was first in 1951 with the Pembrokeshire Coast being the other. It covers 519 square miles (1344 km²), 332 100 acres stretching from Llandeilo in the west to Hay-on-Wye in the east. It encompasses the ranges confusingly named the Black Mountains (in the east of the park, on the border with England) and the Black Mountain (in the west). The area to the west of the Brecon Beacons range is known as Fforest Fawr.

The western half of the National Park gained European and Global Geopark status in 2005. Fforest Fawr Geopark includes not only the historic extent of Fforest Fawr but also the Black Mountain and much of the central Brecon Beacons together with surrounding lowlands.

Most of the national park is moorland, with some forestry plantations, and pasture in the valleys. In 1966 the Brecon Beacons Mountain Centre was opened to better enable visitors and tourists to interpret the area.

 

on our way !!!!

 

lakeside.....  it was frezzing !!!!

 

All of us in a lovely town in the PARK and tried 2 take the car back home then ...

 

Drive a wrong way but enjoy it as well  !

 

 

Sheep and kenny !!   they were scared by me ...  shame !!!!

 

 

 

    

              

 

 

WATER FALLS---- Andrew was so tired 4 walking  ...lol  

 

 

 

 

SO GIRLY !! LMAO !!!

 

 

 

Take me 2 Town PLZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!

 

 

 

 

WAITING FOR NEST TRIP !! XX

 

BUSY 2 MOTHES!!!!  EXACTLY!!!!  LMAO !!

 

kenny is back 2 space then.....  since the ending of the trip from Italy...

hey all my lovely frds  how r u doing ??? miss ya so much ...  贞, DADO, MATT..LOL  ALL MY SPACE FRDS!!!

Didnot do some special in these 2 monthes just busy for working, studying and relationship, anyway its alrite now for every bloody thing   just waitting for the result of the dissertation and anlther result in 6 weeks...xexe

 

for travelling, even it was really busy then i went 2 Cyprus 2 c my lovely peteros and got 2 amazing weeks there..... met lots of lovely frds, antrea, angle, evi and grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

 

after the unforgetable time in Cyprus, came back 2 UK for working and studying again...   in a word   just not 2 bad!!!!!!!!!

 

i will keep writting my blog from now on ... for my memory...life...every funny!!!!

 

                                                  

           

                              

          

                    

 

                

 

Vienna is the capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city; with a population of about 1.7 million, it is by far the largest city in Austria as well as its cultural, economic, and political center. It is the 10th largest city by population in the European Union and was listed by Mercer Human Resource Consulting as having the 2nd highest quality of living. Vienna is host to many major international organizations such as the United Nations and OPEC. Vienna lies in the very east of Austria and is close to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an Economist Intelligence Unit study of 127 world cities ranked it first equal with Vancouver for the quality of life.

                

     

  Art and culture have a long tradition in Vienna, including theater, opera, classical music and fine arts. The Burgtheater is considered one of the best theaters in the German-speaking world alongside its branch, the Akademietheater. The Volkstheater Wien and the Theater in der Josefstadt also enjoy good reputations. There is also a multitude of smaller theaters, in many cases devoted to less mainstream forms of performing arts, such as modern, experimental plays or cabaret.

  Vienna is also home to a number of opera houses, including the Staatsoper and the Volksoper, the latter being devoted to the typical Viennese operetta. Classical concerts are performed at well known venues such as the Wiener Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Wiener Konzerthaus. Many concert venues offer concerts aimed at tourists, featuring popular highlights of Viennese music.

  In recent years, the Theater an der Wien has become widely known for hosting premieres of musicals, although it has recently devoted itself to the opera again. The most successful musical by far was "Elisabeth", which was later translated into several other languages and performed all over the world.

  Many Roman Catholic churches in central Vienna also feature performances of religious or other music, including masses sung with classical music and organ.

                  

                                          

  Vienna is well known for Wiener schnitzel, a cutlet of veal that is pounded flat, coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, and fried in clarified butter. It is available in almost every restaurant that serves Viennese cuisine. Other examples of Viennese cuisine include Tafelspitz, which is traditionally served with Geröstete Erdäpfel and horseradish sauce, Apfelkren

Sachertorte

  Vienna has a long tradition of cakes and desserts. These include Apfelstrudel (hot apple strudel), Palatschinken (sweet pancakes), and Knödel (dumplings) often filled with fruit such as apricots (Marillenknödel). Sachertorte, a dry chocolate cake with apricot jam from the Sacher Hotel, is world famous.

In winter, small street stands sell traditional Maroni (hot chestnuts) and potato fritters. Sausages are also popular and available from street vendors (Würstelstand) throughout the night. The sausage known as Wiener (German for Viennese) in the USA and Germany is, however, called Frankfurter. Other popular sausages are Burenwurst (a coarse beef and pork sausage, generally boiled), Käsekrainer (spicy pork with small chunks of cheese), and Bratwurst (a white pork sausage served like a Hotdog).

The Naschmarkt is a permanent market for fruit, vegetables, spices, fish, meat, etc. from around the world. The city centre has many delicatessen stores, such as the Julius Meinl am Graben.

                    

 

There are some kenny's pics as follow:: 

 

 

 

           

 

      

 

                

 

     

 

                 

 

                                

 

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of region Veneto, and has a population of 271,251. Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area. Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", and "The City of Light". It is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world

                                

                      

                                  

 

                 

The city stretches across 118 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po  and the Piave Rivers. The population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 62,000 in the historic city of Venice  176,000 in Terraferma, mostly in the large frazione of Mestre and Marghera; and 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon.

The Venetian Republic was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as a very important center of commerce and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century.Venice is world-famous for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of 118 islands formed by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built are connected by about 400 bridges. In the old center, the canals serve the function of roads, and every form of transport is on water or on foot. In the 19th century a causeway to the mainland brought a railway station to Venice, and an automobile causeway and parking lot was added in the 20th century. Beyond these land entrances at the northern edge of the city, transportation within the city remains, as it was in centuries past, entirely on water or on foot. Venice is Europe's largest urban car free area, unique in Europe in remaining a sizable functioning city in the 21st century entirely without motorcars or trucks.

                                      

 

                                                                 

                  

                                                                                                                                   

 

                                                                                                                                                         

 

                                                                                                                                                

 

       

ITS REALLY AWESOME IN VENICE, NICE VIEW, NICE PEOPLE, NICE GLASS, NICE BOATS AND SO ON. VENICE IS THE SPEICAL PLACE I WANT TI BE HERE MORE AND ALSO THE GREAT VIEW WILL KEEP IN MY MIND FOREVER!! BTW I MET TWO AMRICAN LOVELY GIRLS IN THE BAR JUST BESIDE THE SQUARE, TO BE HONEST THEY ARE REALLY AMAZING  LMAO ...  AND I STILL CAN REMEMBER OF OT THEM GOT DRUNK AND KENNY PICK HER UP ADN TOOK BACK TO HER OWN HOTEL!! KL KL KL!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

                

 

 

                               

                                                                         

 

                                                                   

 

 

 

                                                                 

                                    

 

 

 

                                                                

 

 

   

 

 

                                   

 

 

        

 

                                   

 

 

 

 

 

PS: What a pity!!  Kenny is in UK but not Beijing!!

After three busy days in Roma, we arrived in Florence 13.06 and lived in B&H Hotels Diplomat/Via L.Alamanni which named four stars but its really bloody.. I don’t like it!!! In a word, am not very interest in the short stay in Florence….

But anyway, there is a must see – Gucci outlet …  lmao am I so silly ?? what I could remember now is the old bridge market and the Pizza, its really yummy and the girls there are so hot and friendly….and then I will post some nice pics as follow:

Um…..maybe I should do some work about the history of Florence firstly…

 

Florence is known as the “cradle of Renaissance” for its monuments, churches and buildings. The best-known site and crowning architectural jewel of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo. The magnificent dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. The nearby Campanile tower and the Baptistery buildings are also highlights. Both the dome itself and the campanile are open to tourists and offer excellent views; The dome, 600 years after its completion, is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world

At the heart of the city in Piazza della Signoria is Bartolomeo Ammanati's Fountain of Neptune, which is a masterpiece of marble sculpture at the terminus of a still functioning Roman aqueduct.

The Arno river, which cuts through the old part of the city, is as much a character in Florentine history as many of the men who lived there. Historically, the locals have had a love-hate relationship with the Arno — which alternated from nourishing the city with commerce, and destroying it by flood.

 

 

                

 

Facade and Campanile (bell tower) of Santa Maria del Fiore. The Baptistery can be seen in the right foreground.

One of the bridges in particular stands out as being unique — The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops built upon its edges, held up by stilts. The bridge also carried Vasari's elevated corridor linking the Uffizi to the Medici residence. First constructed by the Etruscans in ancient times, this bridge is the only one in the city to have survived World War II intact.

 

                    

 

Ponte Vecchio visto dal ponte di Santa Trinita

 

                   

 

                                               

       

 

                                                                     ampanileGiotto

 

 

                     

                                                               Crostini Toscani

 

 

 

Vatican City

The city of Rome surrounds the Vatican City, the enclave of the Holy See, which is a separate sovereign state. It hosts Saint Peter's Square with the Saint Peter's Basilica. The open space before the basilica was redesigned by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, from 1656 to 1667, under the direction of Pope Alexander VII, as a forecourt, designed "so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing, either from the middle of the façade of the church or from a window in the Vatican Palace"

In Vatican City there are also the Vatican Library, Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms and other important works of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Giotto, and Botticelli.                                                    

                          

                                                           St Peter's Square

                                      

                                                         St Peter's Square

 

                                         

 

 

BY THE WAY, I BOUGHT A CRUCIFIX IN VANTICAN CITY!!! GOD BLESS ME !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just be myself!!!                                                          

                              

 

                                                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

很多东西我们输不起，就请在最初的时候，学会珍惜.........

错过,多么残忍的字眼。 
请千万记得，
不要错过了回家的最后一趟公车， 
还有,爱的人。
一切都会过去的， 
但是一切也都会重来，不要怀疑。 
正如明天不一定会更好，但是更好的明天，一定会来。

 

爱，从来都没有捷径。 
偷工减料的爱，最终会崩塌，消散。 
亲爱的，请给我一份厚重的爱，好吗？

 

我是一个不怎么相信等待的人。等待地太久，总有厌倦的一天。 
堆积的厌倦，足以击溃最初的自负，最初的坚持，还有最初的爱。

因为在乎，所以害怕失去。 
其实害怕失去的原因远远不只在乎一项。 
因为不信任，因为不自信，因为对未知的恐惧…… 
我倒宁愿说，因为害怕，所以失去。

 

站在原地不能动弹，未必就是不好的。 
泡泡可以离开，但是离开后的泡泡就不是泡泡了。 
保持一个安全的姿态，蜷缩，仰望， 
原来天空竟如此刺眼。 
在爱里，离开，也许是为了更好的相聚。

 

分享，本来是个让人觉得愉悦的字眼。 
但是在爱的国度，人们又是如此地惧怕它。 
你可知道，有时候，不是容不下第三个人， 
只是容不下那颗已经变质的心。

 

记忆是照片，但是那张照片早已遗落在那个飘着细雨的早晨。 
你转身，我再见。 
我回首，你走远。 
我们何其幸运，
竟然能学会这样，安静地告别。

 

给你的爱一直很安静，安静到无声无息，安静到忘了自己。 
知道转身离开，我才明白，原来你一直是喜欢热闹的孩子， 
你要的，我给不起。

 

我们就这样，各自奔天涯…… 
当我们转身离开的时候，可不可以给我一个拥抱，还有一个微笑呢？ 
你好吗？ 我很好。 
你好吗？ 我还好。 
离开的时候，即使心有不甘，也要故做潇洒， 
如果爱没有了，至少还有我的骄傲。

什么时候才会真的觉得年华老去？ 
花期又会有多长？ 
我不知道， 
我只希望能够在我最美丽的时候遇见你。不论我是在牙牙学语，还是已经白发苍苍

我从来不相信谁离开了谁就活不下去，人们往往喜欢放大自己的情感，然后，连自己也被蒙蔽了。 
当然，在转身离开的时候，心会象开了一个缺口，那么空荡荡的，感受地到阵阵寒风来袭。 
最好的方法，其实是把伤口堵住。就象受伤的狮子一样，独自蜷缩在山洞里，默默疗伤，拒绝打扰。不要怀疑，他离开你了，不是因为你不够美丽聪慧，也不是因为你不够关心体贴他，仅仅是因为他不爱你了。 
即使有再来一次的机会，最后他仍然是会离开的。只是时间长短而已。

呵呵，我不知道是否抬起头，天空就会亮起来，但是我知道，如果一直低着头无论如何都不会亲眼看到蔚蓝的天空。 
希望并不是无所谓有，无所谓无的。 
如果连相信都不愿意给，那么只能是守着自己的可悲。 
就象奇迹，我们很少有人亲身经历过，可是我们仍然要选择相信。 
就象看电影，有人会很骄傲地说我看电影从来就没哭过，都是假的有什么好哭的。 
如果你从一开始就抱定它是假的心态，那么你看它又有什么意义呢？ 
你把它当娱乐，它也娱乐你。 
宛如人生，你游戏人生，人生也游戏你。

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ｓｔｒａｒｔｆｏｒｄ小镇并不大．．　　穿过一个小公园　到了莎士比亚的故居．．