早陣子阿奇一行人到了英國爽了11天，回來也好一陣子，所以也是時候開始趕緊整理一下各類英國遊歷紀行，與大家分享，這次去英國的點頗多，主要大約有：奇切斯特 (Chichester)、倫敦、劍橋、愛丁堡、湖區、約克等地，說真的，在倫敦及劍橋等地的天氣不算甚好，為什麼要挑劍橋的聖約翰學院先寫？誰曉得，反正我對這個學院印象很好，也很有趣，就先寫了...
這座學院已有近五百年的歷史，而且也是劍橋第二大學院，沿著熱鬧的街道走經過三一學院就可以到達，我們原本也想參觀三一學院，但無奈的是當天竟然不對外開放，只好作罷，還好在三一學院外牆有見到鼎鼎大名的牛頓蘋果樹，相傳是當年砸到牛頓那棵從而發現了地心引力，不過據了解當年那顆樹早已經掛了，現在這顆是同品種在數十年前重種的。
▲竟然... 有一顆蘋果自蘋果樹砸到oo的頭，不知道會不會有什麼啟發？
過了蘋果樹後不久就會見到古老聖約翰學院的正門，不免俗在此還是來一張全景照，這個學院門票收費不貴，一個人3.2磅（幾乎每個學院都要收錢了，除非你是學生...），如果你還嫌貴，那麼在劍橋可能會錯失很多漂亮地方，在外面逛一下然後就回去了，而且很多學院都是十分值得入內一遊。
▲聖約翰學院的正門全景照
進入學院後，首先映入眼簾的是漂亮的禮拜堂，剛好太陽公公的很賞面的小露一下，令禮拜堂更為漂亮，其實除了禮拜堂漂亮之外，英國這邊很多地方的綠色草地都漂亮得很，但要注意在學院中的草地多是不能踐踏的，一般公園的就可以。回到這個禮拜堂身上，其實漂亮的不只有他的外觀，他的內裡也是不錯的，古典且有漂亮的彩色玻璃窗，頗為漂亮，但很可惜的是禮拜堂內不能拍照，所以有機會請大家自行到此觀看了。
▲漂亮的禮拜堂
▲漂亮禮拜堂的背面
參觀完禮拜堂，沿著動線繼續走，穿過一些古典建築物之後，後快就會接下來的一些重點...
▲Shrewsbury Tower
▲Shrewsbury Tower的大門口
▲就是這個鐵閘，過了之後...
過了剛才的鐵閘之後，就會見到十分有名的~~~唉~~~~唉~~~~~~ 嘆息橋 (Bridge of Sighs)，從鐵閘出來那條廚房橋 (Wren Bridge, 應該沒認錯吧) 上看嘆息橋及新院 (New Court) 的角度十分好，也可以見到很多人在康河上玩撐篙 (Punting)，這之後再說吧，但很可惜的，太陽公公自從禮拜堂前露臉之後就沒再出現過了。
▲嘆息橋與新院
走過廚房橋後居然見到有人x派，噢，不，是露天婚禮！外國人的派對都是大家站著手上拿杯飲料，然後就在聊天社交，在漂亮的草地上，背景還有典雅的新院，這場婚禮派對實在是夢幻得很，而且新郎帥、新娘美，有幸碰到這特別事件覺得十分愉快，不知是不是這邊的學生呢？
▲露天婚禮派對
▲新郎帥、新娘美
新院的建築似乎十分對稱，而且規模十分廣大。
▲新院的全景照
▲想知道新院到底有高大，從這張照片看看我弟、媽及阿姨與之的比例就知道了
不知道你從剛剛的照片有沒有發現新院上有個圓圓的「空白」處？由造型看像不像是該放時鐘的地方？是的，在新院鐘樓是有四面空白的位置，為什麼會空白？這邊我們由Punting時有聽過一些傳說故事，後來在Wikipedia上查到更多解釋，先節錄下來與各位分享：
New Court's central cupola has four blank clock-faces. These are subject to various apocryphal explanations. One legend maintains that a statute limiting the number of chiming clocks in Cambridge rendered the addition of a mechanism illegal. No such limitation is known to exist. More likely explanations include Hutchinson's fear that the installation of a clockface would spoil the building's symmetry, and that the college's financial situation in the early nineteenth century made completion impossible.
Other legends explaining the absence of clockfaces claim that St John's College and its neighbour, Trinity College, were engaged in a race to build the final (or tallest) clocktower in Cambridge. Supposedly, whichever was finished first (or was tallest) would be permitted to house the 'final' chiming clock in Cambridge. Trinity's Tower was finished first (or, in another version of the same story, was made taller overnight by the addition of a wooden cupola), and its clock was allowed to remain.
In truth, the completion of New Court and Trinity's Clock (which is in King Edward's Tower) was separated by nearly two centuries. Trinity's famous double-striking was installed in the seventeenth century by its then-Master, Richard Bentley, a former student of St John's, who dictated that the clock chime once for Trinity, and once for his alma mater, St John's.
簡單的說，第一個傳說是劍橋有限制全部學院的總體鐘配置的數目，這解釋實在有點唬爛，而且似乎已被證實根本不存在這樣的限制；第二個傳說是有人擔心裝了鐘會破壞這棟建築物的對稱性，這個還有點道理，第三個傳說是財務出了點狀況，這也太扯了吧，連幾個鐘都買不起？其他的傳說或說明請大家自行看看上段或連結囉。
▲新院上「不見」的時鐘
進入新院過了中庭出來的場景不知你有沒有印象？如果我再提示一下，是一部十年共拆成八集拍攝的電影，這樣說你知道了嗎？就是哈利波特電影中其中一個場景，一開始入學練習飛天掃把的場地，所以好奇心重的oo也找了根掃把在場景中練習，竟然成功了（誤）。還有在新院中的迴廊你看照片有印象嗎？那就是他們下課時經過的學校走廊，十分有趣。
▲oo在聖約翰院書院中習得騎飛天掃把技能。
▲哈利他們下課時經過的學校走廊
穿過迴廊後就會到達剛剛提名很有名的唉~~~~唉~~~~~~ 嘆息橋，為什麼這條橋有個這麼奇怪的名字？一些說法可以在Wikipedia上找到，先節錄如下：
The Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge is a covered bridge belonging to St John's College of Cambridge University. It was built in 1831 and crosses the River Cam between the college's Third Court and New Court. The architect was Henry Hutchinson.
It is named after the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, although they have little architecturally in common beyond the fact that they are both covered. The bridge is one of Cambridge's main tourist attractions and Queen Victoria is said to have loved it more than any other spot in the city.
A common myth states that it was the students who named this bridge "bridge of sighs," as the context of its existing within the college grounds means that the "sighs" are those of pre-exam students. This belief probably has much to do with the function of the bridge--linking two quadrangles of St John's College together in a covered path, as opposed to Kitchen Bridge, which is an open-air bridge. Students are rumoured for their sighs on proceeding from their quarters on the Backs to the tutor's offices in the main college quadrangle.
反正有人覺得是考試考不好時的嘆息聲，又有人覺得與愛情有關，反正不論事實是什麼，都無損這條橋的優雅。
▲唉~~~~唉~~~~~~ 下一篇文章什麼時候才會寫呢
謝謝賞文，下一篇會寫什麼？什麼時間出？這個就... (溜)
