咖啡和安娜

咖啡和安娜

墨尔本是个咖啡天堂。在那，我养成了泡咖啡馆的习惯。有时，和朋友在那高谈阔论。有时，喜欢一个人，静静地喝咖啡，看报纸，读小说，发呆，晒晒太阳，看路人，看妈妈们带小孩们出来走走．．．总爱赖在那儿不走。

在多伦多，少泡咖啡馆了，冬天时更不用说。天天零下十度左右，没必要的话，出门嘛，可免则免。

以前在墨尔本时，13 或14度就会喊冷。现在，温度如攀上零度以上，我已觉得是一种幸福。这一，两天，是零上的温度，太阳偶尔也会冒出头来。我拿着《安娜．卡列尼娜》，走去附近的咖啡馆，做我以前喜欢做的．．．

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鼠年(08)回顾 2008 Review

马来西亚家人朋友 (1月 和 6月)

Dear English readers, please scroll down for English translation.

阳历年时忙考试，没回顾我在08年做了什么。
现在，试考了，农历年过了，回头看看，鼠年可真多姿多彩。

这两年来日子都很漂泊，去年可说是‘四海为家’的顶峰：-
在马来西亚和澳洲各住了三个月，其余的六个月则在加拿大。

和Ed在马旅游 (2月)

1月 – 大马
回马做家里的大小姐。
在爸爸店里帮忙和学习。
天天去巴刹，到处吃吃吃。

2月 – 大马
Ed第一次来马，第一次见家长。
我俩背包游新加坡，吉隆坡，槟城，马六甲和浮罗交怡。
Ed回加国工作，我回澳洲工作。

澳洲的朋友 (3月 - 5月)

3月 – 澳洲
上班。和一位好朋友住。
放工回家就和朋友追港剧。
很高兴和很多朋友相聚。
喝我爱喝的意大利咖啡和比利时热巧克力，
吃我爱吃的eggs benedict早餐。

4月 – 澳洲
继续上班。
搬进一间有三房，却只有一张床和一张椅子的公寓。
没有网络。看了很多英文小说。

寂寞的公寓　(澳洲)

5月 – 澳洲
如4月。

6月 – 大马
回马。如1月。

多伦多 (7月 - 12月)

7 月 – 加国
回加国。见到Ed给他一个大拥抱 ：“亲爱的，好久没见”。
享受我在加国的第一夏天。

8月 – 加国
阳光继续普照。每个周末尽情欢享。
Ed告诉我，我煲的汤和煮的东西已可以见人。Yay !
我这大小姐开始认真做好家务。

多伦多 (7月 - 12月)

9月 – 加国
啊！结婚吧！

10月 – 加国
开始发闷。不如去学喝茶和学泡茶吧。

Hey 先生，来个胜利手势吧 ! (多伦多)

11月 – 加国
好冷。
决定参加考试，

12月 – 加国
好冷。
拼命苦读。
圣诞和新年快乐！

多伦多　(7月 - 12月)

1月 – 加国
试考了，年过了。
2009 牛年要做什么好呢 ? ……

With Family & friends in Malaysia (Jan & Jun)

I was very busy with exam during the New Year, did not get the chance to review my 2008 year. Exam is finally over and (Chinese) New Years came and gone, finally, I have the time to sit down, to reflect on my 2008 year. Looking back, it was indeed a great and interesting year.

For the past two years, I have been dividing my times between Malaysia, Australia and Canada, and last year was my most traveled and drifting year. I lived 3 months each in Malaysia and Australia, the rest of the six months in Canada.

Traveled with Ed in Malaysia (Feb)

Jan – Malaysia
Went back to Malaysia and be pampered like a princess at home by my lovely family.
Learned from my father and helped out in his shop.
Went to pasar often and fully enjoyed the famous delicious street food !

Feb – Malaysia
Ed visited Malaysia for the first time and met my parents for the first time.
We traveled in Singapore, KL, Penang, Malacca and Langkawi.
Ed headed back to Canada, while I went back to Australia.

With friends in Australia ((Mar - May)

Mar – Australia
Went back to work. Stayed with a good friend.
Hong Kong TV series was our favourite passtime together after work.
So happy to catch up with many good friends in Oz.
Drunk my favourite Italian coffee and Belgium hot chocolate;
ate my favourite eggs benedict breakfast.

Apr – Australia

Continued to work.
Moved into a huge 3 bedroom condominium, however,
you won’t believe I only lived with a folding bed and a chair in the condo.
No Internet. Read many novels.

Lonely apartment

May – Australia
Same as April.

Jun – Malaysia
Went back to Malaysia.
Same as January.

Toronto (July - Dec)

Jul – Canada
Went back to Canada.
Gave Ed a big hug, ‘Darling, long time no see! ‘
Enjoyed my first summer in Canada.

Aug – Canada
Went to nearly all summer street festivals and events.
Surprisingly, Ed started to praise my cooking ! Yay!
Finally, I had been better with housework.

Toronto (2) (July - Dec)

Sep – Canada
Let’s get married dear !

Oct – Canada
Started to feel bored and restless. So attended Tea Sommelier classes.

Hey dude, you gonna have fun in summer ! (Canada)

Nov – Canada
So cold !
Decided to sit for exam.

Dec – Canada
So cold !!
Studied unbelievably hard for the exam.
Happy Christmas and New Year !

Jan – Canada
Exam is over, new years came and gone.
What am I going to do in 2009 ? …..

Toronto (3) (July - Dec)

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静静地过年

团圆饭

今年的农历新年来得比往年安静。

记得，前年第一次在加拿大过新年时，还会跑去什么最大型的农历新年庆典凑热闹，也会开电视找华人新年节目看看。

今年，除了那件大红上衣，我可是什么都懒得做。可能是刚考完试，紧张的心情还未平复。还好，去年，我和Ed在马来西亚和家人过，总算热闹了一年。今年，静静地，也好。

不过，团圆饭当然还是不可少。就如前年一样，Ed的父母为我们准备了一顿丰富的晚餐。

Ed这半个鬼佬终于开始了解一些华人传统。要回家吃饭，也不再诸多推辞。他这个人以前是很怕华人礼节风俗的麻烦的。不过，吃了饭后，他还是自个儿到地下室看电视。

今天大年初一，Ed去上班，我在家上网。年又过了．．．

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夜，亮了…

冬天时，尤其是一场大雪后，很喜欢在多伦多市的街上走走。

因为，觉得这里的夜晚，特别光亮。

天是黑沉沉的，不过，城市是闪亮的。

犹记得，我第一次发现这个现象时，是2006年年尾．圣诞刚过。我的第一个白色冬天。

那时，我们刚看完一场电影，已近凌晨。

一走出戏院时，突然发现，夜，好像没黑下来。

我这个热带国家长大的女孩，哪会明白其中的道理。

也不想去思考，只想欣赏，像小孩一样眼睛瞪大大，不停惊叹，‘好亮，好亮！’。

Ed解释说：“大地铺了一层厚厚的白雪。白色，反照所有的街灯，建筑物的灯和圣诞灯饰。明吗？”。

“啊！”　给他一个拥抱，我继续在街上蹦跳。

他摇头，“都不知你怎么进理科班的。”

X     X     X     X     X     X

昨晚，从图书馆走出来时，发现，夜，又亮了．．．

那时，暂不想考试，我心情舒畅．

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好冷…

今天，平均温度才四度！

风刮得很大…

好冷好冷….

冬天要来了…

我好像见到到雪花飘落….

希望只是因为我眼花….

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今晚是白色的夜晚 Nuit Blanche

最近几天很多人找有关Nuit Blanche 的资料找到这里来。

嗯，今晚就是Nuit Blanche （即白色的夜晚）了。

如果，你正在考虑要不要去，我推荐你去看一看。

有些东西是蛮有趣的。

很多艺术馆，展览馆，大学等，会免费公开给大众。

趁机会到建筑内走走也好。

那，今晚见了！ 🙂

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货车内的乐队 Band in a Truck

It is a truck and a band

前晚，在Annex一带的大街上，我们见到一队三人乐队（两个吉他手和一个鼓手）在一辆大货车内玩音乐表演。货车内有完整的drum set和音响设备，还有简单的灯光！超有创意！

街上挤满了人群，有些兴奋得跳起舞来，或高声尖叫，就好像真的是一场音乐会。街上车辆继续往来，大家虽吵嚷，可也很守本分。

本来该去吃晚饭的，怎知他们的音乐实在是好到不得了，加上是我们喜欢的音乐 （Pulp Fiction 和 Kill Bill 类型的音乐），我连肚子空空也没知觉。听得起劲时，我们站在街边和大家一起大大声叫嚷鼓掌。真的很过瘾！

这时，我问Ed，他们这样做，需申请准证吗？街边‘开音乐会’有点阻碍交通吧？Ed说，警察来，他们就跑为上着啰！

多伦多真是个充满创意的城市。多留意，处处有新点子。

we are the fans !!

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再见夏天….Bye bye, Summer…

Bye bye summery beach days .....(Sandbank Park Beach)

好日子过得特别快。

夏天终于正式结束。

今天是秋天的第一天。

不过，这几天的天气特好。

虽不至于可以去沙滩晒太阳，

不过天天sunny, 二十度到二十三度左右，

坐在咖啡厅外喝咖啡看书最好。

Yesterday was the last day of summer, and today marks the official start of autumn (Torontonians call it Fall). The good times always fly much quicker than any other time, isn’t it?

Strangely, the weather for the last few days have been beautiful – sunny everyday, about 20-23 degree celcius each day. Though not good enough for a swim or a tan at the beach, it is definitely perfect for a cup of warm coffee at the patio. At least, this is the right temperature I like.

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异国中秋

最近几天，很多网友找‘中秋节’或 ‘happy mid-autumn festival’的文章时，无意间来到我这个部落。

每逢佳节倍思亲。如今，在外国生活或工作的华人越来越多。在中秋时节，上网看看其他华人如何在异国过中秋来解解乡愁是可以明白的。不知找到我这里来的网友多是哪里的朋友呢？看来，他们有点想家吧？

小时候的我很爱中秋- 吃月饼，点灯笼，玩腊烛游戏…马来西亚的中秋气氛还算浓厚。那么，现在的我呢？今天是中秋，我怎么在多伦多庆祝呢？

在多伦多，是没什么中秋气氛的。我是在去华人经营的杂货店买东西时，看到很多月饼，才惊觉中秋将近。 墨尔本的情况一样。不同的是，在墨尔本，我有很多华人朋友。有几年，刚好大家空闲时，会搞个中秋晚会或大吃会。

在多伦多，我们没有熟识的华人朋友。Ed的家人在这里住得久了，已没有庆中秋。

至于月饼，虽然我很爱吃（尤其是脆皮的上海月饼！），可也懒得买了。在墨尔本，有散卖的月饼，就算没和朋友庆中秋，我也会买一，两个来吃。这里呢，我没看到散卖的。要买就是必须整盒买。Ed不爱甜的食物，虽然我其实可以将整盒月饼一个人吃完。可是，才不敢呢！很怕自己变成大肥猪！看来，要等到下个周末，去Ed父母家吃饭时，我们才买一盒月饼一起吃吧。

今天中秋，虽有点冷清清，不过，我也习惯了。我和Ed呆在家里看电视，煮饭吃，悠闲自在，也很快乐。虽没月饼，没灯笼，我们一样有圆圆的月亮！

嗯…今晚，我必须记得摇个电话给妈妈！

还有，当然是祝大家中秋快乐！

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….it happened yesterday….

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Festivals for Everything ! (Part 2)

Outdoor Art Festival at Nathan Phillips Square

除了以上提到的，还有很多很多，如Carabina Festival 啦，南亚节庆啦，户外艺术品节 (上图）, Hot and Spicy Festival ， 手工艺品节, 台湾美食节，沙滩爵士音乐节， 应有尽有。

竟然还有街头表演者的街头节庆，有些街头艺术者还山长水远地从英国，澳洲, 日本等国来表演。我在那溜了整天，看惊险的杂耍，看小丑讲笑，喝咖啡，听拉活音乐…..又刺激又写意。

Apart from what I mentioned above, there are also Carabian Festival, South Asia Festival, Outdoor Art Festival，HOt and Spicy Festival, Art and Craft Festival, Taiwan Festival, The Beach Jazz Festival….you name it, you get it.

I was excited to know there is also a street festival for street performers/buskers, it is called BuskerFest here. Some of performers came all the way UK, Australia, Japan etc. I spent a full day there, laughed at the jokes from street comedians, watched jaw-dropping fire juggling, listened to live music, sipped my afternoon cup of coffee….both thrilling and relaxing…

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Festivals for Everything !! (Part 1)

the cooks and their food at Salsa Street Festival

夏天在加拿大是很‘珍贵‘的季节。一年才这三，四个月的阳光，所以，这里的人争取所有机会享受阳光，找尽所有藉口来庆祝。 夏季的每个周末，都有数不完的节目。最普遍的是街头美食节。

加国是个多元文化的国家。各国各种族的人多会聚住在同一地区。所以，街头美食节多在某种族聚住的地区，并带有其色彩。

如我家附近曾是意大利人聚住的地方，所以这里有个意大利街头美食节。不过，这十多年来，很多意大利人已渐渐搬去其他地区。反而，多了很多加勒比海人和拉丁美洲人。所以，这里在三，四年前开始举办Salsa Street Festival。

Summer is precious here in Canada. Well, it is not hard to understand that, it is the only 3-4 months sunny days Canadians will have for the whole year. Canadians will take every opportunity to enjoy the sunshine, and will make every excuses to go under the sun.  Nearly every weekend is jam-packed with many festivals, shows and activities. One of the most popular events in Toronto is street festivals.

Canada is a multicultural country. It is common that some particular ethic groups live in particular areas, like the Chinatown, Little India etc. Hence, the street festival for a particular culture will most likely be held in that area.

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奥运后…

昨天，看完了北京奥运的闭幕典礼后，我和Ed去Yonge & Eglinton 吃早餐。

早餐后，我们看到近二十多辆年轻华人驾驶的车辆，车前车后上下左右，光荣地挂上中国国旗。他们在大街上一排开二十多辆车浩浩荡荡地驶上驶下。

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沙。暴雨。露营 Camping with Sands and Storms

Giant sand dunes with clear blue sky

在夏季，好像所有的加拿大人都会去露营。因为，如果现在不去，接下来就没机会了。

连读五，六年，我们的朋友 ，DM和 LM都不会放过夏季这个难得的露营季节。今年当然也不例外，定了一个星期的营地。听说，DM在六个月前就要上网预定。因为，他们要去的省公园Sandbanks是很热门的一个露营地。不早定，就肯定会失望。

By the camp fire. I was already in my PJ !

Ed呢，很狡猾。‘难度高‘的东西(早上7点爬起身来上网预定）让DM做。他就坐享其成，在他们露营的那个星期去‘探望’他们。 那我们就可以‘顺道‘露营两，三天了。

Sandbank公园离多伦多两个半小时车程，不算远。上路前，我们已听说天气不佳。虽明知下雨露营很没趣，可是不想错失机会，也累了城市生活，还是不管三七二十一，要‘勇敢‘地接触大自然。我们在星期五晚抵达。建好了露营的帐篷后，LM盛了美酒，起了营火，迎接我们。那晚，我们在满天星星下熟睡。

Our cozy kitchen tent

第二天，天气一点都不是天气预象台预测地糟糕。相反的，出奇地好。吃了丰富的早餐后，他们要带我到著名的沙丘堆见识见识。有些沙丘高至五，六十尺不等。这么大的沙丘，我还真是头一次见。我们一座一座沙丘地爬。还好，天气不太热，加上阵阵凉风，我也算有体力‘征服‘它们。这时，我想到我要去撒哈拉沙漠的年少无知的梦想。突然，觉得好遥远，也好像没那么振奋人心了。

爬沙丘爬累了，我们就到沙滩休息休息。在Sandbanks, 顾名思义，当然大部分的活动都与沙有关。我和LM难得清静地坐在沙滩上看看书，Ed 和DM则在暖暖‘湖‘水内游泳，。这时，我们已知道白天的好天气是假象。因为，预像台说，狂风暴雨会在夜晚降临。不敢久呆在沙滩， 我们提早回营地准备晚餐。

Yummy BBQ ribs !

露营嘛，哪可少了烧烤。排骨，牛扒，玉蜀黍，等，总之什么可以放在火上烤的，我们都放在火上烤。饱餐后，又是美酒加营火。可是，今晚就没那么逍遥了。 喝着红酒时，我们见到天上远处，闪电打亮了天际。渐渐地，越来越逼近。我们知大事不妙。赶紧收拾好，就躲进帐篷内‘避难‘。

那晚，就在我们的头上，雨唏哩哗啦地下，闪电轰隆隆地响。从没在狂风暴雨下露营的我在帐篷内担心 ：‘我们的帐篷建在大树下。闪电噼啪砍大树的话….’ Ed接下去说 : ‘那我们就完蛋啦！‘ 虽然如此，一天排满的活动把我累坏了。来不及多胡思乱想，我就倒头呼呼大睡了。

星期天早上，我被鸟叫声吵醒。大地一片潮湿。快快吃了早餐，清理好一切，带着已湿透了的用具，和装了很多沙的帐篷，我们向Sandbank 说，明年再见。

It is (still) summer here ! During summer, everyone goes to camp. Well, if you don’t do it now, you may not have any other time for the rest of the year.

Friends of ours have been camping in Sandbanks Provincial Park for the last 5 to 6 years. Being the only rare time that is ‘practical’ for camping, DM has to book at least 6 months ahead, and have to wake up at 7am to go online for the booking. Yup, it is that popular here. This year, it is no difference, DM and LM have booked for a week long camping in Sandbanks Provincial Park.

Climb two steps and slide back one step

Ed being cheeky, he takes the advantages of letting them to do the hard work (booking), and we joined them for a couple of days during that week.

So, we went last weekend – DM and LM’s last two days at the camp site. Unfortunately, the forecast was not great at all. Yet, we still went because we have not been out of the city since I came back. Tired of city life and needing a nature dose, we packed and soldiered on.

Sandbanks Provincial Park is only about 2.5 hours from Toronto. We arrived on Friday night. After setting up the tent, we finished our day with a few glasses of wine with DM and LM by the camp fire.

Was the tent sturdy enough for the rain storm?

The next day, supposed to rain, instead we had a gorgeous weather. They took me this newbie to the famous sand dunes. Some dunes are as tall as 50-60 feet. Never saw giant sand dunes before, I was amazed. We were lucky that the day was not too hot and had constant refreshing breezes. Hence, I survived well with the climbing of giant sand dunes. However, imaging myself going to Sahara dessert (one of my many wild dreams) climbing even larger sand dunes under the fierce sun, does not excite me like before anymore.

After visiting the sand dunes, we thought we deserved more sands, and some relaxing times. We went to a beach within the Park. Weather surprisingly was holding up for us. LM and I read, Ed and DM went for a swim.

Ed tried to shake off the sands in the tent

Knowing there would be a rain storm coming overnight. We did not stay at the beach too long. We went back to our camp, cooked a big feast (BBQ ribs, steak, BBQ corn and other veggies) and tried to enjoy more wines and camp fire before the storm.

At about 10pm, we could see lightning lightening up the sky somewhere far from us . Slowly, the lightning is moving closer to us and we knew up it was time to pack up and hide in our tents as quickly as possible.

It was my first time to camp in a storm. The frequency of strong lightning, the powerful wind and the amount of rain above our tent were not funny. We camped under the trees and I was worried what would happen if the trees struck by the lightning. ‘If it happened we would be dead.’ Ed said. Yup, he likes to do that to me. No matter how worried I was, after a full day of activities, I still slept sound.

I woke up by the singing of the birds next morning. Everything was wet and soaked. We quickly had our breakfast, then cleaned up, and went home with lots of sands in our wet tents and in our shoes. It is indeed a real experience with the nature.

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Summerlicious 夏季美食盛会

在多伦多，每逢夏季，超过百间中上级的餐馆都会参与由American Express举办约两个星期的Summerlicious。 ‘licious’ 源自 ’delicious‘ ，即美味的意思。

Summerlicious 的特征是，所有参与的餐馆会各自设计出一个固定的套餐( 例子见文底）给来参与Summerlicious 的顾客。最值得的是，收价会比平常低。这过百间的餐馆当中有些是很高级的。我这种平凡人平时是吃不起的 （除了在Summerlicious 🙂 ）。因为，不管餐馆多高级，如要参与Summerlicious的话，晚餐收费都在每人35加币或以下，午餐会更便宜。

我和Ed当然不会错过这个大饱口福的机会。可是，我俩为了选餐馆而大伤脑筋。中级的餐馆，不算便宜到那里去。太高级的，虽划算，可是我们怕会格格不入。毕竟，我们扮不出高贵的样子，也不想吃得周身不自在。开心时，不想把声音压得低低的。所以，最后，我们选了一间中上级的 – Fuzion。

photo from http://www.restaurantstoronto.com

我们认识一对夫妇常向我们赞这餐馆有多好就有多好。可是，一餐两人一吃就百多两百元。所以，他们也是久久才去一次。我和Ed就乘这机会去尝尝。三道菜（前餐，主餐和甜品， 饮料另算）的晚餐，一人35加币，不算太贵。

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