Perseverance

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You will pass through storms,

and you may suffer defeat.

The essence of the creative life, however,

is to persevere in the face of defeat

and follow the rainbow within your heart.

~ Daisaku Ikeda

《幸福》- 小天鹅的故事

在英国的春天，威尔斯南部的卡迪夫，有一个叫罗芙的天鹅湖。

这天的天气真不错，许多天鹅在湖上悠闲地游来游去。

人们在湖畔散步，

也有人在湖边搭起营帐钓鱼。

傍晚，天鹅妈妈带着它七个小宝贝出来玩。

瞧！一只小天鹅骑在妈妈的背上，它多神气啊！

妈妈的背又柔又软，好舒服哦。

另一只小天鹅看见了，说：我也要骑在妈妈的背上......

小天鹅说：“不行，是我先来的......”

于是，小天鹅们开始纷纷议论：

“为什么只有它可以骑在妈妈的背上？”，

“这不公平呀......"

天鹅妈妈说：“好，好，你们别吵，大家轮流，一个一个来。”

过了不久，天鹅妈妈忽然发现少了一只小天鹅：

“一、二、三、四、五，一只在背上，还有一只小天鹅呢？”

原来天鹅妈妈的翅膀里，还躲着一只小天鹅在睡觉呢。

单车

好多年没有骑单车了。以前在新加坡，只有去到东海岸公园时才有机会骑，那也是很久很久以前的事了。每次骑单车时，我都会想起七、八十年代邓妙华唱的《我骑着一部单车》：

我骑着一部单车啊哈哈要到那个尽头

没有人陪伴我，啊哈我却不寂寞

青山绿水鸟语花香，风光多美好

渡过小桥，越过原野，心中多快乐

这是我最近买的一部单车，约70英镑，以后也可以骑它去上课。

天气好的时候，WG就会骑单车到大学上班。有时我们也到附近的公园骑车，算是一种运动。

虽然这天的太阳相当猛烈，但吹来的风还是非常凉快。尤其在一片绿荫下，更是感觉到阵阵沁心的凉意。

Power of Good Within

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The struggle between happines and unhappiness is the story of human existence. The struggle between peace and war is the history of the human race. The power that leads us to eternal victory amid these struggles is the power of good within us.

~ Daisaku Ikeda

Dunraven Bay

We didn't know that just within 30 mins drive away from Cardiff, there is such a beautiful beach until recently we learnt about it from Samantha's blog.

This day, WG had been doing research the whole afternoon, so we decided to take a break in the evening. Weather was good, so we quickly packed some sandwiches and drove to Southerndown.

Dunraven Bay, Southerndown

Glarmogan Heritage Coast

As We drove through the village, we were greeted by the beautiful shoreline scenery. We parked at the top of a hill, and walked down the embankment and looked out to the coastline. The views were simply spectacular!

Look at this dramatic layered cliffs, they were formed by series of limestone beds within the Jurassic age millions years ago! The rock platform beneath the cliffs cut by wave action is awash at high tide.

悬崖下有很多又圆又大的石头，看起来有点像恐龙蛋。

我们走到沙滩上，奇怪的是沙滩上看不到螃蟹、

蚌壳或其他海洋生物的踪影。

已经是傍晚七点半了，沙滩上弄潮的人儿纷纷离去。

在沙滩上呆了一阵子，天空忽然暗了下来。

离开了沙滩，我们走到另一个山坡，天空又亮了起来，四周一片翠绿。我们就在满地小黄花的山坡上，一边吃三文治，一边欣赏美丽的景色。

WG不敢靠近悬崖，他说危险，原来他有惧高症啊！

我们离开时开始涨潮，沙滩不见了，

海浪重复着千百年来的习惯，不断拍打着岸边的岩石。

已经是八点半了，太阳还没下山呢。

SGI European Centre

From the map, we can see that Trets, where the SGI European Centre located, is not very far away from Aix-en-Provence. Although we did not have the exact address of the centre, we decided to drive to Trets and try our luck, as it is such a rare opportunity for us to be in South of France.

When we arrived in Trets, the town was so quiet, and even the Tourist Office was closed for lunch hour. Fortunately, with my limited French, we manage to get helps from a lady who gave us the direction to the centre. Eventually we found our way and arrived at this very big SGI European Centre.

This is the main building of the centre. In front, there is a foutain in the shape of the lotus flower petals.

At the back of the main building, there is big field where you can have a magnificent view of the mountain. Yes, that is Mt Saint Victoire.

On this day, there was a training course for 150 Italian members from Bologna.

Maison de l'Europe (House of Europe), this is where the canteen and the accommodation located.

寻找薰衣草

提到普鲁旺斯，就让人想起薰衣草。可惜五月不是薰衣草的花期，普鲁旺斯的朋友说六月底七月再来吧。但我还是不死心，看不到盛开的薰衣草，但总还可以看一看它生长的样子吧。于是我们根据旅游局提供的资料，买了一张当地的地图，开车到约80公里外的Luberon山区寻找薰衣草。

根据地图我们先抵达这个叫Lourmarin的小镇。

我们在开车往Saignon途中找到的薰衣草！虽然无法看到一大片盛开紫色的薰衣草，但我还是很兴奋！后来抵达Saignon，看到这个建筑在山崖上美丽的小镇，真是不虚此行。

你是否可以想象薰衣草盛开的季节时满园紫色的美景？

这就是Saignon。我的几个来自普鲁旺斯的朋友都没听说过这个小镇，我们却能自己依照地图开车来到这里，你说我们是不是几厉害一下，哈哈!

普鲁旺斯是著名的旅游胜地，但她一点都不商业化。我发现除了明信片，这里没有专门制作来让游客掏腰包的纪念品，例如印上普鲁旺斯地名或图片的衣服、钥匙圈、笔或相框之类有用没用的东西（其实在许多地方，这些纪念品大多数是中国制造的）。甚至连薰衣草的香包，我还是后来在马赛机场才买到的呢。

虞美人

这些酷似罂粟的花叫做虞美人（Poppy），别名赛牡丹、小种罂粟花。虞美人和罂粟同属一科，是比利时的国花。

这次到普鲁旺斯（Provence）刚好是虞美人的花期，所以到处都可以看到虞美人，在草地上、马路边、房子周围、斜坡上、乡间野外、都少不了它的踪影。尤其是在空旷的野地，一大片的虞美人毫无忌惮地生长，煞是好看。

比利时的佛兰德斯是世界第一次战时最残酷血腥的战场之一，虞美人是少数能在战场上满是炮灰的地上生长的花朵。在花开期间，鲜红似血的虞美人成群结队地怒放，将原本已是血流成河的战场再染上一片鲜红，也为战后一片荒芜的废墟带来生命。因此虞美人花被用来悼念在一战时战亡的士兵们。在许多英联邦国家和美国，在纪念大战结束时，人们常会佩戴用纸或塑料制成的虞美人以悼念在战争中牺牲的战士。

Grands Marché in Aix

The Aix en Provence markets animate the town with colours and noises. In the shadows of big umbrellas the market gardeners display their fruits and vegetables. It is also the place where people from Aix meet and talk. The "big" markets of Aix take place three times a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays) in the city center squares. All year round, a charming market with greengrocers who attract not only the housekeepers and the restaurants' chefs, but also the tourists who can find typical pictures to take. (Source from Aix-en-Provence tourism office)

看了让人垂涎欲滴的水果。　

有人在假装选菜。

好大的法国面包！

在这里发现法国人原来也吃咸鱼。

这些腊肠看起来跟家里的很像，可是经过这个摊位时，一股异味扑鼻而来.....

看到这个，我好想吃新加坡的咖哩卜。 这里可以买到各种各样的香料。 法国人也用八角做菜。 好大的番茄干 这是放鸡蛋托盘， 多漂亮！真想买一个回去。

“ 妈妈，我想要这个篮子。”