George Washington's Mount Vernon | 華盛頓總統家

Living in Virginia satisfied UN’s passion for American history. We visited Montecello, home of Thomas Jefferson in the beginning of the year. This time we are visiting Mount Vernon, home of George Washington. I like Jefferson’s home, it was the OG smart home before Alexa. He installed a switch that allowed him to open his bedroom doors from his bed, an elevator that delivers wine from his cellar to the living room, and many other automated things. 

But I also adore the beautiful view of the Potomac river from Washington’s back porch, his farm and petting zoo. They said sometimes there are pigs on the property because Martha Washington enjoyed ham, but we didn’t see any pigs that day. 

At the end of the guided tour, I wanted to ask where is the cherry tree chopped down by George Washington, but UN and fellow visitors in our tour group asked many questions regarding Mount Vernon’s architecture and history. Next time you guys go, can you find out for me where the cherry tree is please?

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住維吉尼亞滿足UN對美國歷史的熱情。年初參觀Thomas Jefferson的家，這次參觀美國第一位總統華盛頓家。我愛Jefferson家，像是當時Alexa在家。房門直接能在床上打開，酒從酒庫運送到食堂，完全無需人傳遞。但我很愛Washington家外那片超美風景，後院有小型農場能和動物互動。園區人員說有時會有豬，但那天沒看到。

導覽人員解釋完，問我們有沒有問題時，我超想問華盛頓砍的那棵櫻桃樹在哪？UN跟同隊人問好多有關建築和歷史的問題，害我說不出口！你們有機會去時，可以幫我問一下嗎？謝謝！

Address: 3200 Mount Vernon Hwy, Mt Vernon, VA 22121
Website: www.mountvernon.org

Glenstone in Potomac, MD

You have to come here if  you love art, architecture, and nature.

One time I was reading a travel magazine that I didn’t end up buying (oops) at Whole Foods.  The magazine mentioned many spots to go, but Glenstone was the only place I was interested in.  However, 4-hour drive from Virginia Beach lost my interest very quick. 

They spent almost 5 years doing expansion, and only re-opened to public last year October.  Make sure you schedule the visit online since availability is limited.  It doesn’t get crowded, so you get to ask the staffs at Glenstone questions about the art pieces. The visitors here are so well read, some even know Taiwan history!

(Please scroll down for English translation.)

對藝術、建築、和自然景觀有興趣的人一定要來這！

有次在超市讀一本（沒買的）旅遊雜誌，裡面提到的景點，這裡我最有興趣。但回家後立刻忘記這地方，畢竟離我們家開車需要快四小時。去年年底開始檢視我地圖上的點時，才記得這裡也是清單之一。

花了五年擴張，2018年10月才重新開放。由於這裡一天不收超過400人，需要先上網預約。參觀人數不多，有任何關於作品的問題，這裡的工作人員能很仔細的講解。連參觀的人也超強，懂台灣歷史！

Glenstone
https://www.glenstone.org
12100 Glen Rd, Potomac, MD 20854

2019 Cuba

For English translation, please scroll down.

（從古巴回來了，卻適應不良中）
一場用盡我西語的旅行！第一天明明一早要買網路卡，卻跟當地人聊天聊到中午（西語有夠好！）世界超小，途中遇到一位香港人竟是我國小好友在加拿大的室友，也認識一對從美國來玩的情侶，還遇到正在環遊世界的台灣人，其中一人是台南人（同鄉耶！）

到古巴玩，除了朋友C和我的簽證小出錯，差點無法在Habana見面之外，整趟旅行都非常順利！在Habana用破西語尋找街頭小吃、在Viñales騎馬到山洞裡摸黑游泳玩泥巴（導遊對我們超好）和第一次抽雪茄、在Trinidad找到Lonely Planet介紹的秘密地方看小孩打棒球，還有超多好玩的事！

• 古巴簽證

  • 出發前我和朋友C（台灣護照有綠卡和美國護照）已經上網打電話和許多人確認簽證這問題，大家給的資訊全是到古巴買簽證（台灣護照）和在登機口買（美國護照），但我們在不同機場都被簽證問題攔下來。機場人員要求有簽證才能拿到登機證，但經過他們研究（臉都綠了），確認美國護照從美國出發在登機口買入境卡即可。而台灣護照從歐洲出發必須在入關前出示簽證！但資訊可能會變，去之前還是再三確認。

• 帶衛生紙和乾洗手

  • 相信我，你會用到的！除非你只待在高級飯店不出門！拜託記得！

• 合租車

  • 想到別的城市玩，除了巴士（建議先網絡訂票），可以搭類似Uber Pool概念的計程車。司機會到家門口接你，也不須凌晨出發，可以民宿老闆能幫你訂。

• 帶手電筒和雨傘

  • 在Viñales最後一晚遇到下雨停電（雖然每晚的跳舞活動取消），但整城一片漆黑也是一個很好玩的經驗！雨傘、頭燈超有用，而且到鐘乳石洞裡一片黑，非常需要照燈。

• 下載Maps.Me

  • 這app在網路不普及的古巴也太好用了吧！有點像地圖版Waze，每個人都能更新周遭資訊，而且連公車站牌都有編號（感謝某位旅客細心把站牌標示超清楚）！

• 買Lonely Planet旅遊書

  • 再次證明以後旅行要買Lonely Planet！太多小景點是網上無法找到的，但Lonely Planet全部告訴你，真的值得買啦！（竟然從不愛Lonely Planet到現在大推😬）

這大概是我第一次出門旅行寫一篇這麼長的文章吧！沒網路不滑手機真是不錯，路上一直有一堆奇怪話題（但手機顯示LTE好開心）！而且這些提醒都是我和朋友C在九小時車程裡想的，而且沒網路的生活就是歡樂，我們都聊天聊到燒聲了！

P.S. 每次來西語國家都很感謝我爸當初堅決要我修西班牙文，但也恨自己沒認真練下去！（等下要買Rosetta stone）
P.P.S. 請好好珍惜隨時能上網的生活！

(Came back home from Cuba, but having a bit of difficulty adjust to real life)

I’ve exhausted all of my Spanish vocabulary during this trip! On the first day we were supposed to buy internet card in the morning, but I spent most of the morning chatting with a local. Traveling makes me realize how small the world is. I met someone from Hong Kong who was roommate with my elementary school friend, a couple from the States, and a group of world travelers forms Taiwan, one of them is even from my hometown Tainan!

This Cuba trip was overall very smooth, except the minor hiccup with getting our visa that almost prevented my friend and I from meeting up in Havana. I used my limited Spanish to find food in the streets of Havana. We rode horses to a cavern and swam in there in Viñales. I tried my very first Cuban cigar. In Trinidad, we visited a place recommended by Lonely Planet to watch local kids play baseball. And so much more stories!!

• Have collective car

  • To get around from cities to cities, other than buses (buy tickets online), the other option is a taxi that is similar to Uber Pool. It’s a door to door service, and your AirBnB host can call them for you. 

• Bring tissue and sanitizer

  • Believe me, you will need it, unless you only plan on staying at high end resorts. 

• Cuba Visa

  • Be sure to find out well ahead of your visit how to get the proper visa to enter Cuba. For me, a US Passport holder traveling from United States, I need to purchase visa at the gate before leaving for Cuba. For my friend, a Taiwan passport holder traveling from Europe, she needed to purchase the visa in European airport. The rules are very confusing and you don’t want a visa problem to ruin your trip!

• Bring umbrellas and headlight/flashlight 

  • These will come in handy when you visit the very dark cavern. Also our last night in Viñales there was a power outage due to heavy rain. Although the nightly dancing was cancelled because of weather, a city in the dark was another exciting experience. 

• Download Maps.Me

  • This is especially useful in the internet-unstable Cuba. It’s like Waze, user input updates the map.me app. It even shows all the bus stops on the map. 

• Buy Lonely Planet ***not sponsored***

  • There are so many places that you can’t just google, but Lonely Planet has them. I haven’t been an avid Lonely Planet traveler, but not I’m a fan!

This is the first trip that I wrote such a long post for. Big thanks to unreliable internet. My friend and I talked about probably all the topics we could think of, serious ones and silly ones. My friend contributed to many of the above mentioned tips on our 9 hour bus ride. I lost my voice from all of our talking and laughing. 

P. S. Every time I visit a Spanish speaking country, I’m grateful for my dad’s insistence that I study Spanish. At the same time I wish I had paid more attention in class. (Gonna buy Rosetta Stone later)
P. P. S. Please cherish life with LTE! 

拜訪城市 | Cities We Visited

• Havana

• Viñales

• Trinidad