Night Starter
Winter 15/16 has just begun and no better way to get the pre-season anxiety out than a quick night run.
LONDON / CHINATOWN
I don't think it's possible for me to now visit London without making at least one trip to Chinatown. What can I say, I love my pork buns!
During the week while we were here, it rained a handful of times but fortunately they were all light sprinkles. Save for this one moment, however, when it absolutely dumped lakes on us for a thankfully short couple of minutes. At least afterwards it made London look pretty for a bit.
Remember The Foundation
Sometimes it's not the achievement itself that's substantial, but the groundwork laid before that's most critical.
In The Moment / BGC Manila
Hey guys, sorry for the lack of posts. There's still a fair amount that I still have yet to post so look for the final PI trip stuff along with the sprinkling of car pics which you should expect from me by now.
Philippines Trip / Day 3 Pt.4
There's something wonderful about warm nights. I grew up with them in SoCal and it's definitely one of the greatest things I miss living in the Bay Area; night life just isn't the same.
As the sun dimmed away, the lights glowed brighter and lit up the main strip along the beach. They did a great job providing enough light beneath the palms to give tourists confidence in safety when exploring around in the dark but not so much that it's lit up like Vegas.
Sometimes we fall back on our daily habits as if we're at home in the States.
But then we remember our time here is precious, so enjoy what you can while you can!
Okay, that's enough sunset watching, time to walk around!
The Philippines is a strange place from a linguistics POV, where it seems like 90%+ of everything is written in english, but every now and then some tagalog pops up.
London / The End of the Beginning
Last part of the first day. Such a uplifting coffee chain logo. But hey, the pink makes it cheerful right?
SoHo is one of those areas that's always busy.
Perhaps it's because of the ChaTime..
Michelle being moody with her milk tea.
Hopped over to Trafalgar Square really quick.
All aboard the ghost bus!
In South Bank there ended up being a mini-carnival complete with drinks, games and rides!
Ok, so it was more like had just one ride, but what a doozy! Even had windshields for the riders, something that's probably very helpful when the temps drop down.
Paris Day 3 / Pt 5
Final part of Day 3 in Paris! The streets weren't quite as magical as London's during Christmas, but it was still caught our imaginations.
Continuing on with the car dealerships tour, our final stop, Renault. Best known for their dominating force in F1.
So French indeed. I always loved French Racing Blue, I wish it was used more often on modern cars.
Their tiny little Twizy. Probably too expensive to make sense in the US, but I could imagine having fun driving this around SF.
And they're off! Clever little cork racers assembled by schoolchildren.
And of course, their current pride and joy, their Red Bull F1. It always surprises me how small they are in real life compared to how they seem in pictures. I may not be a fan of their team (mostly due to my dislike of Vettel) but they do have a good looking car and livery.
When you see this raging bull, you know things got serious.
We stepped back out onto the Champ Elysees, now on a new mission: In search of some macaroons.
Fortunately, this is THE city to get some good macaroons, and we were right next to THE store for them! But once we saw the prices for THE macaroons, we decided it was better to look elsewhere and not blow our entire dinner budget for a couple cookies.
Hello Mickey D! Haha, seriously though, almost every McDonalds that we went to in Paris (two of them) had a separate McCafe set up inside with an individual counter, register, menu and everything. They were reasonably priced so we could still afford dinner. Plus, they tasted just as good (if not better) than any macaroon I've had here in the States, so I wasn't complaining.
Down this end, the Louvre...
And over here, the Arc de Triomphe!
First and still the only time I've ever encountered a 3 series GT. Practical, but I'd still rather just take the wagon which is cheaper and IMO better looking. Before we ended the night though, we needed to stop over to a certain cabaret.
The ever famous Moulin Rouge! Which was smaller than I thought it'd be (and not nearly as glamorous as the movie makes it out to be) but it was still worth going. Shame the show's ticket prices were out of budget, would have been fun to watch.
Rather interesting area, love the neon signs!
Cafes everywhere! Which I dig.
This guy seemed out of place. Dodge Durango pulling a horse trailer? Feels like something that is better fitting in my old hometown.
That's more like it! Diesel E-Class Wagon taxi, doesn't get more Euro than that.
The area was nice and comfortable, though in a way similar to areas outside of London. Still European vibe, but not so densely packed; as if it were a little diluted.
Which meant Americana styled restaurants like this one could bring in more open-minded customers.
Hmmm, I wonder where they got their brand's inspiration from... Anyways, that's it for Day 3. Some more to be posted later, but I'm gonna break it up with some more current posts in between.
Paris Day 2 / Pt 4
We end the day walking around more alleys in the Latin Quarter.
It's easy to forget these alleys are still streets people drive down. This Peugeot RZC kinda looks like a meaner, bigger TT. Pretty cool, except I personally think that lacking a beefy AWD powertrain and sticking with a FWD layout means its mostly for looks and going quickly on mostly straight roads.
Malongo was probably the only really neat coffee shop we spotted while in Paris. Turns out they also sold most of the machinery one would need to start up their own coffee shop so it was definitely a great place to swing by. Would have gotten some coffee as well if the prices in Paris wasn't so unreasonably expensive. Six Euros for an Americano? Pass.
Really great bookstore with some of the most impressive photo books I've seen in a long time. Wish I had room to bring some of them home with me.
Paris definitely had the better collection of dope bike spottings. I mean, how cool is it when you're riding a "Wolf"?
Ending day 2. Next up, we finally go to the tower!