Car enthusiasts tend to be nocturnal creatures. Yeah most of the fun stuff happens when the sun is out, but it's when the light goes to sleep when the real magic happens. That moment when a motor turns over for the first after weeks of prep work. That moment when you get it on a dyno and hear it roar after its long slumber. And that moment when you look at the curves and numbers flickering on the screen and think "Oh yeah, this is going to be really fun."
The beginning of RWB USA and creation of Pandora One, the first Rauh-Welt Porsche built in the US. Nakai-San's gives each machine a distinct character that stays with them for the rest of their lives, and while he built 2 more during this 48 hour, non-stop session and several more later on, it will always be Pandora One that I will remember most.
As daylight began to fade away, we were going to make one more stop before calling it in. In the States, we have plenty of progressive architecture as well, but I it seems like Europe utilizes the exoskeleton-style more. I can dig it.
When the sun is actually out to set and you can get somewhere clear of buildings, the sky can look pretty impressive. Hello your Majesty.
A giant blue cock. *snicker*
Arriving at Trafalgar Square in front of the National Gallery.
Several street performers had set up around the area, including this fella who could levitate. How does it do it?! And why is he always holding onto that pole...
Managed to grab the two shots inside before being promptly told, unlike the Tate, photographs weren't allowed. Definitely a museum worth going to though. There was plenty of Monet, Van Gough and Manet pieces in addition to a plethora of impressionist and 17/18th century Dutch paintings which I generalize as my favorite styles of classical artwork.
As you can probably tell, this was still before Christmas decorations were taken down.
Some fancy police cars here...
...and even fancier personal cars! From every angle, the new Vanquish is a beautiful machine to look at, especially in that color-catching silver. Mmmmm
Some four months in and we finally went to see Big Ben.
Then we went to grab some dinner and go home. A pretty successful day playing tourist.
And so we began where we left off, at Borough Market, as we head west along the South Bank towards the Tate Museum.
We have still yet to get any Monmouth coffee, but from what locals have said, it's supposedly London's equivalent to SF's Blue Bottle Coffee. We'll see...
As we walked away from the market, I spotted a brand new S Class. First one I've seen in person and I gotta say, I'm a big fan of this gen. It just oozes class in a slick manner that the previous 2 gens could never touch.
The colors...
Pretty interesting how they set up the Starbucks here. The hole-in-the-wall manner would not fly as well in the US.
A pretty cool LED firework display. They did a good job keeping the light grid low key and hidden.
We've still have yet to go to a Wagamama. Their noodles look quite tasty and the prices weren't too bad either.
The Globe, where Shakespeare debuted his plays. It's still in use today, though nowadays they prefer women to play the roles of women.
What did the fox say...
And here is the Tate Museum which is London's premiere museum for modern art. Looks kinda like a huge factory right?
Of course the Millennium Bridge continues to be an outstanding structure to look at no matter which angle you stand.
Didn't I mention the size? It really is bigger than it look in these photos.
What's wonderful about it is how they left the center hollowed out to continue that theme of scale. Had this been filled up with its many levels of galleries, the structure wouldn't have seemed as impressive. But left in this manner with its cavity open to observe, it gave the impression of a massive hanger where blimps and rockets were built from.
The ever amused Michelle...
Meanwhile a serious battle of good and evil was unfolding below us.
Dude needs a burger or something...
F-YEAH!
Most art museums usually have a pretty good gift shop but this one really had a ton of books I would have loved to go home with.
Last part coming soon.
Today we decided to walk around all the areas of London what we haven't yet been able to go to, starting with the ever talked about Borough Market. Unlike the other market places that offer clothes or accessories, this one specialized in food. As one could imagine, it was AMAZING.
It was pretty hard not to buy everything we saw because it all looked delicious.
And unlike other places, this isn't a glorified food court but an actual market where many restaurants would actually shop for their ingredients. For serious foodies it seems.
Definitely the most "Harry Potter" looking area of London I've been in.
I miss 'Murica's love of micro brews and ales, but Europe still has a healthy choice of pretty tasty beers.
Some of the booths were pretty specialized in what they sold, like this one that only had extracts, mustards and a few jams/sauces.
Towards the end of the market there was this little flower shop tucked deep inside under a bridge. Not exactly the usually bright and cheery place one would expect to find a flower shop, but it actually worked pretty well.
One of the great things about this market was the wonderful smells that bombard you as you walk through. Eventually, we couldn't stand it any more and finally gave in to getting some delicious thai chicken curry soup.
Doesn't look like much but it's worlds better than any canned soup.
Michelle posing in front of a Christmas tree before it gets taken down.
More of our adventures to be posted later.
A little quick motion graphics I whipped up for new years. Have a safe night everyone!
Just some more photo dumping. The 2nd half of shooting along the Thames on a rainy night.
I never knew about this, but this is actually a platform for a train station that they stretched over the Thames. Pretty neat way to wait for your train.
And of course the Millennium Bridge. It's only meant for pedestrians, but it's a elegant looking bridge.
Christmas is definitely London's favorite holiday.
Loved the look of this Guest Info building, reminds me of the sculpture on Lemaitre's album covers. Perhaps by the same person? Wouldn't surprise me.
Now in front of St. Paul's Cathedral. The rain started to really come down at this point.
