Japan Trip / Rides 2
Second half of my ride-specific pics.
Oh look, the perfect car for everything, aka RS4 Avant.
S class rocking a full Lorinser kit!
Japan has some strange cars, but never would have expected a modded XKR! Looks like it would have come straight out of a catalog from the late 90's.
Tokyo is definitely the place to be for some perfect condition Euro classics!
This 901 seems more fitting going to a meet at Venice Beach than cruising Tokyo, but it works there too!
Admiring the beautiful bikes in this city when suddenly a wild Dodge Ram van appears!
American cars are far from popular in Japan, but whenever you spot one, it's always an interesting model.
Something timelessly classic about the Toyota Century.
Shy little guy
I think I'm in love...
And on the very last night, near our place, I finally ran into a proper R34 GT-R, though I spotted some interesting mods. It has some aggressive venting on the passenger side of the bumper but not the other side. But then it's also rocking Endless calipers and what appears to be BBS RE-MG wheels (!!!), so who am I to judge?
London / January 2016 Pt.2
Picking up from after grabbing some breakfast, we head towards the pebbly beach and its frigid waters.
A little Cappuccino would probably be perfect for puttin' around town during the busier summer.
Michelle is patiently waiting for a subject to shoot...
...and here he arrives! No close ups though.
And that's pretty much it. As I mentioned earlier though, most of the still images I took were using my film cameras so look forward for more footage from those rolls in the near future.
LONDON / WRAP UP FOR 2015 MARCH TRIP
Just wrapping up the last material images from our 2015 March London trip.
We went to an amazing Indian restaurant Dishoom to met up with our friend Ali, a graphic designer emigrated from Ohio who Michelle initially met in SF.
Just a sampling of some local drinks I purchased at Borough Market. The Williams Borthers Red Ale had a nice, solid red ale flavor (my preferred brew). The Kopparberg is a Swedish brand popular in UK for their ciders. The Mixed Berry is one of the few drinks Michelle enjoys and is a pretty great cider, not overly sweet like the more common Strawberry & Lime flavor. Lastly the Wild Raven by Thornbridge was a "Black IPA", something I hadn't come across until I was referred to it by the helpful vendor employee. Easily ended up being my favorite drink during the trip; dark and malty but not too hoppy. Definitely want to try to get that one again!
Here's a few car sightings. By now if you've seen any of the past London posts, you should know that Bentleys are a pretty common sighting in central London (though that doesn't make them any less special!) so let's move on to some more interesting finds.
How about a peach-colored, Custom '57 Chevy pickup for starters? A neat sighting in the States, but in central London it certainly stood out. Not a fan of the wheels, but still pretty cool.
Now for something really different, a Chevy SSR. These things are a rare sighting in the States, so it's pretty much on the bottom of the list of cars I'd expect to see in UK.
I'll finish with this badass 110 Defender. Again, the wheel game is off (I'll take mine with black steelies please) but otherwise it's just the type of truck that'd be amazing to have in the States. That is, if the Feds weren't so eager to steal and crush these trucks.
LONDON / PORTOBELLO MARKET
It's not too often London gets sun, so when it comes, you gotta seize the day! Off to Portobello Market! First thing first though, the automotive round up!
First we got an Overfinch Ranger Rover. Overfinch is a "tuner" for Land Rovers, best known for make a model with a built-in mohagany gun and whisky storage in the back. Because nothing says manly like shooting little birds in your 4X4 with summer tires...
Next up a Smart Roadster (which has a ton of tuning potential IMO) and an E92 M3 (M's seemed to be a lot less common than AMG's).
Speaking of, there were these two GT bruisers. A CL63 AMG and a Bentley Continental GT (Bentleys everywhere!).
You know what's unfair? That Europe gets the best version of an American icon. Give the US Wrangler a diesel already Jeep!!!
This sweet little GTV was a nice sighting. Even with that dent, Alfa's cars are easily some of the best looking "consumer cars" around. Pretty might not be the best description, but they definitely all have a style that most other cars in their range lack.
A cool Morris Wagon looking properly British.
A 135i M Sport getting buried under trash. Kinda ugly little thing, but a Golf R/S3 killer.
And the best for last, this classic 901. Black exterior, tan interior and Fuchs wheels: simply perfect.
Heh, little white socks on his back feet. Here's some more pics.
London / Replaying The Tourist
One of the benefits of revisiting a known town is already knowing what's good and what's not, at least for a lot of general areas. We knew Bill's wouldn't disappoint when it comes to good, simple traditional food, so it was an easy choice when looking for some breakfast South of the Thames.
After being disappointed to learn Borough Market was closed on Sunday, we were relieved to at least have our first order of proper British tea, English Breakfast of course. Along with some amazing bacon on eggs and toast, it was a good first meal for the trip.
Gotta love the colorful, modern European architecture that sprinkles the city.
The Tour of Britain was going on while we were walking around. Pretty cool seeing riders on bikes that are normally used in a velodrome pushing themselves on the streets.
Soon we started to get better acquainted with our local neighborhood. Despite the months we stayed here before, we never really explored this area since it was on the opposite end of town. Certainly a lot prettier than East London. Love the greenery!
Some exclusive British metal. Always loved classic Ranger Rovers, but these three-door models are just amazing IMO. Would consider one over a Defender.
It's neat how every 4 or so blocks has a different look. The occasional Maserati doesn't hurt to improve things either.
Small wonder why some locals consider Kensington to be the "Beverly Hills" of London.
Back to SoHo.
Aw yeah! Gotta get some of that Chatime milk tea.
Easily our favorite ramen place in London, Tonkotsu in SoHo is the spot. My recommended choice is the Tokyo Ramen which has some top notch pork and thick, chewy noodles. Last part of the first day tomorrow! I promise this is the day with the most pics, I won't be doing a bunch of multiple-part posts like the first London adventure.
London / Portobello Market
Picking up where we left off, we're still over in West London which we're starting to really, really enjoy. East London has its perks, but personally, I miss some of the little things, like trees. East London can be pretty grim at times, so it's nice being able to head out to the west to get a breath of fresh air. And great Defender right? Perfect base model in a lovely colbalt/grey. I'm sure the locals think its pretty odd I find such a mundane truck to be so fascinating.
Coffee, paninis, ice cream and waffles. Sounds like the perfect diet to me!
So we're here in Portobello Market to check out all of the knick-knacks they have for sale. The weather had started to get pretty dark at this point, but against the colorful buildings, it still felt a lot more cheerful than Shoreditch.
If you ever need something a bit useless but at the same time a little fascinating, this is a great place to go. Opera binoculars? A set of tea spoons?
Or maybe a vintage set of boxing gloves? You won't find what you think you need. Here, you'll find what you never thought of.
Despite the recent attention Banksy has been getting in NYC, he's still quite popular here in UK, which leads to a ton of people selling copies of his work...
I'm honestly not the biggest fan of R8's, but here in the London streets, they look outstanding. There's a white V10 model I've spotted several times that just looks amazing under the dark skies, but this black one looks just as sharp. Also, never seen one with the RS wheels on it before, I really like it.
Neat Samsung shop tucked among the shops, very welcoming and friendly vibe to it. Felt a lot less corporate than an Apple store, though whether the lower impression of professionalism could be a good or bad thing depends on your point of view.
This Milktea shop was still being built when we went by, we'll definitely need to check it out later on.
Ah the California... One of those cars I secretly hope the car community continues to hate so that it'll drive down the residual value for me to pick up later in life. ;P
Had to get at least one pic of these, the Honda HR-V. It's like the Honda version of the original 3 door RAV4. A little cool in the weird-Japanese-car-from-the-90s kind of way, but at the same time, really really dorky.
Oh yeah, since everyone has a mobile nowadays, they've cleverly started converting some of them into ATMs. And if you look closely, you'll see they still even kept the phone.
Never cared for the brand in the States, but they're actually kinda nice here in UK.
Started looking a little bit like SF here. Maybe that's why we grew so fond of the area...
Sort of strange seeing an old church converted into a modern art gallery.
Mmmm, that foliage. Seriously though, I cannot stress enough how refreshing all this has been since living in East London. I really, really miss nature.
This was more of what I was expecting while being here in UK. Looks more Spring than Autumn here.
And to end the day, how about some pizza in an original 500? Cute little car.
London / Getting Darker
Weather is starting to cool down now here in London, with the skies getting a little darker. Still, nothing to keep us stuck indoors!
Old building everywhere.
Personally I think the new Range Rover is a really elegant looking thing. The upcoming Sport looks "cooler" of course, but this car has that quiet class that I find really impressive.
Such a great name.
Smart cars are a lot more popular here, but with these streets and parking, they almost make a good selling point. Only if you get the Brabus versions though, like this one. :P
Pretty cool flat.
Michelle giving her best kitty impression.