This set of images took a while to process, not necessarily due to indecision or apathy, but the sheer number of images I managed to capture. For those who haven’t had the opportunity to see Le Musee du Louvre, it is a phenomenally large place. You will not be able to see the entire museum in one day, unless you run through the halls like a mad man. I chose some of the most memorable captures and images that remind me of the museum, three weeks after the fact.
Whilst we were in the neighborhood we decided to take a quick trip over the ditch for an overnighter in London.
Checked into the St Martin’s Lane Hotel in Covent Garden. Phillipe Starck design, a boutique type layout, and great service. Highly reccomended, although in the evening the bars do get quite rowdy.
Caught up with Andrew Bunney, (Gimme 5 alumni, Bunney, Creative Director Doc Martens) and Big Daisuke for tea at Fortnum & Mason. Having lived predominantly in modern/young cities most of my life - Taipei, Singapore, Los Angeles, Auckland, the history of European establishments and how they integrate into the modern world still amazes me. Fortnum & Mason is a 303 year old institution in London. Not quite your average Macy’s.
Andrew took us on a quick stroll and tour through the area, through the Burlington arcade, where we saw the jewellers who performed the work on Damien Hirst’s “For the Love of God” diamond skull.
Asprey, Bond Street, another centuries old institution.
Smythson’s, and then Church’s. I couldn’t resist.
We all met up for dinner on Brewer St with Tommy, Andrew’s wife, who incidentally writes a beautiful blog about life, culture, and food here - thisisnaive.com. I like her photography.
The rather glamorous, kinda nerdy, a little geeky, Mai Ikuzawa also joined us for the meal, as well as Chieko (HeadPorter alumni). Had a fun time trying to out-nerd each other. Daisuke was a real trooper too. This is the third country and third city I’ve seen him in over the past two weeks… then again, it looked like it was taking its toll. Nothing several shots of dutch courage couldn’t fix though.
You know those moments where a good idea turns bad? Here is one of them. Meet Harold the Hamburg.
The NSW JP team were kind enough to give me a pair of these SFB boots during my recent visit to Tokyo.
Amazing boots - not only do they weigh ridiculously light, they are also extremely comfortable to walk in with the free sole unit. It has proven very useful during this trip, where I’ve done plenty of pavement pounding getting around to meetings and appointments, especially in wet and cold conditions. Without exaggeration perhaps my favourite piece of footwear of the past six months, a perfect mixture of innovation, style, and function.
If you get the chance, I highly reccomend that you try a pair on and see for yourself. The only drawback - it’d probably look a little weird with shorts.
Stopped by at Jun’s atelier today for a quick catch-up, as I hadn’t seen them in a few months with everybody’s busy end of year season.
Gyakusou International Running Association, otherwise known as Team GIRA. Gyakusou, translated, means something along the lines of running in a clockwise direction, as opposed to a person’s natural inclination to run in an anti-clockwise manner, which I’m guessing is a type of metaphor for ‘going against the grain’. What started off as a casual running group has somewhat morphed into having a trainer, testing protoype products, and aspirations to run marathons across the globe. By the time I stumbled to JUN’s office in a daze they had already finished a 12km run at 8am that morning.
Caught up with 
