Sunday, October 4, 2009

London: Back in the U.K.

After a few minor adjustments to my travel plans, I left Barcelona on Thursday. A big thank you to Ron and Tadaaki for being such amazing hosts in Barcelona. I enjoyed staying with you so much. The apartment is amazing and Comerç 27 is easily the best restaurant in Barca!

I was meant to be visiting Madrid before I went go to Tokyo (with a 5 hour stop over in London on the way). But 5 hours just wasn't going to be enough to pick up my new preciouses. And by preciouses, I mean my very own custom Premium Nike ID Dunks and a pair of Dizzee Rascal x Ben Drury x Air Max 90s. So I blew off Madrid and came back to London for 3 nights. Which as it turns out, was an awesome idea!

Big thanks to my friend Phil who was kind enough to let me stay at his lovely apartment for the 3 nights. Much love! xxx When I arrived in London, and I found Phil's place with the help of Paddy (Phil's friend). Thanks Paddy!

After I settled in, I found a great curry place and tucked in to some Indian delights in front of the TV. After toying with the idea of staying in for about an hour, I decided I better make the most of it and took myself to Ministry of Sound to see Bok Bok & Manara play. After 40 minutes on the Tube, I arrived at Ministry of Sound only to find out that the event was a freshman party and was completely sold out. So no Bok Bok & Manara for me. Again. I'm not have much luck with these two - I think it means they need to come to Oz and play especially for me (hint hint). But I still love yous.
By then the Tube had closed, so I had to get a minicab home. Some how I convinced a driver to take me home for 20 quid (it's pretty far!). Still I wasn't happy about having to pay for a cab after a bit of a bomb of a night.

Friday turned out to be an amazing day. I organised to meet my girl Racer Stacey for so drinks and nibbles in the evening, but during the day I had quite a few errands to do, including picking up my Premium Nike ID dunks. So I caught the Tube into the city and went to Carnaby Street and all the High Street stores. To be honest I didn't find anything I really wanted, but ate lunch at Ping Pong (seafood lunch - so yum!)
And then I went to Niketown. My IDs are beautiful.To be honest I really wasn't sure how they'd turn out, but I really like the fabrics I chose.
Q had organised a pair of Dizzee Rascal x Ben Drury x Air Max 90s to be put away for me at 1948, but I hadn't been able to get in contact with him to find out how to collect them. Thankfully, Q was at Niketown when I got there, and he rang the guys at 1948 to double check they still had one last pair (they're completely sold out everywhere). And they were. So I just had to get myself to Shoreditch to pick them up. A quick trip on the Tube to Liverpool St and before I knew it, I was out the front of 1948. I was worried the Tongue N Cheeks would be really pink - because most photos of them make them look pink or even salmon. But I was surprised at how beautiful they are in the flesh - more of a grey than a pink. They have a suede lining and are very plus compared with most AM90s. I'm really chuffed with them.
On the way back to meet Stacey at Covent Gardens, I happened to walk past a fabulous furniture design studio I've written about in my blog before - Squint Limited. Squint make amazing bespoke patchwork furniture pieces. Of course I knocked on their and asked if they'd give me a tour of their studio, which they did! Such a thrill & very inspiring - it got me really excited about the projects I'll be working on when I get home (which is only 2 weeks away!).
Then I jumped on the Tube back to Convent Gardens where I met Racer Stacey. She was looking as hot as ever, all dressed up in heels and work clothes. I felt like a hobbit beside Gisele. We went to a jazz bar nearby for jugs of sangrias. The club happens to be the spot that Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty got their big breaks. And apparently they still come to the joint from time to time (Wino has to sneak out her bedroom window to get there apparently - but not tonight!).
After 2 jugs of sangria and a lot of catching up and gossip, we were both pretty tipsy. When Racer started pegging fruit at peeps walking past (clearly I attract people who like to throw food), which signaled we should probably move to the next place. We wandered to Oxford Circus, laughing and lusting after Mad Mex all the way. And just like that, we stumbled across a mexican joint called Benito's Hat, which was actually pretty similar to Mad Mex. We inhaled some Burritos (but didn't get to throw them unfortunately) and stumbled back to Piccadilly Circus, agreeing that we should catch the Tube home because we both had 40 minute Tube rides to get there. This photo is heaps *sarcastic face* pretty.
It was great to see Racer. We had such a laugh :) Then somehow I caught the wrong Tube home and ended up near Heathrow after the last Tube. So I had to get a minicab, which really shit me to tears because they charged me an arm and a leg. But everything was made better by the awesome email I got from Sophie when I got home, letting me know that I am now the proud owner of a mint pair of 2007 Irak x Adidas Torsion. Thanks Sophie!

Getting the Iraks almost makes me feel satisfied to stop buying sneaks for a while. Almost. I have one, maybe two, pairs on my mind that I might be able to pick up in Tokyo. Firstly the Huarache x Air Max x Dave's Quality Meats bacons and secondly, although I'm not that interested in them aside from them being a collab, are the Reebok Freestyle x Hello Kitty (I have heard they're only available in Hong Kong at the moment - although it wouldn't be a surprise if I stumble across them in Tokyo).

What a segway...

Tomorrow I fly to Tokyo! It's hard to believe how time has flown. I've been away for 7 weeks already. And in about 24 hours, I get to see Ki Ki, Glenn and Josh (and soon after Ash and Laura too!) where we'll kick off our Japanoise adventure... So excited!

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