Harthill Hall

© Joselito Briones

This is the manor that we're staying in for the weekend. It's called "Harthill Hall". The fact that it has a huge functioning old kitchen that has an old country feel (solid wood table and bench that could sit 12, chandelier, the works) is already a wow, but that the whole place, including the two living rooms and 6 bedrooms, are done in the same way, is just great.


© Joselito Briones

Photo above is Ann working the kitchen.


Next: Chatsworth

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Bakewell

© Joselito Briones

Video above was taken in Bakewell, a small village-town that's pretty. Unfortunately, the cafe shown above called "Ricci's", whose outside signboard boasts of having "friendly service" was actually very rude. Half of our group went there first and occupied two tables, and ordered drinks accordingly, but when the other half joined us and occupied a third table (there's a total of 11 of us), they were asked to vacate the table because this is for customers who buy drinks for them, but without asking them first if they wanted to order drinks. Losers.

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Fischers Baslow Hall

© Joselito Briones

Today's lunch was at Fischers Baslow Hall, a one-star Michelin rated restaurant in Derbyshire.

© Joselito Briones

Photo above is the reception area where guests can have drinks while waiting for the table.

© Joselito Briones

And this photo above, in the main dining area, shows (clockwise from left) Chris A., Ann, Ronnie, Chris O., Wil, Marco, Jerome, Michael, Gau, Mati and my pork dish.

Next: Bakewell and Harthill.


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gherkin lunch video

© Joselito Briones

video version, just gotta show marco and mati too.

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lunch at the gherkin

© Joselito Briones

Lunch at London's Gherkin Building today. The very pregnant Pearl extended an invitation to us (dining here is not open to the public, only people working for Swiss Re, the building owner for whom Pearl works, and those they invite are allowed in). The view is excellent, as one can see all of London - and it was a clear day by London standard, and above us was only a spiral dome of glass.

Photo (L_R) Chris, Wil, Pearl.





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Jane's, before

© Joselito Briones

Beautiful day. Mati and I decided to take photos of Jane's living room, where we'll be spending the next few days, before we completely mess it up. Sort of a before and after picture. I'll try to post an "after" picture later. I took photos, above and below, using the Olympus E500, while Mati used his Voigtlander with ultra wide-angle lens.


© Joselito Briones

I've shown you a photo of this living room before, of course, in case you're wondering why it looks familiar.


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London trip confirmed

© Joselito Briones

Mati has been for sometime asked by his company to work in England again, but he hasn't really been agreeable with the terms they offer, so he's declined it (and it's in some other city, not in London). This time they offered him a short-term assignment instead (6 weeks) in London, so he took it. I've also got several things to do in London (Ronnie and Jerome's partnership ceremony, Wil's housewarming party, iStock minilypse), so I'm tagging along. So yeah, for the next 6 weeks starting Friday, Mati and I will be in London.

Photo above is one of my absolute favorite places to visit in London, the National Portrait Gallery, taken during my recent trip there. Okay, it's actually the building behind the ornate wrought iron street lamp and kiosk. I've always been fascinated by the human face as photography (and drawing) subject, and this place has a treasury of the different styles different personalities have been portrayed.


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Last minute lunch treat

© Joselito Briones

A bit rushed and stressed today. I did some last minute packing, passed by Jane's office in the Flat Iron district, then to Wall Street to meet up with Godfrey for lunch. The lunch itself was rushed, we grabbed some soup and sandwich, while he told me about the new house that he and Scott bought (bigger, closer to Manhattan).

And now, flying back to Germany.


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More travels

© Joselito Briones

Noel drove me to the airport today, after I drove Ate Uding to work, and after the post office thing to mail Alex's photo CD. I guess that's about it. Bye bye California again, until next time.

Photo above is of Eric, around the block where he lives in Roosevelt Ave, in Queens, taken last month.


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Hi from the Apple store

© Joselito Briones

Hey there Jimbo - am right in your 'hood today, and I'm sending it straight from the Apple Store in 5th Ave., not far from the place in the photo above, taken last March. The hawks in the photo, Pale Male and his companion are celebrities, of course, they've caused so much press coverage a few years back when the owner of the apartment whose balcony they decided to nest on tried to evict them.


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Kastanienallee

© Joselito Briones

This is a waiting bench in Kastanienallee, the heart of the "happening" scene in Mitte, in Berlin. I've got an overflow of photos now, so you'll be seeing a lot more of less-than current images. I'll be going to the US pretty soon, so it'll really stack up even more.

I'm trying a new way of putting up the pictures, using automated scripts, because it's getting difficult to update my photo website due to the sheer number of photo. I got a freebie gallery template from the internet and used it for testing: click here for a compilation of all the photos I've uploaded so far. What do you think, go this way or stay with simple html?


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Summer in the city

© Joselito Briones

Not quite, but almost. These people are obviously eager though. The photo is of the man-made beach along the river surrounding the Museum Island in Berlin, one beautiful, sunny day. The building in the background is the newly re-opened Bode Museum.


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The Brandenburg Kiss

© Joselito Briones

And today's theme: cheese! Can you get any more cheesy than this photo? I doubt it.

I've been to the Berlin three times the past year, and every time I make it a point to go to Brandenburg Tor to take pictures, but it was always raining the past couple of times that I was there. This time around finally there was sun! And what did I get? Not a photo of the gate, but of these lovebirds. Oh well.

Btw, do you know the couple? If you do, you can ask them for me if they object to having their photo here. I'll take it off if they do. Or if they want a high resolution copy, I can also send them one (the faces are actually recognizable in the high-res version).


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Knut Impressed

© Joselito Briones

Berlin's current biggest attraction, no doubt, is Knut the Eisbär. The baby polar bear born December, 2006 in the Berlin zoo is a superstar. He even has a website. His official showtime is limited only to 2 scheduled hour-long playtime with his caretakers. Nevertheless, people (and kids) from everywhere stood in long lines just to see him. People visit Berlin just to see him.

It was the perfect place and time to observe kids. I was particularly struck by the display of determination of the boy, who couldn't have been more than 10 years old, who was in line just before me. Discouraged by the long line for Knut (this was the second line, the first long line was outside, just to enter the zoo), the father tried all the tricks in the book to persuade him to leave the line and to just go with him, the younger brother, and the mom, to see something else (penguins!). When the father failed (to his credit, he was very patient with the boy, even as it was obvious he was also concerned about the younger son missing the other attractions), the mom tried too. Didn't work. She ended up handing the boy a cell phone, so they can walk around the zoo without him. What's most striking was, the boy stood his ground without being a brat about it. No tantrums. Whenever the parents tried to offer something new, he just nodded his head no. In his eyes you could see that he was being saddened everytime he had to say no, but he was firm about seeing Knut. Half an hour later, when it was already obvious that we were gonna make it after all to the last few minutes of Knut's appearance that day, the mom, impressed, rejoined the boy in the line. Then the younger brother did. The boy was obviously proud and excited, and just before we entered the gate to Knut's viewing gallery, he tried hard to persuade his father to join them to see the baby bear. Unfortunately it was the dad's turn to be proud, who stayed behind and watched from just outside the gallery.


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P.S. No, pictured, top, is not the same kid described above.

Sony Center, Berlin

© Joselito Briones

This is as touristy and disneyfied as any place can get, the Sony Center in Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, and this particular roof structure has been photographed gazillion times before, but since I was just another tourist that day, here it is. The rest of the photos I took in this recent Berlin trip are about the same, tourist traps and all, so don't expect anything profound the next few days.


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It's a wrap!

© Joselito Briones

Well then, today's the day we flew back to Germany. Pretty uneventful, which is pretty much how I prefer it. We got to the airport (Jane drove us) really early, and I had plenty of time to kill, so I decided to edit some of the digital pictures with the iBook that we brought with us on this trip. I used the software from Olympus, called ”Olympus Studio". Pretty good. The most useful feature is the exposure adjustment, and the distortion correction and the fisheye lens distortion correction. I continued editing pictures during the flight, and got very little sleep.


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to JFK

© Joselito Briones

I was thinking of a sappy song to put here, kinda like the one I did last year on my way to the airport, but I couldn't think of any. There wasn't anything to say about the drive either, except for a brief traffic congestion. I guess the only thing remarkable about this morning is that we had pizza for breakfast, while watching "Legally Blonde" on TV. Here's "Drive" anyway, an oldie from Incubus, about making decisions.


DRIVE

Sometimes, I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear
And I can't help but ask myself how much
I'll let the fear take the wheel and steer.
It's driven me before, and it seems to have a vague,
haunting mass appeal.
But lately I'm beginning to find that I
should be the one behind the wheel.

Whatever tomorrow brings,
I'll be there with open arms and open eyes, Yeah
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there..I'll be there.

So, if I decide to waiver my chance to be one of the hive
Will I choose water over wine and hold my own and drive?
Aah-ah-oo-o-o.

It's driven me before and it seems to be the way
that everyone else gets around.
But lately I'm beginning to find that when
I drive myself my light is found.

Whatever tomorrow brings,
I'll be there with open arms and open eyes, Yeahhh
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there...I'll be there.

Would you choose water over wine....hold the wheel and drive?

Whatever tomorrow brings,
I'll be there with open arms and open eyes, Yeah
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there..I'll be there.


-Incubus




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The end of the Affair

© Joselito Briones

By the time Jane, Mati and I walked towards Chinatown, it was already drizzling. It's a signal as good as any (there were a few) that this short holiday has ended. No complaints. I guess I can't really expect every thing to go smoothly. Everything else from now until we fly back to Germany (in 2 days), I'll just chuck together as extras.

From Bowery we walked south towards Soho, through Nolita, to Little italy, pass Canal Street towards the south end of Mott Street, to the default place we always go to whenever we go to Chinatown, Hop Kee. The place is newly renovated, and the staff a lot more friendlier than the last time we were there, the food was pretty much the same as before.


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In Harmony

© Joselito Briones

We dropped by Jane's work in the afternoon, "Hom + Goldman", in East 20th Street, to pick her up so we can go for dinner together, and also to say hi to David (they work together again). We also picked up the extra suit bags that my mom made, my dad brought to California, and my brother Noel sent to Jane's office address in New York (we always seem to go through such great lengths to avoid paying excessive shipping fees). We also met her bosses and some of her colleagues. They all seemed to be excited with their forthcoming company trip to Berlin. It's good to finally see Jane contented with her job - she was really unhappy with the previous one.


© Joselito Briones

Before dinner, we decided to go to the other Osh Kosh address that Diana gave us, to see if they have the overalls. We walked south through Broadway (photos, above, were taken along Broadway - on top is a window dressing of a furniture shop, and above is Grace Church), passing by DSW to see if they have any new shoes (they didn't). When we got to the address, just north of Houston Street and south of Bowery, It turned out that the place was the company's design office.


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5th Av.

© Joselito Briones

There was just something about the bright light today. We walked down 5th Avenue from Central Park South to Times Square and along the waywe took so many photos, mostly street scenes. It helped that most of the crowd didn't care at all that they were part of the pictures, and some, although subtly, even posed upon seeing that he might be part of the picture.


© Joselito Briones

Since we were already in the area, we also took the chance to drop by Sak's, just so I can see what I can expect to buy next year. Such is my shopping pattern now. I wait for everything to be on sale before buying what I want. I guess it's not too bad. Last year's fresh fashion here in New York is still pretty advanced when I wear them in Erlangen.


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