disturbia

It’s a thief in the night to come and grab you
It can creep up inside you and consume you
A disease of the mind it can control you
It’s too close for comfort.

Put on your break lights we’re in the city of wonder
Ain’t gonna play nice, watch out, you might just go under
Better think twice
Your train of thought will be altered
So if you must falter be wise
Your mind is in disturbia.

Release me from this curse I’m in
Trying to remain tame but I’m struggling
If you can go, go, go
I think I’m going to oh, oh, oh.

When you’re on LV ban and you realize you want this, funny how this song comes to mind. And even more after having seen photos of Rihanna rocking the Monogramouflage Stole, created by Takashi Murakami for Louis Vuitton. £375.

Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum.

youtube it!

I still haven’t gone through my photos from Portugal thus couldn’t make a proper entry about that trip. In the meantime, I’d like to share these two Youtube videos that I could watch over and over and over and over, yeah you got the point.

These guys are crazy! Two of them are, I believe, pinoys.

This guy is sooo darn cute. Ehem.

Ahluvset!

in transit: algarve, portugal

I’ll be off the radar in the next seven days as Knut and I are flying today to Faro, Portugal. We will then be picked up and whisked away to the beatiful Pestana Viking Hotel in Praia da Senhora da Rocha, a small fishing community and beach on the Atlantic Coast.

It will be both our first time in Portugal, a destination we’ve always dreamed of travelling to. Algarve is the southernmost region of mainland Portugal, a popular destination primarily because of its beaches, Mediterranean climate, and relatively low costs. It’s probably one of the most southern places in Europe we could go to as continental Africa is just an ocean away.

Have a great week guys!

Photo credits: Pestana Viking Hotel and nunorodrigues@flickr

snapshots from london: the last two days

Waking up late from the previous night’s merry dancing, we skipped breakfast and asked our hotel concierge to book us a table for lunch at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Restaurant. We didn’t get a table at the always-full dining institution the previous night so we took the next best thing, a lunch of the lightest potato gnocchi and rib-eye. Both dishes were well-presented and playful in taste. If you’re in the city and would like a dining experience at Fifteen, call well ahead in advance.

   

All stuffed and ready to burn some calories, Neil and I headed to the St. Pancras Station in my search for the store Rituals, which I first discovered in Amsterdam. I love their products for the body and the home and so I took home an array of cosmetics. Afterwards, we headed to the nucleus of London. We went straight to Piccadilly Circus where huge video displays and neon signs surround the statue of Eros. We walked along Regent Street, found a spot in Starbucks, and Neil bought a belt to match his slip-ons from Burberry. We dropped by the Louis Vuitton store in Bond Street where I was attended to by a snotty SA. Not liking her attitude at all, I took my business elsewhere. We just explored more of the shopping districts (but I didn’t get anything) before we headed back to the hotel to change for the evening.

    

At 7 pm, we headed to the London Eye for a champagne flight. The champagne flight allows you to check in just 15 minutes before the scheduled departure and avoid the crazy queue. Each flight has a host which will serve a flute of bubbly while you take in the amazing views from one of the London Eye’s capsules. The journey lasts for 30 minutes and that’s just enough to take in a sweeping view of the city and its landmarks, capture photos and enjoy a glass of champagne with a frame.

  

Dinner was at the nearby Skylon Restaurant located within the Royal Festival Hall. We had a table by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the River Thames. I had a terrine of foie gras with English rhubarb, pistachios and toasted brioche for starters paired with a glass of white, a rack of new season lamb with wild rice, merguez, and sauce choron for the main dish paired with a glass of red, and almond fondant with fresh mango, banana ice cream and caramel foam for dessert. Everything was good!

 

After checking out the following morning, we headed to the Buckingham Palace only to be greeted by a huge gathering of Brits at The Mall where a concert was held for the transfer of the Olympic flag from Beijing to London. We just walked around St. James Park and we spotted cute little things running everywhere – squirrels! Here’s one enjoying the day’s pick.

 

Before heading back to the hotel to pick up our luggages and go to Heathrow Airport, we dropped by Louis Vuitton stores in Sloane Street where I got my Graphite Petit Damier Scarf and the one at Harrod’s where Neil bought a matching one in brown. 

 

Thank you for joining me in my little travelogue of London. I love this city and would definitely come back in the future!

LV literature: passport to a world of luxury

This is the passport-like Louis Vuitton literature I mentioned in my previous post which I got hold of recently, thanks to Biancaboo. The cover is a representation of the vintage Louis Vuitton canvas and features a collection of travel decals that large hotels usually affix on their customers’ trunks. 

This 26-page booklet writes about Louis Vuitton’s journey through time, craftsmanship, Marc Jacobs and his collaboration with artists.

A good amount of pages is dedicated to the brand’s crafts – from fine leathergoods, ready-to-wear pieces, shoes, timepieces, jewelry, sunglasses and accessories.

The booklet also presents information on Special Orders, personalization services and the brand’s commitment to the envirornment.

LV literature: fighting counterfeiting

Thanks to my very good friend and true Louis Vuitton donna Biancaboo, I got my copies of the Fighting Counterfeiting booklet and a passport-like literature (later on that) issued by Louis Vuitton yesterday.

Here are shots of the Fighting Counterfeiting booklet, shared by Biancaboo, on the brand’s effort to raise awareness on the dangers of counterfeiting and the actions taken against it. Wikipedia writes that the brand is counterfeited and just over 1% of the items bearing the LV trademark is authentic. Ironically, the signature Monogram Canvas was created to prevent counterfeiting.

The 12-page booklet details that on a daily basis, there are 25 anti-counterfeiting raids, 60 new legal proceedings, 4 persons arrested and 1 website closed. Dedicated to fighting the profileration of counterfeiting, Louis Vuitton has a global team, headquartered in Paris, which works closely with law enforcement agencies around the world.

Louis Vuitton products are sold exclusively in Louis Vuitton stores, on www.louisvuitton.com and www.eluxury.com.

Thanks, G!

snapshots from london: threadneedles hotel and day one

Flying to a brand-new destination is always a thrill by itself. Couple that with a really great hotel and the chance of experiencing a world city, my trip to London was one of the best so far.

Neil and I stayed at the Threadneedles Hotel, part of the Eton Collection. Prior to our trip, I was reading an online brochure of this hotel and knew beforehand what I could expect – marble floors and pillars at the luxurious lobby, sunlight filtering through the 19th century stained-glass dome, spacious state-of-the-art rooms, Egyptian cotton bed linen and goose down duvets, and other features that made it one of Conde Nast Traveller’s 50 hottest hotels in the world. 

 

 

But more than these grand features, it’s the small details that endear. Like that purple rubber duckie sitting on the limestone bathtub beside a jar of lavender bath salts ready for sprinkling. Or those leather swatch handles in the wardrobe and drawers. Or having a bottle of water – with an option for either sparkling or still – by your bedside upon the customary turndown. Or for a Louis Vuitton lover, those beauty trunks and hatbox that sit lovely in the lobby’s bookshelves. Service is also topnotch and a smile is always on offer.

Since it was located in the heart of London’s financial district, the City, it was only forthcoming that Day One led us to sites around and close to the oldest part of the capital. Walking past the characteristic Swiss Re Headquarters located close to the Threadneedles, we found ourselves crossing the Thames River on the unpretentious London Bridge. A short stroll away led us to the Tower Bridge and what a breathtaking moment that was!  Seeing one of the perpetual subjects of postcards and travel programs in person was a dream come true. Interesting how the city mixes the modern with the old as there stands the striking rounded glass structure of the City Hall next to the towers. Click click click. This spot was perfect for Kodak Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ1 moments. 

  

Walking towards the opposite direction, we found ourselves on the Millenium Bridge leading to St. Paul’s Cathedral, a famous London landmark with its impressive dome and Baroque architectural style. The cathedral was closed the time we reached there so we didn’t get to see the interiors. With tired feet and a willing wandering spirit, we proceeded to walk all the way to the London Eye to retrieve our tickets for the Champagne Flight the day after, and crossing the Thames to the other side for the magnificent Big Ben and Houses of Parliament. I’m telling you this is just Day One and we’ve almost covered the London of my dreams.

 

 

 

And that was our last stop for the afternoon. We headed back to our hotel and had dinner at the fab pan-Asian restaurant Pacific Oriental just across it. We slept for a few hours before we headed out to Soho and danced until four.

Who said we had tired feet?

doppelgänger

Do you guys remember my post about the Damier Graphite Scarf I bought in London, which read like this?

This is my last LV purchase for the year. I am setting a self-imposed ban until my birthday in January 2009. I was meaning to get the black multicolore scarf to go with my Wapity, but the lovely SA at the relaxed Sloane Street boutique pulled out several scarves for me to see and when I tried this, I was sold.

[Pic] [Pic] [Pic] [Pic]

Now I’m all set for winter! Full report on my three-day holiday in London coming up. Thanks for looking!

Now imagine my surprise/shock when I ran into a post that read like this:

This is my last LV purchase for the year. I am setting a self-imposed ban until my birthday in October 2009. I was meaning to get the black multicolore scarf to go with my Wapity, but the lovely SA at the relaxed Rapasong Street boutique pulled out several scarves for me to see and when I tried this, I was sold.

[Pic] [Pic] [Pic]

Now I’m all set for winter! Full report on my three-day holiday in Bangkok Thailand coming up. Thanks for looking!

Now the bear accessory used for the shoot might be cuter, but COME ON, mamon! Copy much?

My entry was not a literary genius to be plagiarized in the first place; and funny how we were getting the same things and having exactly the same shopping experience continents apart.

Nuninu ninu… The things that make you go HUWAT?!?

new series of louis vuitton agenda pm

It’s hard to be on a ban when you see stuff like this. Louis Vuitton has released a new line of Agenda in size PM featuring various silk-screen decor inspired by the House’s vintage advertising visuals. These retail for $340 in Louis Vuitton stores.

     

I really like the last one in Damier Azur, but then again I already have a Damier Ebene Pocket Agenda. Who needs two agenda, right? I just hope this line gets extended to other small leather goods and accessories.