Beginning of the end

stretch
31st January 2011

Finally, finally the FMP started today!
Though the class will be 2 days a week, and most of them would be tutorial, and optional workshops.
Our result will depend on how much effort we can do by ourselves, with nice time-management skill.

And I applied to the TOEIC exam at the end of March finally!

Roughly the plan until graduate is getting be structured.
haha this will be so hard!

Go for itttttt!

last term

reach
30th January 2011

finally, the last term in my course will start tomorrow.

29

fade
29th January 2011

mmm

stitch
28th January 2011

expo

night
27th January 2011

After the client brief from last November, we were invited to the EAG expo.
Went to the Excel London, using DLR line which I never used before.
It was huge and clean!



There were not many people when we get there, but it becomes quite a lot of people including families in the afternoon.



A real-sized shooting game...



Shaun the Sheep!



Sponge Bob game...lol



This one was not even a game, but the photo-printing machine from this company was amazing.
You can create your own album if you got the memory card, and select the type of layout and design.
Then after waiting for a few minutes, the book will come out! It is clean printing and very nice binding.
Cannot believe this can do automatically in this short time...
I created a lot because it was free! ↓



Hopping game, unexpectedly exhausted



I couldn't find any Prikura, but found a lot of old type of purikura, photo booths.
We took a lot because again, all cost was free!
And this machine was quite funny as well, you can create your music video, by recording your head
with the dancing body image. This was really nice quality and all the machine were sold out!



This X-Rider from Bandai Namco was good too, you can experience 3D image too!



I was a bit worried first because the expo sounded a bit geeky, and I don't know any games,
but actually there were big amusement machines, rather than screen-based games.
I felt the time gone so fast! We needed more time! haha.
This EAG was Second times this year, so I guess it will grow more and more in the future...
Well, Japanese one should be more big and great and geeky though!

On the next day of

fu
26th January 2011

I had a tutorial on the next day I came back from Belgium.

Although this time was for the illustration brief, we kept talking about the Japanese culture
including the packaging design that we have talked last time.
And it was meant to be 30 minutes but we talked over an hour after all lol

By the way I was surprised by how small number of people coming for the D&AD tutorial so far.
Even the deadline is almost a month later already... Well, I am doing nothing special too though :P

I need to work hard once the new semester starts on Monday cuz we have to think about our
FMP too...sigh

Belgium Trip ＊ Day 4 ＊ Brussels

direction
25th January 2011

Final day in Belgium.
It was shame the last day was raining and very cold all day long.

We went to the South station to put our luggage after we check out,
and went to the antique market near the station.
Because it was raining even in the early morning, maybe half of the entire space was empty,
but there are still people selling stuff, and most of them were quite not care about
how the stuff can be dumpy due to rain...

But I could find quite good stuff... satisfied :)



We used Metro to get to the station near the royal palace, and walked to the place where museums are.
The main purpose of our journey in Brussels was to go to the Magritte museum.
But it was closed! because they are putting up the installation art at the moment and it won't be open till February...
Ahhh I wanted to see the real Magritte's pictures which I saw it last time when I was a junior-high student.
Anyway I went to the Royal Museum, but it also having some kind of preparation to the other exhibition.
And I missed the Kandinsky's exhibition which I could have been able to go if Eurostar could run in December...

But it was nice to see Museum of Instrumental.
It was nice to see a lot of interesting Art Nouveau Architecture in Brussels, where was the city of birth of that art culture.





And the battery of my camera was dead on the last day, so I couldn't take many pics.
But I brought my Holga with me too so I can upload it to here when I develop them :)



After the museum, we went to the centre of city.
Went to the antique book hop that we came across yesterday.
I found such a nice pamphlet ( or magazine?) for the old film.
They got single coloured background with nice mixed graphic of black-white drawings and photographs on the front.
Im happy I could get theeemmm :)

(the picture above is just a cute book I found there)

Then had a last lunch there, and went back to the South Station by Metro.
Took a train depart at 4, then finally came back to UK.

It was fun,and I am glad I could finally went to Belgium after the twice failure...
Besides, we could go to the 3 cities, and had enough time for each to walk and see around.
Oh I have to bind a new scrapbook for this journey...!

Belgium Trip ＊ Day 3 ＊ Brugge → Brussels

hole
24th January 2011



Day 3 in Belgium.
We supposed to get up early but we couldn't, cuz felt soo exhausted somehow..
Anyway we checked out and leave our luggage in the hotel,
and went for the last walk in Brugge.



Brugge got a lot of Lace and Chocolate shops.
There were so many chocolate shops in a row even on the opposite side of the road,
when we were walking down the high street.
And we found the wood-graven, kind of cookie-cutters? which having shapes such as
Windmill, people in a traditional costume, and animals.
I guess these are ariginally from Holland, but they were so cute...! expecially the one with the shape of horse and bear.
And after all I got a people (dressed up as like a cook) from the different shop which selling kitchen stuff.




And we thought we should drop by the sightseeing place in Brugge before we leave, The Lake of Love.
It was cloudy and cold so the lake looks a bit shabby but it was big and beautiful :)



Then we took a train again, and back to Brussels, where was the starting point of our journey.
It took only 1 hour from Brugge.



Hotel was in the central of the city.
It was near the Gland Place, Little man piss, and the shopping area.
The location was perfect, and it was on the guide book as well, so
we were kind of expecting, but when we get there, we just giggled...
because the decoration was overdo and it was rather Arabian than European lol



Anyway, we went to see the Little man piss first,
and it was slightly smaller than I thought, but the crowd was surrounding him and taking picture.
On the way to that statue, there were many funny souvenir shops which was selling the stuff of
the Little man piss. There were even the huge chocolate peeing boy! lol



After we looked the shops inside the big Arcade called Galeries St-Hubert,
we walked around the city, and then tried to go to the restaurant after we take pictures of the sign outside of Toon puppet theatre.
But this narrow alley was awful because the guy tried to catch the tourists was so... scary.
Kind of trying to drag us into the restaurant, even we said no and wanted to escape.
I will never walk into that alley again -_-



And we bought bottles of beer because that was the last night in Belgium.
I picked up the one with nice label (packaging design geek :P)

Belgium Trip ＊ Day 2 ＊ Antwerp → Brugge

akuma
23rd January 2011

Day 2 in Belgium.
We checked out the hotel early in the morning, and went to the station to put the luggages in the locker,
and walked around the town.

We went to kind of pub restaurant for the breakfast, but what I had was English Breakfast lol
Even it was in Antwerp... even I am away from Britain...
But it was including 100% fresh orange juice and hot chocolate, which are great...!
Good for keeping myself warm too...



Then we went to Plantin Printing Museum to see historical printing materials and facilities.
There were 31 rooms exhibiting these stuff, really big.
The funny thing in Belgium is, the entree fee has no student discount.
Instead of it, they asked us age, and it only costs 2 euros.
Royal museum in Brussels as well. which is good thing.





The letterpress were toooo attractive and beautiful...!
Especially this fallen down letters of 'f' was marvellous.

There were plenty of different typefaces, and I found the one with ♪ shape
for the ancient music sheets.



We were wandering around the old city near the Notre dame Church while we waiting for the opening time of the church for public.
There were so many chocolates shops too...!



Notre Dame Church



I think Japanese tourists come a lot to this church, because of the 'A Dog of Flanders'.
I even found the glass of picture with Nello and Patrasche...
Look how weird it is!! Kind of funny in a way anymore...
He might be really poor but not poor enough to wear nothing...! lol
and strange combination with Japanese characters besides...



And then went to Dsire de Lille, which is Waffle restaurant famous in Japan too, to eat waffle.
That was greaaaattttt
I couldnt finish whipped cream but the crispy waffle with ice cream and syrup was just great...



And we arrived at Brugge after we got on a train which took about an hour and half to there from Antwerp, in the evening.
We could easily checked in this time because the hotel was too close to station.
Then off to town centre to have dinner...

Brugge is a small town that surrounded by rivers.
And it is famous for 'Lake of Love', so we could see red and heart decorations all around the town.
It was small enough to walk around.
The view of old houses in a row was so nice, you should drop by this town if you ever travelling to Belgium.



The guy serving us in the restaurant was hot! :P
He was whispering 'Suimasen, Douzo (Excuse me, here you are)'
when he was putting knives and folks on the table, then I was like; 'Wait, are you speaking Japanese!?'
Then we found out he used to live in Shinjuku for a year.
Aww he was cute...and the food was great there too!
We really enjoyed the 2nd night in Belgium :)

Belgium Trip ＊ Day 1 ＊ Antwerp

stripe
22nd January 2011

I came back from Belgium!
I will post the journey one by one because it needs time to pick up
photos and edit them at once...
Today starts from Antwerp.



Leaving London at about 8 in the morning, we arrived at Brussels about 11 including time difference.
Then we took another train to Antwerp.
The decorative look of Antwerp station was waiting for us when we step out from the train.
These were very detailed and massive! the ceiling was so high and beautiful.



round ceiling in the entrance



Unexpectedly, our hotel we booked was super-far away from the central.
We meant to use Trams and Busses, but didn't know that they are not running on Saturday and Sunday...
So we walked, walked, and walked...
After that we used a taxi to get to the central of old city though...
Luckily it was not too expensive.

And there were plenty of gorgeous buildings when we get there!
The jagged-shaped roof with very detail decoration which looks like a waffle,
these high buildings were standing closely.




the view from the riverside was also great, in the pinky sky of sunset.







Most of the normal shops were closed, but we could see the restaurants and pubs
even in very narrow dark street, which looks nice.



There were so many good-looking restaurants, which all had own style.







But those restaurants are really expensive, if they decorating inside in very unique style.
So finally we choose the one which got a line of ramps around the edge of the house,
which looks cute because it reminds me a ginger cookie for xmas.

Belgium is famous for Mussel recipe. So we ordered a course...
I don't really like oysters, but these were so delicious...!