R E V O L V E R C O F F E E

People in Vancouver love to drink coffee. In fact, this becomes evident just before the morning rush hour as people are heading into their offices to start the day. You would think that a coffee cup is the most common unisex accessory there is. Coffee drinkers have a lot of options these days but this was not always the case. Starbucks and Tim Hortons have the most real estate in the city amongst coffee shops as you would expect in a Canadian city but you are starting to see independent cafes pop up. Case in point, Revolver near Gas Town. This coffee shop is close by to Meat and Bread for those that know that amazing little sandwich shop but that's not all that it is known for. Revolver is small and unassuming. The interior is lined with a brick wall, booths and window seating with plenty of natural light. The coffee? Let's just say that they serve in my opinion one of the top 2 cups of coffee in Vancouver. Slow coffee is their specialty. If you're in the mood, you can opt for the filtered or siphoned variety. If you're feeling Aussie? They apparently also serve flat whites and long blacks! I am not a Starbucks hater by any means. There is much better coffee in Vancouver... so if you have the time, explore. Revolver is just one of a few that might compare to coffee here in Melbourne. Revolver 325 Cambie Street Vancouver, BC, Canada

L O N D O N

Some of you already know but I lived in London for about 10 months last year for work so this trip was not for the sake of seeing tourist attractions, it was just to catch up with friends. Still, when I arrived in Heathrow, it felt like I was returning to a place that I was very familiar with. Everything from the tube to the announcements over the PA system made it feel like I never really left. Perspective The 365 project that I did eons ago helped force me to look at the ordinary things from a different perspective. Having lived in London for almost a year, it came as a bit of challenge to shoot well-known tourist attractions and the tube from a unique perspective. But going out there with a camera and giving it a try, I find that I sometimes find things that I didn’t even know was there. It makes you feel like you need to appreciate even the smaller things in life. It was fun walking around town and seeing some of the more familiar places I used to frequent (ie. Covent Garden, Embankment, etc.). Not much has changed around there really. Still bustling and busy as ever! Meetups I only had 3 nights in London but on one of them I had the opportunity to meet up with Kirstin McKee and Elsa Konig. I’m sure they’re fairly well known amongst a lot of you. Kirstin even brought along her SX70 this time (love shooting older cameras). As always, it was a good time just catching up and talking photography and this thing to do with photo processing… of which we will not name… haha. Overall Since I have already done reviews on the places that I have eaten in London before, I won’t go through that. Just going to have to wait until we get to Florence for that. That’s where I’m headed next!

S C O T L A N D

During my time living in London in 2011, I had the opportunity to visit some incredible places. Scotland and the Isle of Skye was a place I longed to visit for so many reasons and I finally had the chance to do that in August 2011. Hope you enjoy the read below. Over the course of my traveling so far this year I think there are a few things that I realized. One prominent thing I came to recognize was that while I enjoy going to the big and showy metropolitan cities, I really came to enjoy being in the peace and quiet of the country side. This coming from a person who was born and raised in Vancouver, I realize that this might come off as being a little strange. The thing is, every city to me is just that... another city. You don’t get the raw differences and characteristics that are unique to the countryside. It might have been after going to Ireland that I realized how much I enjoyed it, so with that in mind, I decided to go to Scotland following my trip to Turkey. Edinburgh Saying that, the first place that I flew into was Edinburgh, another big city ... But we had plans to go into the country side a few days later so that's ok. It was the Fringe Fest in Edinburgh when we got there. This is a huge event that takes place every year in the month of August in which performers of all kinds set up shows across the city. Stand up comedy and musicals are primarily the hit attractions I think but it seemed like there were huge amounts of people taking part in this. It’s too bad that by the time I got there, it was the last few days of the festival already and most of the tickets were selling out like hot cakes (I can’t believe I just used that reference?). That and I was suffering from food poisoning from my last night in Turkey..... Wanting to hurl every 2-3 hours was not conducive to enjoying the festival in the cold weather that was easily 20 degrees lower than in Turkey. I’m going to sidetrack here but I had to pack a huge bag for this 2 week trip through Turkey and Scotland because I knew the temperatures would be different but I didn’t know I was going from 35+ degree weather in Turkey to about 7 degrees in Edinburgh! So... food poisoning turned into general sickness and flu afterwards. Oh well. All part of the experience! Moving along... I met up with a friend, Elsa, and we explored Edinburgh together, seeing all the major sights. We took in the views of the city from The Scot Monument (the stairs were extremely narrow mind you. My whole 145lb body barely squeezed through one of the corridors near the top). The thing about Edinburgh is that although it is a big city, you can clearly see the distinction between the Old Town and the rest. The old town was almost medieval looking and needless to say, perfect for picture taking. It also had an abundance of greenery all around as well. People who go to Edinburgh should definitely make the effort to go up to the top of the Arthur’s Seat. Situated on the east end of the city, the Arthur’s Seat is a very popular exercise and leisure activity as people will job, climb, or waddle along. The views from up there are magnificent. Though a little cold and sick, the view made the climb well worth it. I hear it can be very muddy going up the track during days of rain though so be careful and wear appropriate exercise gear. If you are wearing jeans or nice clothing, you’re bound to get dirty. After staying 2 nights in Edinburgh, we travelled north by train to the city of Aberdeen. There isn’t much to see here in terms of tourist attractions but we needed to get up here to rent a car which we had prebooked from the airport. From there, we started our road trip towards Glencoe, Ballachulish, Isle of Skye, and the Loch Ness. Glencoe and Ballachulish Because the two locations are about 1 mile apart, it just makes sense to put them together. I had seen pictures of the Glencoe on google and couldn’t believe my eyes. With that image in mind, we had to drive south west and go through that area for sure. The views didn’t disappoint despite the cloudy weather we had. There were mountains on either side of the road whose scale really made you feel insignificant in ways that you cannot imagine. The glen converged on the road as well so it was like you were driving straight through a mountain pass. It was pretty incredible and so amazingly grand in scale. I can only imagine what this would look like during a nice sunset (which we did not have unfortunately). We only spent a night in Glencoe but we did take a photography safari from 6-9pm in hopes of catching the sunset. We were driven around by a local who is a fairly well known photographer in the area and he took us to some spots that he believed would give us some good photo opps. I am happy to say that we were not disappointed. Karl is a great guy who is patient, knowledgeable and keen to teach. He had a group of 4 including us and we all varied in experience but he had no issues with making sure that we all received some attention. In total, I think we shot at about 3 locations in the 3 hours but he did spend a good amount of time talking about technical skills, composition, and just general approaches to landscape photography. I came out of it with a deeper understanding of composition and dynamic range through bracketing so it was well worth it for me. The following pictures were taken during this safari. If you are in the area of Glencoe during your stay in Scotland and want to learn more about landscape photography, definitely contact Karl. You can find his website here. I would highly suggest you ask for a sunset safari because if the weather cooperates (big IF), you are primed to get some amazing shots no matter what your skill level. Karl will take you to spots he believes provides you with good viewpoints for the kind of light you’re getting so at £35 for the evening, even 1 good shot will make it worthwhile. Unfortunately we had dark and cloudy weather but you make what you can from it! Hence why all the pictures above are black and white or heavily desaturated haha. We spent the evening in the Ardno House in Ballachulish. It took us a little while to find this place in the dark but when we did, we were pleasantly surprised. After being in hostels for the past 1.5 weeks, it was so nice to come into a warm and cozy home with a huge bedroom, comfy bed, and enormous private bathroom. Alan is the owner of this place and he was nice enough to bring in an extra bed for the floor as the room was only a double and we need a twin. At only £72 for the night, it was a steal honestly. The breakfast was plentiful and incredibly filling. Alan did a great job in suggesting places for us to go along our drive to the Isle of Skye the next day as well. This Bed and Breakfast was only about a 10 minute drive from the Glencoe region so it’s very convenient if you plan to hike or explore this area further. Isle of Skye We had both heard about the Isle of Skye from a number of people and the resounding opinion was that it was gorgeous and that it was a beautiful place. We knew we had to go there considering the reviews and the pictures we had seen. So from Ballachulish to the Isle of Skye we drove. It took about 5 hours to get to Portree in the Isle of Skye but the drive was stunning. We were told by Alan that there was a very nice view point if we took the ferry from Glenelg instead of taking the highway so we decided to head for that route. We made the left at the Shiel Bridge and looked for signs for Glenelg. As we drove, the roads got very narrow (only one car could fit through many of the passes and there were winding corners as well). Though, that’s what it is like driving in the UK in the countryside. It was the same in Ireland as well. Roads were fast, narrow, and there were a lot of blind turns so that you have no idea what is coming at you – it was great fun! Not sure that Elsa shared that enthusiasm with me though! We followed the road until we saw some stops with high vantage points. There were a few amazing stops for overhead viewpoints of the land and water below. We even ran into some highland cows! They seriously look like the rocker version of our North American counterparts. Too cool right? :) After spending some time taking pictures like crazy people, we headed back down towards the ferry. It was a little sketchy to be honest. The platform to get on the ferry was barely on connecting bridge and you just had to think that a slight turn the wrong way and your car would have fallen or tipped over into the water. Anyway, it was only a short ferry ride and we were officially on the Isle of Skye. From there, we drove along a path that was just filled with more opportunities for photos. We stopped more than a few times along the way to Portree as we kept snapping away. We spent 2 nights in the Isle of Skye because we knew that there was so much to see here. We really just roamed around the island for the two days and stopped wherever we saw fit. If we spotted a location that could potentially be a good spot for photos come sunset, we made a note and came back. Luckily, we did get a sunset on one evening after it had chucked down with rain. It goes to show you that just because it rains, it doesn’t mean that you won’t get some good weather for photos afterwards. I am still a newbie at landscape photography but one thing I know that I enjoy is clouds and the sunset colors. I would take clouds over a clear day any day, it just adds so much more drama to the photo. So we stuck around in the car and waited for the rain to stop... and when it did, we quickly ran outside to catch the last bit of light... We spent the two nights at the Cruinn Bheinn just about 7 miles out of the town of Portree. The room was large for the two of us and the beds were so comfortable! I had no trouble sleeping those two nights that’s for sure. The breakfast portions were huge and the food was quite good – just about everything I could ask for! I even got a lot more grapefruit bits than I requested and who can complain about that? :) The price was only £34 per person per night with breakfast included and for a 4 star bed and breakfast, I would come back here again and again. Loch Ness Most people who know about this place know of it because of the reference to the Loch Ness monster. As children we pictured the monster as being a mysterious brontosaurus (Land Before Time?) like creature who roamed the Loch and scared the jebeezus out of the people who encountered her. Well we didn’t see the monster I’m afraid but we did see a great sunset. After finding our bed and breakfast in the very small town called Foyers, we drove out to eat at the local pub in White Bridge. The food was probably the best we had in Scotland – I had a huge craving for steak and Elsa had some haggis and they were both very good and just what we needed after spending hours on the road. After dinner though, we had seen that the sky was opening up and that we could be in for a sunset so we drove along the Loch Ness until we saw a bit of an opening. Sure enough, we got a beautiful sunset that night ... Though we did encounter a swarm of midges out there (pesky little fly looking things that sucked your blood much like mosquitoes...). We stayed at the Foyers House for the night. Foyers itself is an extremely small village/town and there isn’t much there to do or see. There are certainly more populated towns to visit if you are staying in the Loch Ness area including Fort Augustus. It was good for us because we really just wanted to put our heads down to sleep here and head back out in the morning but for those looking for a place to stay and to relax... this may not be the spot. We paid £58 between the two of us that night so it was cheap but again, not much cheaper than the previous two places we stayed at and those were much nicer. What did I think? After our night in the Loch Ness, we had a long drive ahead of us towards Aberdeen where we had a flight to catch back to London. On our way back we passed through Inverness and we stopped for a few pictures along the way. The sun was out and we found a wheat field so who can complain? :D We even had McDonalds for lunch. Made my day (it was just one of those cravings that comes every month or so but it was so satisfying... until I finished the meal). When we got to the airport, we were both exhausted. I had been on the go for about 2 weeks and we had driven over 700-800 miles through Scotland. While it flew by I think I was tired enough to go home and get some rest. It actually startled me a bit but I looked forward to getting back to London. Great... just when I am about to leave :/

S U S H I I W A

First post by Janice, Yay!! While Daisan Harumi was a pretty satisfying first sushi meal in Tokyo, we were really excited and couldn't wait to go try out Sushi Iwa. Prior to the trip, we had done quite a bit of research and came across a blog post on this one Michelin star restaurant. We were quite lucky in getting a dinner booking despite calling maybe only a week or two in advance. Since there are only about 6 seats available, reservations are a must. Sushi Iwa Tokyo , Chuo-ku, Ginza 8-5-25 second Sanyu Building 1F Located in stylish and high-end Ginza area, Sushi Iwa was not the easiest to find but we managed (nothing was going to get in our way of this meal!). Once we sat down, we ordered some warm sake and the chef began to serve us the sashimi. After the first few slices, both Kelven and I already knew that this was quite a bit better than what we had a Daisan Harumi. It's amazing how for a pretty similar price range, that Sushi Iwa was miles ahead in terms of freshness and taste. Ironically enough, Daisan Harumi was actually ranked higher on Tabelog than Sushi Iwa was - it goes to show you that taste in food can be subjective. After the sashimi, the chef began proceeded to prepare the sushi for us. We were both mesmerized by how precise he was, from dabbing exactly two drops of soya sauce to only two quick shavings of lemon zest for specific pieces. Kelven has never quite enjoyed ikura (salmon roe), uni (sea urchin) or any kind of fish liver. Lucky for us, they served us all three during the meal and I must say they were the highlights of the meal. Even Kelven had to agree this was pretty good because it tasted so fresh. The uni was so sweet and creamy that it melted in your mouth without that bitter taste that we sometimes taste in uni back home. We thoroughly enjoyed each item offered and were quite full by the time the tamago came around. I will let the pictures speak for themselves :)~ . The other best part of the meal was the amount of good sake we had. We had originally ordered only one small bottle between the two of us. But within minutes of us sitting down, an older Japanese gentleman who was dining alone on Kelven's right began talking to us and offering us some of his sake. His reason for offering us his sake was that he believed this sake to be one of the best in Japan and that he wanted to welcome us to this beautiful country (how nice of him!!). You could tell he was really enjoying his meal and despite dining alone, he was having a lot of fun talking to us. When he left, the chef actually told us that we probably wouldn't want to know how much that sake cost. That got us really curious so he finally told us that the bottle of sake could easily go for $150USD a bottle. Whilst Kelven was talking to the Japanese gentleman on his right and we were trying the sake, the gentleman on my left began to talk to me. I could hear from his conversations with his daughter and his wife earlier that they were on vacation from Hong Kong, so I quickly introduced myself in Chinese. They were delighted to find out that I can speak Cantonese and within seconds, he too offered us some sake from the bottle they brought to dinner (which also happens to be about $150 a bottle). With the amount of good food and sake we had, this was easily one of the most memorable meals of our trip. I also rank this above any of the sushi restaurants we have tried to date (including Sushi Yasuda in New York and any in North America). A picture with the master chef was a must!

D A I S A N H A R U M I

When we were planning for our trip to Japan, the key thing that we had in mind was food. Where were we going to get some great food and how do we get it. That was the key question. Me and Janice are sushi lovers so naturally, when we were planning to go to Japan, we were at a loss as to which sushi-ya to try. While we would have loved to give Saito, Sawada, Mizutani or Jiro a try, we could only afford to eat at that level so many times before we went way over our budget. We read about Daisan Harumi as a cheaper and easier to book alternative so we thought we would give it a try. This place was no slouch either, being ranked the 19th best sushi restaurant in Tokyo by Tabelog (Japanese review site) in October 2013. Daisan Harumi Tokyo, Minato-ku, Shinbashi 1-17-7 This was our first taste of Japan as we arrived in Narita at 5pm and our reservation was at 7:30pm – let’s just say it was a mad rush to get there on time. We did not even have the time to go to the hotel to drop our bags off so unfortunately we carried our two big luggages with us into the restaurant – they were nice enough to accommodate though I would not recommend doing that (restaurants in Japan are typically very, very small). We went with the omakase (chef’s specialty/choice) as we often do at any good sushi restaurant. We started with sashimi which included Ika, Red Snapper, and Flounder. We then feasted on an assortment of nigiri to get an idea of the amazing variety that Japan is privy to. One of my favourite dishes surprisingly was the grilled unagi however. Small bite size pieces which just melted in your mouth. The smokiness from the grilled char marks was delicious! Daisan Harumi is a fairly foreigner friendly intro to high end sushi – the chef’s assistant even brought out cards which explained the types of fish that we were eating in English! The chef himself though, did not speak very much English at all so conversation during the meal was a bit difficult. The meal was a good one to get us started in our culinary journey in Japan but over the course of our trip, we started to realize that we did not enjoy Daisan Harumi as much as we did other restaurants. The price per person was about $185 USD and for that amount, while we were relatively full, we did not get blown away by the food. Perhaps we are sushi snobs and had very high expectations and therefore we left a bit underwhelmed. Still, compared to Shiro’s in Seattle and Sushi Sam’s in San Francisco, Daisan Harumi ranks right up there with the two of them. Sushi Yasuda in New York served sushi that was more to our liking however. We went to five different sushi restaurants on our trip and here’s how I would rank them: 1. Sushi Iwa (by a country mile) 2. Sushi Dai 3. Daisan Harumi 4. Sushi Midori 5. Sushi Zanmai