After a very enjoyable ride through France and the Chunnel, Rob and I reached London. We had exchanged stories and learned a number of things about one another. One of the main topics that constantly came up between us was the prize. What would Damien Hirst give everyone who finished the challenge? How big would it be? This has become a funny joke with Rob and I at this point.

The first stop in London was the Gagosian located on Britannia St., which thankfully was only blocks from the central train station. Upon walking in we both received the warmest welcome to date. The Director was at the desk with his check-in girls and they all asked where we’d come from. Then they wondered if Rob and I were traveling together, which we explained as sort of… we ran into eachother! We browsed the gallery and the Director met us in the room with the “Controlled Substances” series and their corresponding pieces. It was actually a historic event, since basically none of these paintings that were designed to live together (the puzzle and its key) have been shown side-by-side in decades. Rob and I took our photos, got our stamps, met some other Spot Challengers (who won’t be able to finish) and then made our way to some coffee and wifi.

After a break from traveling to check emails, maps, etc. we headed for the Tube. I know London is an expensive city and it doesn’t completely throw me off since I live in NYC, but some of the prices I came across were crazy. The first example was the train fare, £4.30 (basically $8.00+) for zone 1 and we were going three stops! We made it to Davies St. and found it to be the most interesting show so far. It was basically a small glass storefront that had pieces placed at eye level and no larger than a medium pizza. Some of the smallest ones were 0.5″-1″ and the spots ran off the sides. Davies Street had another great director and she was pretty damn funny. A young RISD grad and originally from Korea, she’d broken down so many aspects of the show and even different Gagosians around the world. We left with one more stamp and London finished. Rob and I headed straight to the pub for a celebratory pint. After a drink and some talks we decided to part ways to get some rest; we weren’t sure if we’d meet up again and left it open from there.

I finally got to the flat I was staying at and rested for only a little while before heading back out on the town to meet my friend Celine. She used to work with me in Manhattan and had moved to London about a year ago. Now I was in town at the perfect time because she was having a going away celebration. Celine is now bound for San Francisco, so that ment we had to party it up. Long story short, I eventually made my way home pretty early in the morning and cold from the elements. After some sleep I dragged my ass out of bed, took a shower, changed and thanked my hosts. My morning took me on a great walk over Tower Bridge and through London to a pub that provided me with a meal of amazingness. Yes, amazingness is exactly what I was looking for and now with that beautiful Irish Breakfast I’d found. The cook even said it was the best thing on the menu as I left.

To the airport I went. Thank you Heathrow Express for your extremely easy system. I had a little fun in duty free – I didn’t get that KAWS/Henny you see. I got something better. Made my way to my flight to plop into business class and rest the whole way home. Only three more Gagosians to go.

I spent Thursday night doing a little prep for my trip. This weekend I packed very light, I almost feel as though I took less than when I went home to LA! Either way I was ready to go when I went to the office Friday morning. This trip I felt a little different about how I wanted to travel. I really enjoy traveling for the most part and decided that I’d celebrate the old times of when people dressed for the occasion. A button-up, good dark jeans and some nice Y-3s were perfect for my weekend in Paris and London. Leaving the office early I arrived at JFK with the perfect amount of time to relax and think about the whirlwind ahead of me, and what they might hopefully be serving for dinner in Business Class.

The flight was good, got some rest and then off into Paris I went. Nothing is open at 9am on a Saturday morning in the city of love. Luckily I remembered a Starbucks near the city center from years back and knew it’d be open, along with having wifi. I walked from the North Station down towards the river. Grabbing a shot of expresso and some internet I warmed up (18 degrees roughly) before taking a trek around the city. Gagosian Paris doesn’t open until 11am, so keep that in mind whenever you’re visiting for any reason. I had a pretty amazing morning around town, making it to the gallery just after it opened. As I walked in I was kindly greeted and took to viewing the small collection. I heard anther visitor enter two minutes later. Turning around I saw someone I knew, “Rob?”

“Hey, perfect! I’m so happy to see you” he said. I met Rob last week in LA and we had a nice talk about our trips to date. He mentioned that he’d be in Europe the following week. We swapped info, but never set anything official up. I assumed I find him in London. It was great seeing another familiar face doing this crazy trip, especially in a similar way to myself. “Are you taking the train to London?” – I asked. He thought “Yah, the 1…” I butted in with “the 1:30?” And boom, we were both headed to London together.

Don’t worry. I never actually blasted the Jay-Z and Kanye song around Paris.

I think I have everything ready to go for the first leg of Europe, which begins tomorrow night. For now I need to sleep after packing and prepping for the office in the morning. I’m excited because it looks to be a pretty quick, but very fun trip. If you notice the pain reliever in the photo, that would be to help the ankle injury I got last night (wonderful timing). I was bouldering at my gym in the cave, flew of the ceiling and landed wrong on the incorrectly placed pads. I was scared, although fine the rest of the night. To help prevent any injuries I put ice on it before going to bed; around 4am I woke of in crazy pain and instantly worried about the Whirlwind Weekend ahead of me. Long story short, I got a brace on my way into the office this morning and did my best to stay off of it for the time being. Now to rest before starting another day of work ending with travel.

We finished breakfast and walked over to the gallery to add another spot to my card and finish North America. I was impressed by the massive spot painting displayed in the show, and I guess it only makes sense that LA would have what appears to be the largest piece in the series. I ran into some other individuals taking on the challenge and even a nice guy named Rob. He was even doing it in a similar way to me. We exchanged info and said where we were planning on being next. Hopefully, “we’ll grab a beer in London” he said, and I agreed. Well, after that Euno and I got in the car and made our way to the airport for my 1:30pm flight back to NYC. I got there on time, cruised through security (it was Saturday) and made my way back to the East.

Thanks to my family and friends who have been cheering me on along the way. On to Europe!

Thank You Hong Kong

“So, where to next? – We’ll I’m trying to do this only on the weekends. – WOW! Good luck then. Well, you should take advantage of the weather and head to The Peak.”

Then I agreed and headed out into the city. I did some wandering and tried to work my way towards The Peak. I read that not visiting this location is equal to seeing Paris without the Eiffel Tower climb.

I finally made it back to the apartment before having to quickly run out again to meet a friend. She was actually a pen-pal from about a decade ago. We got drinks at the top of the ICC building in Kowloon. This spot was crazy high (118 stories) and didn’t even seem real. We said goodbye after a fun talk and then I was off to meet up with Frankie again. Dinner with his family and then we hit the night life… hard.