ninja_neko / Ninja Neko

A few years ago my boss took our department out to lunch in H-J’s Ranchhouse. This is a Western style restaurant, packed with Western goodies such as cowboy hats & boots, playing country music and showing old Western DVDs. There were 20 of us so we had to wait a long time for our food, but it was great. I enjoyed it so much that I returned a few weeks later with my boyfriend and some of our carnivorous friends (seriously, don’t bother coming to this restaurant when you’re a vegetarian, it’s all steak, with perhaps an occasional Mexican dish like guacamole). The guy who’s running the place (H-J?) had a German accent (Hanz-Jürgen?), and seems to be on his own safe for a Polish waitress (I’m talking 2 years back, so may have changed by now). When he brought us some drinks before dinner, he told us to throw our peanut shells on the floor. We thought this was kinda odd but went ahead and threw our stuff around, there was nobody else in the place anyway. Next a family with children entered, and when they saw the mess on the floor around our table they shot us such dirty looks! (“kids these days!”) Until the German guy explained to them that they were supposed to do it too. I’ve been told it’s an American custom to do this in bars, something about the shells absorbing spilled drinks on the floor? Anyhow, great fun, huge portions. Kids will obviously like it here too.

On our way to the south of France for our annual family vacation, we stopped at Chenonceau. I remember that there were loads of (plastic?) sheep sculptures on the lawn, I wonder if they’re still there.
I also remember sitting down on a bench in the castle and being chooed away by an angry supervisor, turned out the bench was part of the exposition :/
My parents have a watercolour painting of the castle which they got as a souvenir here.
The picture is a scan of an old slide my dad took back then.

For a long long time I have wanted to travel to and through Japan. I can list many reasons why, but I still wouldn’t be able to properly express the magnetic effect the place has on me. I suppose many “westerners” have the same feeling.
Maybe we were Japanese in a previous life eh :)

I just booked my trip (15 days) for October. It’ll be the first time I travel outside of Europe and the first time I’ll be on my own, travelling with a group of strangers. Needless to say I’m very exited!
My itinerary on ListsOfBests