Day 16. Cheers

Day 16 was Neta's last full day in England, and thus brings a close to The 3 NiNJas Epic Euro Adventure. Today we ran some errands on base, then headed to Bicester Village, a designer outlet mall.  There were tons of tourists, Asians and Arabian-ish people, and there was even a 'contemplation room' where people were seen praying on their knees. Interesting. 

We ate at a terrific restaurant called Grand Café Villandry, where Jarett ordered the Duck Parfait starter, which was like paté, Neta had the salmon platter, which came with salmon paté, poached salmon, smoked salmon, baked salmon, capers, bread and a beet ragout, Nicole ordered the hummus and pita. For our main meals, Neta ordered a shrimp linguine, Jarett had the smoked haddock risotto, and Nicole had a mozzarella pesto sandwich (there was another cheese in there, but this writer is too lazy to go downstairs and ask). 

We were so hungry we forgot to take pictures of our main courses…but here are our starters! 

After lunch, we looked in all the fancy shmancy shops--Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Dior, Vivienne Westwood, etc. We began to wonder where all the shoppers got their money…Neta thinks they all inherited family oil fields. Sticking to Jarett's line of thinking, maybe they are in the lucrative camel industry?  Anyways, Neta and Jarett picked up gifts from Cath Kidston, and Neta checked another thing off her bucket list by purchasing an investment piece from DVF--the quintessential wrap dress. 

After shopping at the outlets, we headed to Tesco, a local market, to pick up some last minute omiyage, then headed back to the house to relax. We ended up ordering Indian food--which was delish! We ordered the Lamb Pathia (the one with the lemon slice on it), Tandoori Chicken Massala (red), Garlic Nan (bread thing on nearest plate), Lemon Rice, Vindaloo (lamb dish above lemon rice), Khandar Chicken (above the three sauces), and Bombay Aloo (potatoes above Khandar Chicken). What a spread! This was also Jarett's first Indian meal--a lot of firsts on this trip!

Dinner courtesy of Anica, a local Indian joint. They even threw in a complimentary bottle of red wine! 

We finished the day watching Frozen and attempting to play a Disney drinking game. Jarett says he has never watched the movie, but for some odd reason, he sang along to almost every song…hmmm…

As the sun sets on The 3 NiNJas Epic Euro Adventure, we'd like to thank Nicole for being such a gracious host, and chauffeur. Aunty Jan and Uncle Jimmy for buying us dinners along our journey, and Jarett for hauling all of Neta's gifts back home to her family. After saving up more money and vacation time, we will be back for another round of epic adventures. We are currently recruiting Ninjas, so save up & hope to include you in our next round of blogs! 

Thanks for following along, Cheers! xx

Day 15. London.

After an epic homemade breakfast of eggs, skillet potatoes and super crunch toast, we headed out into the cold and drizzly English weather. Our destination was London, and after a stop at Marylebone, we caught the subway to the London Eye. 

Ready to explore London! 

The London Eye

We walked next to the Thames river, and caught sight of Big Ben…

3 NiNJas & Big Ben


It was a blustery autumn day, with cold, heavy and windy air. There were lots of tourists taking pictures, and businessmen trying to their destinations. From Big Ben, we stopped in front of Westminster Abbey and took a few pictures. We were going to go in, but due to our time restraint and the price of entrance, we decided against it. 

Westminster Abbey

We then walked through St. James park, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The leaves were changing and falling, and Neta got humbled when she Tangoed her mom and told her to "look at how fat the ducks were." Her mom replied, "those are geese." 

Jarett and Nicole strolling through St. James park

London Eye from St. James park; Buckingham Palace is right behind us

We then walked up to Buckingham Palace, where there were many tourists taking pictures. There were two guards, and to be honest, the whole thing was quite anticlimactic. 

Buckingham Palace (insert Royal orchestra music) 

Stomachs growling, we walked to Trafalgar square in search of a decent restaurant. 

Jarett stopping to make a faux call...

Trafalgar Square

We found a pub called Chandos, and ate upstairs in their Opera Room. Nicole got a pulled pork sandwich, Jarett couldn't refrain from getting bangers and mash, while Neta got the Fisherman's pie--which was amazing! 

Fisherman's pie, a traditional English dish with three different types of fish, shrimp, in a creamy sauce with mashed potatoes

We finished dinner with a toffee pudding and ice cream, and decided to head for the train station. It was starting to get dark, and it was drizzling out. Day 15 was a very productive day indeed. 

*Special Feature*

all about jarett. 

Jarett, an interesting species of man, who received a formal education from YouTube. He is very particular about certain things, and thus, it is proven he is of a Murakami/Vasconcellos bloodline.

Jarett refuses to let others pay for their meals and groceries, gas and treats—he is a very generous man.  He is constantly saying “sorry” for nothing.

            You wait outside a store for him, “I’m sorry,” he says.

            He comes out of the bathroom, “I’m sorry,” he says.

            You wash the dishes, “I’m sorry,” he says.

            You find out that he calls Tiffany his favorite ‘cuz,’ “I’m sorry,” he says.

            He pours too much rum in your drink, “I’m sorry,” he says.

            You blink, “I’m sorry,” he says.

           

Jarett does not apologize, however, for flatulence that shakes buildings. He will display these behaviors, then blame it on Neta. If he starts walking like a duck with a diaper, watch out!

Jarett is also a wonderful budding photographer. He is more than willing to take your picture, and after five minutes, he will snap the photo.

Jarett loves the Lego movie. ‘Everything is Awesome’ is the theme song of our trip.  Don’t get him started, because he won’t stop singing it—sober or drunk…and then you will start singing it as well.

Jarett can catch vomit from a dog’s mouth…with only two napkins. He is an intelligent man, and one day he will learn to say the right things when a girl asks him “does this look okay?”

Jarett is the kind of guy that will buy tampons in Paris for his loved ones…when he comes back with the wrong box, he will tell you, "I bought this one because it looked sporty." 

Jarett enjoyed his very first macaroon in Paris at Ladurée. This is also where he tried to ‘shush’ a homeless person asking for scraps. The poor man came up to the table, and Jarett said, “shush, shush!” Shooing him away like a fly. The homeless man harassed us some more, before saying “shush, shush,” himself, then barking like a dog. We told Jarett that a simple, “No” would suffice next time.

 In Europe, he has a 4 beer max limit before he starts singing ‘Everything is Awesome,’ and tries to face time everyone he knows. 

Jarett’s favorite German word (and only German word he knows) is Stein, which, when drunk, he pronounces SHHHTINE. Jarett can now start a wholesale stein company based on how many he bought in Germany. 

Jarett is a great navigator.  Jarett is a good navigator. However, sometimes he is so focused on following mapquest on his phone, he fails to notice cars whizzing past him. 

Although he does not drink Dos Equis, Jarett Keaholani Vasconcellos gives the most interesting man in the world a run for his money…and this is why we love him :) 

Day 14. NiNJas Say Relax

Sorry if you didn't get the pop culture reference in the title of Day 14's post, but its all we could come up with.

Neta hooked us up with omelets this morning, and we lounged until noon, yelling at Pete, eating chocolate, and updating our software. haha. We then headed to Banbury, where the ladies got manicures and pedicures, and Jarett headed to the nearest pub.

A Church in Banbury

Street where Neta and Nicole got their mani/pedis

Cousin bonding at the pub

After Neta got her manicure, she joined Jarett at the pub. Jarett was in deep conversation (or pretending to be) with a local man, who spoke the heaviest cockney we've heard since coming to England. We thought he could be from Ireland, but he told us he was from around the area. We nodded and laughed, not really understanding majority of what he was saying…but he was a hoot. The taps at the pub were all hand pulled, so when they served beer or ale, they had to pump it through a long spout. COOL! 

Later in the evening, Jarett prepared a delicious rib eye (prepared over a cast iron skillet) with secret tips learned from YouTube. Our antipasti were yummy as well, Jarett gushed over the french olive oil and balsamic cream sauce, which he said 'stole the show.' 

Nicole & Neta's gel manis--which are NOT associated with 49er football.

Day 13. Recuperate

We took Day 13 off to rest and hang out at the house. After sleeping in, Jarett made us a yummy breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. We went to the store later in the day and bought some groceries to make dinner. Not being able to find hot dogs, Jarett Flay was able to grill up some bangers, and put them in brioche rolls to make some English hot dogs. They were great! The brioche tasted like sweet bread, and thus, we invented the Brioche Bangers. 

Master griller, Jarett Flay. Barefoot, in Nicoles sweatshirt and Star Wars pajamas. 

Brioche Bangers (patent pending)

 After what was supposed to be a little 'snack' before grilling steaks for dinner, we had a little jam sesh, and Pete developed a crush on Jarett and his magical licks. Pete is Jarett's first groupie. He was so transfixed when Jarett started to play!

Day 12. Back to Merry Olde England

Our apologies for not posting yesterday, but we were in a Thai food coma.

We started our morning with a lovely French breakfast, then made our way to the train station. After a few hours, we found our way to Bicester from Paris, and it was a great feeling to be back at Nicole's place.

Our last morning in Paris...

Neta's & her friend Bailie, who is spending the remaining weekend in Paris

After we got back to Bicester we decided to eat Thai food, but it didn't open for another hour, so we decided to get a 'snack,' before picking up Pete from his sitter's house. We shared the most delicious shaved lamb sandwich from a gyro shop. It was so delicious, we forgot to take a picture! We will definitely be eating that again! As we walked to the car, Neta said, "We should hide so those guys at the Thai restaurant don't see us eating before dinner!"

We picked up Pete, who threw up in the car--but Jarett Ninja Hands was able to catch it in a napkin! Talk about talent! After  dropping of Pete, we headed back to the Thai restaurant, named "Cabbages and Condoms." Yes. CABBAGES AND CONDOMS. 

Apparently, this restaurant is originally based in Thailand, and has won the Thailand's Best Restaurant Award a few times. It has a branch in Bicester, which is random, and "operates as a 'Business for Social Progress.' It's profits support the Population & Community Development Association (PDA), one of Thailand's largest NGOs with programs in primary health, education, HIV/AIDS, environment and water." (C&C) Makes a little more sense now...

Before we got to the door of the restaurant, a Thai server yelled out, "You! We saw you eating before you came here!" The server proceeded to rub Jarett's belly, and asked us what we ate. It didn't help that Neta was carrying a fork (she was looking for a trash can to throw it away), and the waiter said, "See? She even has fork!" To quote the movie Stepbrothers, the "Last time I laughed this hard, I fell off my dinosaur." It was quite hilarious.

We ordered green papaya salad, red curry, chicken curry, coconut rice, sticky rice, tom yum and pad thai--it hit the spot! Dinner was sponsored by Aunty Jan--THANKS MOM! We were so hungry, we forgot to take pictures!

Place mat at C&C! This place was really great!

After dinner, we were stuffed like German veal sausages. We headed back home, and tried to have a conversation with this guy…

Jarett was talking to us with his eyes closed--a man of many talents! 

THANKS FOR DINNER AUNTY JAN! 

Day 11. Plus de Paris

We woke up this morning and headed to the Louvre, where the crowds were abundant and the excitement high to see the world's most amazing art collection. Jarett and Nicole went their separate way as Neta decided to navigate her way through the maze of people, paintings and sculptures. She was able to see many different works, some included the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, and The Wedding Feast at Cana, just to name a few. 

The crowds around the Mona Lisa was crazy, this was as near as we dared to venture!  It was also the only painting covered by glass

Venus de Milo

Winged Victory of Samothrace

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss

The Wedding Feast at Cana was on the opposite wall of the Mona Lisa--the contrasts in the size of these two paintings were incredible! The Wedding Feast took up the entire East wall at 6.8x9.9 m, while the Mona Lisa is 77x53 cm!

After the Louvre, we had lunch around the corner at a little café, then headed back to Champs Élysées to do a little shopping. We then headed to the Eiffel Tower, where we met up with one of Neta's friends, Bailie, who is currently an Au Pair in Spain. The ladies put on some red lipstick as we snapped a million pictures of the Eiffel tower at every angle, with different lighting and duck faces. As it grew darker, we watched orange lights illuminate the Eiffel Tower, and when 8:00 pm hit, it SPARKLED like no one's business.  It sparkled the hell out of itself, and it was so transfixing!

Lunch mirror selfie! 

Jarett's #1 cousin 

Awww...combien romantique!

                 

 

It spahk-o like diamond in da sky...

After ten minutes of ogling, we headed back to our place to drop off our things, and ate a delicious meal at the Italian place across the street, which was sponsored by Uncle Jimmy :) What a perfect end to a crazily perfect day!

Jarett & Nicole's artichoke & pepperoni pizza...

Everyone's calamari salad, with olives and capers...

Neta & Bailie's calzone with egg, mustard, chicken, etc...

Neta & Bailie's artichoke parmesan pizza…not pictured--desserts of chocolate mousse, sorbets & dessert sampler

THANKS FOR DINNER UNCLE JIMMY! 

Day 10. J'aime Paris

We took a little detour this morning, and got to see 'the real' side of Paris--two trains and three cab rides later, we found ourselves at the Arc de triomphe.

We walked down Champs-Élysées, and stopped by the loveliest Louis Vuitton store, (-aka- home of the Afualo point redemption center). We waited in a line outside the store for about five minutes before being allowed to enter, and while we tried to convince Jarett to buy a scarf, we ran into Steve Harvey. 

How random! 

Neta having an anxiety attack

We ended up running into a Ladurée, and decided to have lunch there. We enjoyed the delicious food as well as the al fresco dining experience. The dessert & macaroons weren't too bad either ;) 

Neta started with crab and leeks

Neta's monkfish, potatoes and truffles

Jarett's lamb & potatoes

Nicole's sea bass & squash

After a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong lunch, we caught the metro to Montparnasse, which is one of the tallest buildings in Paris. On the 56th floor, we were treated to panoramic views of Paris, which were breathtaking!

The Eiffel tower

Nicole did a great job finding this condo on Rue des Vinaigries! 

After a beer and rosé at Montparnasse, we headed back to our cozy condo, but not before stopping by a market to pick up some wine and pizzas. What a day! It's easy to see why Paris is romanticized, and why the world longs to come here…

It's 1:58 am, and as most of France is asleep, the only sound to be heard is the authentic lullaby of Jarett's snoring…a perfect segue into tomorrow's special segment: Jarett Vasconcellos, International Man of Mystery.