Gwen and Nicole Take their Leave

We are sitting here with a dashing, disheveled Russ (and a perfectly sheveled Jaci) on our last night in Kobe. Over a yummo dinner prepared by Master Chef Russell (henceforth known as MCR) we all reflected on the past few weeks. Here are some highlights, recorded in our traditional Best/Worst format:

MCR

BEST

• "And for the lady, a first kiss."
• Sake tasting at sake breweries.

NICE (MCR needed to buck the system)

• seeing a live, chirping cicada

WORST

• Ordering three parfaits for four people, and then four parfaits for four people.  (Apparently, in Japan, parfaits are meant to be shared.  We gaijin like our ice cream.  And we don't like sharing.)

JACI

BEST

• Coming home regularly to hot meals (we make an excellent Team Housewife)
• Pirate experiment: Gwen taught us that despite what we may have assumed, your average eyepatch-wearing pirate was not actually missing an eye.  In fact, they wore them on purpose to always have one eye that was adjusted to lots of light and another that was adjusted to very little (this is very helpful if you are a lookout pirate in a crow's nest).  To replicate our experiment: Spend a few minutes with one eye covered.  With the eye covered, go to a very dark room.  Uncover your eye and enjoy.
• Having natives (Jaci's conversation partner, Kobayashi-san, and her friend, Noriko) pick out some very delicious food for us at the Izakaya restaurant in Kyoto.
• Gwen actually (probably) liking mochi.
• Rice-cooker Banana Cake

WORST

• As if it wasn't bad enough to work while having guests, she even had to work on one of her Saturdays.  
• Walking part of the way to work in a downpour (somebodies having stolen her purse umbrella).  On a day when she had to present to parents.
• General, burning-the-candle-at-both-ends lack of sleep.
• Gwen thinking she did not like mochi.

GWEN

BEST

• My fortune
• Hilarious signs galore!!
• Oyakodon (very tasty chicken and egg dish that Gwen ate about five times)
• Multilingual empty orchestra
• Little history man. We were standing, pondering a couple samurai statues, when a very nice Japanese man came up to us and gave us a history lesson.  Main samurai guy (Sakamoto Ryouma) is very famous.  Mostly for trying to get the white folks out of Japan.  Sorry, sir.
• Although it was quite cloudy, we got to see the partial solar eclipse our first day in Kyoto.
• Due to Gwen's convincing/nagging skills, we got to ride on a very big ferris wheel.
• Fresh-smelling, air-dried towels.

WORST

• My fortune (see Nara video)
• My diseased leg.  Thank you, Japanese ants.
• Uncooperative MCR (wouldn't be a koala, wouldn't take a picture betwixt the conductor, wouldn't buy a girl's hat, wouldn't go on the Santa Maria).
• (caged) big, yellow python at the zoo (MCR: "in Gwen's defense, it was talking about wanting to eat her).
• Walking (MCR edit: "nice strolling") for forever to the palace only to be denied due to not carrying our passports round with us.

NICOLE

BEST

• Good, solid quality time with MCR  and Jaci.  
• FOOD!  Highlights include red bean paste and ramen.
• The adorablest turtle.
• Dollar store (Daiso).  
• A fantastic birthday that included swimming and yummy, fruity, fancy cake.
• Good, solid quality time with Gwen (sorry, Gwen)

WORST

• Less Jaci time than we should have had (stupid job).
• Some really quite impressive heat and humidity.
• No dude restaurants (due to Gwen being too girly).

Done.  Gwen and Nicole, over and out.