Bilbao

So it's official.  We have moved to Bilbao, Spain to teach at the American School of Bilbao.   Keep in touch (post comments), come visit!  xoxo

Our apartment...right in the middle of the photo above.  Our school, out there in the middle of the mountains.

Fish Pedicures and Pampering

No matter where you are in the world you gotta look good!

Mekong Delta Trip

It took us 2 hours to get to the Mekong Delta from Ho Chi Minh City.  We took boat rides through the canals, tasted the local fruits from the floating market and had a fish lunch on the river.

War Remnants Museum, Propaganda Posters

The Reunification Palace, Ho Chi Minh City

The gates, that the North Vietnamese Army crashed through at the end of the Vietnam war have been rebuilt and a copy of that tank sits on the grounds of what is now a museum.  We toured the building and the basement which has a command bunker with old radio equipment, maps on the walls and propaganda photos.  The South Vietnamese presidents lived here during the war. 

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

When we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, we met our new guide, Lucy.  We jumped in the van, stopped at a local market to pick up some snacks, walked through the Thien Hau Temple and headed to the  Reunification Palace, home to the president of S. Vietnam during the war. 

Hoi An

We got to explore much more of Hoi An today.  Bob and Danny wanted to have custom slacks made so we did some research on various tailor shops and settled on A Dong.  A walking tour of the city exposed us to some of the old homes where residents give tours and sell traditional items to make money.  There are trap doors on all the second floors, so furniture can be quickly lifted to the next level during the seasonal floods.

Hoi An: Red Bridge Cooking School

This morning was fab!  We signed up for a cooking class at the Red Bridge Cooking School and it did not disappoint.  After meeting at a local restaurant, we set out for a walk through the local market in groups of 6.  We were lucky to get the head chef as our guide.  After the tour, we hopped on a boat that took us to the restaurant where the classes are held.  There were 19 of us from all ends of the globe and together we learned to make spring rolls, Vietnamese pancakes, eggplant in clay pot and yes...rice paper.  (So cool!) After the class, we sat outdoors, sheltered from the rain and enjoyed the fruits of our labor.  Yummy! (oops...can't say that in Vietnam... it means "horny")