Ho Chi Minh

This morning we were prepared to visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.  To view his enbalmed body visitors must leave all bags outside, speak in hushed tones and keep hands out of pockets.  Unfortunately, when our guide arrived, he informed us that although this visit was on our itinerary, the mausoleum is closed on Mondays.  We had to settle for a walk around the complex and a look at where he lived when he was alive.  We tasted the delicious "milk fruit"  and hung out with this year's graduating class who lined up to take pics with Raf.  On to lunch for a delicious fish fry specialty at Cha Ca La Vong.

Ha Long Bay

This UNESCO World Heritage site was truly impressive.  The drive from Hanoi was about 4 hours but well worth the trip.  Although the sun evaded us for most of the day, it was one of the highlights of our travels.  We made the mandatory stop disguised as a bathroom stop, at a marble, silk embroidery, Pringles factory on the way.  (We had made many of these factory pit stops in China where you are taken into see people working on local craft: sometimes kids, sometimes handicapped.)
Ha Long is a wealthy city that is developing rapidly.  The roads were devoid of potholes and we saw  many new, tall buildings.
Although our boat could have easily fit 30 people, we had it all to ourselves.  We visited several floating villages, shopped on the river and Bob got suckered into buying 4 large prawns for 800,000 dong($38)...after all, we are millionaires here, but I think we all need to work on our negotiating skills.  We had lunch prepared and served on board.  Boats pulled up along side of ours, and kids would jump on and try to sell us things.  We also had a sales presentation by the girl on the boat before we got off.  Communist or capitalist country?  Hard to tell.

Night Market

Saturday and Sunday nights are market night in Hanoi.  People sell their wares under tents.  It looks like they picked up their piles from the closed storefronts and moved them to the middle of the street.

Clean Air?

Lots of people here wear masks on the street.  The fumes from the scooters are overwhelming.  We had a masked visitor waiting for us when we returned to the hotel. Roger, who teaches at FIU and is a frequent guest in my classroom is traveling in the area and stopped by to visit.

Hanoi Traffic

It is well known that crossing the street is the greatest danger to tourists in Vietnam. Although a bit intimidating at first, the trick is to take a deep breath, step off the sidewalk and pray that the cars and gazillion of scooters will just steer around you.  Walk at a steady pace, don't stop and if you're lucky like us, you'll end up right in front of a foot massage parlor.  Our friends agreed to join us (we were provided plaid boxer shorts when we walked in and told to change) and 70 minutes and $7.00 later, we were ready to walk just about anywhere.

Hanoi Day One

I tend to forget what torture these long trips actually are (especially in coach).  Frankly, if I did, I'm not sure I'd keep doing it.  Nine hours after the first flight from Miami to Paris, then 11 hours to Hanoi, not including delays. 
Now that we're here, after about 26 hours, it's 7 am and we're ready to go.  We have one free day in Hanoi and we plan to make the most of it.  Our friends, Danny and Bob arrived last night so they should be rested.

We booked our private tour from a local company, Footsteps Travel, recommended by a friend who used them recently.  We thought it would be a good idea to have a guide but weren't willing to sit on one of those big busses and eat meals in touristy places.  This way we had much more flexibility and ample opportunities to mingle with the locals.

Checked in...not a large room by western standards, but clean and comfortable.  Right in the heart of the old quarter.  We headed to Hoan Keam Lake for a much needed walk and some strong Vietnamese coffee sweetened with condensed milk.  (I know I don't even put sugar in my coffee, but we had to try it and it was surprisingly good)  We did the mandatory Pho for lunch and it was yummy!

Vietnam/Cambodia Delayed

Although I wasn't able to post while I was traveling,  I did manage to write a bit of our experiences and will begin posting tomorrow.  This was a truly amazing experience...enjoy!

Technical Difficulties

Hey everyone. Having a great time but experiencing technical difficulties and not enough time to research solutions.I welcome any suggestions on how to best upload photos from ipad to blogger.
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Vietnam Here We Come

Stay tuned everyone for the next adventure. This time I'm posting from an IPad. Inspired by all the other travelers out there, Im attempting to reduce the amount of bags I usually make my poor hubby carry. Althought I highly doubt I can manage this trip with only carry on luggage.

Parilla

I'm glad we didn't read the poor reviews on Yelp before stopping at this place.  It was our last day in SF, and we just wanted to do a little blogging and chillin'.  We had just enjoyed some amazing oysters at Swan's and this sign that read,"Happy Hour,  Margarita Pitchers" jumped out at us from the sidewalk down the block.  Our server set us up with an internet connection while he entertained us with interesting stories about the immigrant experience in San Francisco.  Margaritas were delish!

Here's the run down if you are planning to visit...

Here are some of our favorites if you are planning to visit San Fran...

FoodAnnabelle's (for good bar/bistro food), La Folie (French Contemporary), Sons and Daughters (our fav), Swan Oyster Depot (only open during the day, very casual, freshest seafood), Polk Street (lots of restaurants, mostly locals), Amber (Indian Buffet)

Massage
Kabuki Springs (beautiful), Foot Reflexology( great Chinese style foot massages)

Hikes and Walks
The Land's End Walk (start at Sutro Baths), Muir Woods (Ben Johnson Trail back on Dipsea Trail)

Napa
Lunch at V Sattui

La Folie

My sister-in-law, Camille recommended La Folie and we weren't disappointed.  The food was amazing.  It was a bit more expensive than Sons and Daughters (and the lamb at Sons and Daughters is still my favorite) but the service here was impeccable. Although Raf continues to make me self conscious when I take pictures of my food, I noticed that everyone in the restaurant was doing the same.  These presentations are really works of art and need to be shared.

Napa

We've been before but this time we didn't drive.  We took a one day tour that returned on the ferry from Vallejo(where I lost my phone). We don't usually do tours but I'm glad we did because our tour guide, Jerry taught us a few new things.  We even met the monopoly man.

Muir Woods

This is not the first time we visited Muir Woods, but each time it is no less  magical. There are numerous trails.  This time, we walked through the redwoods to the Ben Johnson trail and returned via the Dipsea trail.  It was a pretty steep climb but well worth it.  On the way up we walked through the redwood trees and on the way down we walked through grasslands with many scenic viewpoints.