Eating our way through Hanoi!!!

Our minds are like our stomachs; they are whetted by the change of their food, and variety supplies both with fresh appetites.
- Quintilian

In addition to the obvious theme of building our family and receiving our son, another ongoing theme to this trip is food (Oh … and how can we forget….the very hot & humid weather)! As many of you know…we are into food…any kind of food, the more cultural the better…so we are having a very interesting culinary experience…

Now there are a lot of legitimate precautions to take in the are of food and drink when traveling in a lesser developed country…only drink bottle or boiled water (bottled/canned drinks, coffee, tea, etc…is ok), no ice in drinks, only eat fruits and vegetables that are cooked or can be peeled…etc. etc.. So if you follow those simple rules, you should be fine…

We have been sampling as much as possible of Vietnamese cuisine … and loving every minute of it…We started mainly be taking restaurant recommendations from the hotel…and eating very well…now that we know our way around a little more…we are comfortable with walking in to a place to eat…Today we found a very nice French style café for lunch and tonight we ate at an Indian restaurant (and we love Indian food in the states). We try to only eat in air conditioned establishments…but sometimes that is difficult given the many open air restaurants…prices are also very good…to eat dinner for the three of us…it only runs about 20 us dollars for a gourmet meal at a very nice restaurant…That is the high prices..we have eaten for literally dollars for lunch and dinner…eating out is very cheap here…

Now we thought when coming here it would be difficult to eat out with a 16 month old…fortunately we have a great eater and traveler in little Anthony…he eats anything and sits through dinner!!!! We are very lucky…we like to eat out on weekends at home, and he seems like he’s game…he even likes Indian food!!! Talk about a match made in heaven!!!

This trip continues to be an adventure and we are loving every minute of it…We know it sounds weird..but Vietnam would actually be a nice place to vacation! It is reasonably priced (hotel and food anyway) and it is really a lot of fun with many things to do! For those of our friends reading this who will be traveling here soon for their adoption…be sure to be adventurous…immerse yourself in this wonderful place…

Tomorrow (FRIDAY) we have our visa interview at the US embassy…From that point we can plan our trip home…we will keep everyone posted…
For now, more pictures…..

Mommy capturing nice shot of Anthony in his new diggs...


Now tell us he is not cute!!!


Daddy and baby taking a nap...


Lake outside of our hotel...The West Lake to be exact...


Eating Indian Food for the first time!


mmmmm Hanoi Beer....


Eating at a little French Cafe we found in the Old Quarter...


Pho anyone?


Very Strong Vietnamese Coffee and a great Lemon Tart


Daddy and baby trying to deal with the heat...