Day 8

16 Dec 2012 Mon

Due to a planning oversight, museums were closed on Monday and I had to swap our Tuesday plans .  We decided that it would be walkabout time, near the French quarter.

Well behaved kids posing for photos beside the lake

Are we done yet ? Yawn.

We revisited the west side of Hoan Kiem Lake and stumbled upon school kids taking their class photos - in Santa costumes. The kids were amazingly well behaved despite the discomfort of their costumes in the sweltering heat. They were certainly confused when we took photos of them although we were not their appointed photographers.

I want my ipad !

Mid morning cooking snack - coconut ice cream

After this little distraction, we proceeded to our mid morning snack just off the lake. Coconut ice cream  tasted so wonderful in the sweltering heat.

Ban Rahn. Yum!

Sidewalk cafe

Cathedral of St Joseph

We visited the Cathedral where the caretaker allowed us in for a short visit, where we took grateful respite from the scorching sun. The atmosphere around the  area was made  buoyant by an artistic community of craft and art shops. Though meant for the tourist, I liked the serenity of this place compared to the OQ madness.

 

The best French bistro in French Quarter ( imho )

Other than the heavy duty shopping for gifts, we had a delightful lunch at DC Bistro ( Ngo Van So 15A). It was a French bistro , smallish but elegant. A 3 course meal cost 113000d with add-ons for special dishes, which was not much ( 24000 d ). Pat had a red Bordeaux while we just guzzled water. The entire bill was $33.7, cheaper than at Cha Ca La Vong, if you call that food!

Looping under the lake, we walked past an 'art gallery' in a decrepit state. There was nothing to see and the dim, stuffy  interior was huge and empty. We walked past a 'big' book store and was disappointed with the range of literary products available.

Pigs innards at the market place ~

Day out at the lake

Lots of tropical fruits at the market place

 

Opera House was out of bounds as decorations were put up commemorating their liberation from the US army.    We hugged the east side of Hoan Kiem and made our way back towards the Old Quarter. Pat got 6 lacquer plates at Ta Hien for 4000 d each, 6 scarves at 75000d each at Au Trieu, 2 custard apple and 3 chikus for 7000d at Cao Go, tea leaves at 3000d at the same stall but for 500d cheaper. Our last shopping stop was at Ta Hien, we bought 6m of silk at $5 per meter.  It was 'heavy shopping' because 6m of silk was not a light matter!