Sightseeing in Hanoi!

Today we again had breakfast at Jaspas. Micaela decided she was going to eat her omelet and croissant. We met Terrence and Becky afterwards and went to Vietnam Quilts. Shelley had recommended them as a place to visit. It is a community development non-profit organization. The quilting project aims to devleop rural communities. The program provides training to women in rural vietnam, which leads to employment and a regular income. By fostering independent skills, these women can be self sufficient in supporting their families.

They will also ship orders to you. www.vietnam-quilts.org (This is a must see) The work is beautiful and it goes to a worthy cause.

We bought a purple throw for Jade and a blue throw for Micaela. Michael and I both got a pillow. His is blue and mine a beautiful burgundy to accent my room. We also walked around the Old Town and found Micaela a handmade silk jacket.

From there we went to lunch at the Hoa Sua School on 28A Ha Hoi Street in Hanoi. This is a training school for disadvantaged youths. They teach them the culinary arts and give them a vocation. The food was excellent. Michael had duck. I had turkey and Jade had spaghetti! The cost was very reasonable. A mere $18.00 for three of us. From there we walked back to the hotel. We were all exhausted. We went back to the hotel to rest up for our trip to HaLong Bay tomorrow! We will have to be in the lobby by 7:30 in the morning for the 3 hour trip to the Bay. We are all looking forward to the trip. We will againg be going out trekking with the McGowans. (Terrence and Rebecca). Right now Micaela is napping and Michael and Jade are watching Rush Hour 3.

Hope everyone is doing well. I definitely recommend the two places we visited today when you come to Hanoi! We are definitely on the down-slide of our trip now. Just making the time count until Monday when we have our interview and can go HOME!