January 26th, Last Day in Vietnam

This is what out last meal on our last day in Vietnam ended with. I'm not counting the grab and go breakfast at the hotel at 4 am the next morning. This group of desserts tasted as nice as it they looked. Of course, I love chocolate, so the brownie and ice cream were my favorite. 

Do you think food tastes better when it is presented in a beautiful way? I am starting to think so. Just look at the plate below. So lovely and so good!

This random park scene is not so random to me. My Aunt Doris was a surgical nurse in the US Army and served in Vietnam. This park is the site of the 3rd Army Field Hospital in Saigon and where she was during the late 1960's. The building as you can see is gone now.

Our last excursion was to the site of some infamous tunnels used by the NVA to retreat to when hiding from our troops. Some members of the group went a short distance through the tunnels but I didn't. There were enough displays above ground to satisfy my curiosity.

The next morning as I said earlier, we left for the airport. Flying for the next 24 hours was hard but we made it. Saigon to Tokyo to Denver to Phoenix. The first thing I did when I got home was brew a pot of Earl Grey Tea, decaffeinated of course. 

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Take care and stay cozy!

Pots and Plants

No football. Nothing needing attention. Dinner planned. 

We made a trip to the local nursery. Jim got some geraniums for the back yard. I got some pots for my house plants. They are ready for bigger pots and I found some pretty ones. Each of them is different in color or design or both. I am not real fond of matchy matchy looks so the differences are pleasing to me. I'll get all of them changed over to their new pot later this week. Hope they will be happy and grow bigger for me.

If you are a football watching family, what are you doing with your Sundays now? 

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Take care and stay cozy!

Cheesy Bread!

Isn't everything better with cheese?

I had some lasagna in the freezer that I got out to have for dinner. I had some mozzarella cheese in the fridge. I haven't made any type of bread in quite a while. A quick search found Homemade Garlic Cheesy Bread from Budget Bytes. Homemade Cheesy Garlic Bread - Budget Bytes

It was the perfect thing to have with my dinner. She used a mix of cheeses and a sprinkle of parsley. I used mozzarella and a bit more garlic. She cooked this on a sheet pan, I used cast iron. It was just what my dinner needed. This is a great and easy recipe to add to your bread baking. I know I will be making this again and again and again.

Baked anything lately that you want to share? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear all about it.

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Take care and stay cozy!

January 25th, A Day in Saigon

What is it about city skylines that always gets our attention? I took one on arrival and one at night from our Sofitel Hotel room on the 15th floor.

This huge chair was great for looking out over the city. The birdcages has small lights in them and could be used for night lights. I thought that was cool. I put the hotel sign in here to help me remember. The elephant was part of the outside decor at the entrance to the lobby.

Next two are scenes from our walking tour of downtown. One is of a government building and the next is just one of the many ways the city and surrounding countryside was getting all dressed up for the New Year celebrations in February.

We, our group and about a million, not really, school children toured the former presidential palace. We say conference rooms, offices and personal living spaces. 

Lunch was at a noodle soup shop made famous because Bill Clinton ate there in 2000. We and I am sure he had a nice lunch of Pho.

This evening, before another wonderful family style dinner, we saw a water puppet show. The mechanics of the show were fascinating. 

The sad part for me anyway was that not understanding the language we couldn't follow the stories being told. It would have been nice to have a program explaining each scene.

So, there it is, a day in Saigon.

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Take care and stay cozy!

From Can Tho to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

This was a travel day. We started out on a boat that took us to a place on the river to have a snack of local fruit and some live music. We found some magnets while there and they now have a place on our fridge. We also saw the area where our guide's family lived from the water and made a stop at a candy and rice paper factory that he said was run by his cousins.

Lunch was elephant ear fish as a main course. The fish was brought to the table whole and standing upright. Our waitress broke down the fish and used it to make rice paper rolls for all of us. Can I just say it was delicious? Too repetitive? Sorry, not sorry. We all know now why I am not a food critic. I don't know enough adjectives but once again I want you to know that one of the best parts of this trip was the food.

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Take care and stay cozy!

January 23rd, Another Day in Can Tho

We started this day on a boat ride. We got to the boat by walking to the hotel's riverfront. We are on the Mekong River. I remember hearing the name of this river as a kid, connected to the war back then. It seemed that every part of the river and the land around it are being used. There were lots of shrimp and fish farms. We also floated through a floating market. Folks in the group were able to get a coffee and we all sampled freshly cut pineapple.

The boat ride ended at an open air market. Fresh veggies, fish and meats were in vivid displays everywhere you looked. We did have to be careful because motorbikes are allowed in the markets. They beep at you and expect you to get out of the way on the crowded paths through the stalls.

Back on the boat we went to our next stop which was lunch. As usual for Vietnam wherever we ate the food was delicious. My favorite at this meal were the pumpkin flower fritters. I wish that I did a better job of documenting our meals on this trip. So many of them were beautifully presented and all were delicious. The problem was that the food ended up in front of me and I just ate and thought of taking a picture when it was gone. I can honestly tell you that I was not served a meal in Vietnam that I didn't like. The food there is that good!

The day was heating up and we headed back to the hotel by bus for a lazy afternoon and dinner at the hotel.

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Take care and stay cozy!

Victoria Can Tho Resort, January 22nd

The 22nd of January found us traveling again. We took a bus from Hue to the Da Nang airport. Our plane too us to Can Tho where we stayed for the next couple nights at the Victoria Can Tho Resort. The style of this hotel reminded me of the French colonial days.

There was lots of beautiful dark wood. Asian themed art was everywhere. The grounds were beautiful and ended on the river front. For the first time ever in all the hotel rooms I have ever stayed in, there were 3 live houseplants in our room. It was such a nice comforting touch. This hotel also has 2 pools! Everything was so nice without being over the top. The staff interactions we had were very friendly and yet efficient and professional. That included front desk staff, doormen and restaurant staff. The view from our balcony was so calming. At this place you feel far away from the big city life that we were surrounded by when in Hanoi and later in Saigon.

if you would like to learn more about this special place here is a link to the hotel's website > 

Victoria Can Tho Resort - Victoria Hotels & Resorts

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Take care and stay cozy!