A Break in the Rain

On Sunday, Nov 2nd we finally got what we thought was a break in the rain. After breakfast we raced to get ready to go on a little outing from the hotel. Of course now it's not as easy as grabbing my purse and heading out the door. Bottle? Check. Diaper(s)? Check. Wipes? Check. Blankie? Check. Toy? Check. Snack? Check. Check...Check...Check.... I guess when I am at home and have a proper diaper bag ready at all times I won't have to think about it so much - also when I have a little more experience, right?

I put Lucie in the baby carrier and we headed out for Hoam Kiem Lake. This is a favorite place of the locals and is famous for a story about a turtle from thousands of years ago. You can see below the picture of a turtle found in the lake in recent years. There's no telling how old it was when it died. What we had not realized before we left our hotel is that it is adjacent to the "Hanoi Hilton" - the prison American pilots lived when they were shot down during the VN war. Interesting! As we walked to the lake it began sprinkling and we hoped it was just a sprinkle. The lake was overflowing its banks and huge trees had fallen, completely uprooted in the soft ground. There is an ancient pagoda in the middle of the lake that you get to by crossing a pretty red bridge. We went over to tour the pagoda when the bottom of the sky fell - it poured! We sat in the temple, hoping the burning incense would not upset our allergies too much, and hoping the rain would stop soon rather than go on and on like it had for days. Luckily for us it did let up enough for us to walk back to the hotel - with Lucie and me under an umbrella and Mom using a rain poncho. After we got back to the hotel the torrential rains came again, along with fierce winds. After we fed Lucie and got her to go down for a nap, I went back out in the monsoon and walked over to the Hanoi Hilton for a tour. The wind was blowing so hard the rain was going sideways. If there are any of you who do not know what the Hanoi Hilton is you should take a few minutes and google it.

Here are a few pictures from our walk to Hoam Kiem Lake and from hanging out in our room yesterday. I've been trying to attach more but am having trouble with internet tonight so will post more pics later. Here are the few I've been able to upload.