Pages

"She seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if she had surprised a butterfly in the Winter woods"
(edith wharton)


Friday 30 May 2008

the last tour - let's go shopping!!

the markets were fun.. busy but fun.. the markets that were a few blocks from our hotel were the Ben Thanh markets, a mix of clothing, wares, food and flowers. You could buy just about anything!

we wandered around looking at silk, fabric, jewellery and clothes and our noses told us we were nearing the food section. let me say, you had to be there to experience the smells....

meat just hung like this above, in the heat, flies buzzing around.....and worse still was the fish.

but isn't this lady gorgeous? she was so sweet, allowing us to take her photo. As bad as the markets smelt, they were gorgeous, just look at the white tiles on the counter front.. beautiful

and look at the gorgeous verandah supports on the outside of the building... gawd, would love to have them on my home! As well as the markets we also did shopping in the city centre..and I think this is just about as close as I will get to going into a Louis Vuitton store...

and of course we had to eat. One day we took ourselves into a little cafe for lunch and i was delighted to find that they served near normal food.. well normal to me! I ordered a Croque Monsieur which is french I take it for a ham and cheese toasted sandwich...

and a vietnamese ice coffee... delish! Only thing I could say that I didn't like was that they are allowed to smoke in restaurants.

so that's it from Vietnam... where flowers grow in tubs like they are out of control, where people chase you down the street trying to sell you 'real' Louis Vuitton and Chanel handbags... where a country that was torn by war is now healing... with the help of tourists... where people are the most friendly that I have ever met.....

and what happens in Woodford today? I run around like a mad woman, cooking up a storm for the morning tea that I am having on Sunday. I am taking part in Australia's biggest morning tea, to raise funds for the Cancer Council. I have 30 people coming! I have raised about $300 this time.. a walk through my garden with cups of tea and lots of cake.. what more could someone wish for? I am going to harvest some lavender today too, to hang in my kitchen.. maybe I will make some tussie-mussies for Sunday to give to my guests.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Look at you standing outside Louis Vuiton! As you do! Enjoy your morning tea on Sunday Robyn.Sounds like a lot of fun for a good cause.What a lovely thought the tussie-mussies are.

laoi gaul~williams said...

thank you for our online tour miss*r :)
some of the pictures look so similar to hong kong~you have given me the oomph to put more pictures in photobucket for people to see them rather than be shut in a box in a cupboard!

Suzie Ridler said...

That journey is so amazing Robyn! I am a very picky eater so that's one thing about travelling that would be tough, between me and my husband we eat so few foods and in other cultures they wisely eat everything! Nothing goes to waste. It's amazing. Oh and that iced coffee looks divine!

I wish I could go to tea with you, that's always been something I've wanted to do, have high tea. How lovely for you but that is a lot of cooking!

Cat said...

Have a great tea!

Annie Jeffries said...

Wonderful final pics of your trip. And here's to you - bottoms up with a cup of tea.

Naturegirl said...

Robyn what an exotic trip you had in Vietnam! I really was pleasantly surprised in seeing some of the beuuty! I don't think I would have done well at the smelly markets!My nose would surely be in the air.
Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos of your trip with us!
Have a wonderful time at your tea! I am sure visitors to your garden will be enchanted! hugs NG

gma said...

I love Vietnamese food. We have a local cafe that serves spring rolls,delicious fish sauce,lettuce wraps, lots of mint and herbs and rice bowls with chicken, shrimp and beef.
Everything is very fresh Yum.

Wish I was joining you for tea....I'll come later when you don't have so many guests.
:-)

Kathryn Knoll said...

When I lived in Japan as a child the shopping experience in the open market was always so intense with sights, sounds and smells!

Ok, What are tussie-mussies? They sound intriguing.. Nice to visit again. Hugs, Sr. K

Rowan said...

Foreign food markets are always fascinating places aren't they? I'm afraid I might have gone through the doors of Louis Vuiton, my daughter dragged me into Prada when we were in Florence and we came out with a handbag each and a wallet for me! I'd love to have some Louis Vuiton luggage but don't think that will be happening. It's the association with travel on the Orient Express and the great ocean liners in the 1920s and 30s that appeals to me. Travel was so much more glamorous then.

Rowan said...

Forgot to say that I hope your tea goes well, I'm sure everyone will enjoy seeing your garden.

A bird in the hand said...

I guess you *would* have croque-monsieur in a former French colony! And Louis Vuitton. I really enjoyed this tour you've take us on. xoxo