Sunday in Saigon

Our first day in Saigon was Sunday. We visited a great local church but were asked for obvious reasons not to post photos.  

This was an interesting place that we went to lunch at and had some fancy Vietnamese food!  I ordered cold noodle salad but somehow Emma ate it and I ended up with her french fries--boo!  All was good and we had a great laugh over it.  Mindless eating.

Here we are at the reunification palace.  The US airlifted the President of South Vietnam out just before tanks rolled in.  Also, two bombs landed on the place but neither exploded!

They kept things just like they were when the Communists rolled in which is unusual.  We enjoyed a blast from the past when we saw these old telephones!

This rug was made in Hong Kong!  It has the Chinese Symbol in the middle and dragons.  I had no idea that the Chinese occupied Vietnam long before the French and then Japanese in World War 2.  There were many Chinese people among the Vietnamese.

This is the Notre Dame Cathedral.  You can clearly see the French influence here from the architecture to the French Baguettes!  Of course all of it has an Asian twist or two!

This is the famous Central post office built by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel!  (He also built the Eiffel tower in case you have not guessed.)  The former phone booths are now functioning as cash machines.

The "bones" of this building are amazing to look at!  Still a marvel of architecture.

Now we head to the busy pick pocket haven of the uproarious open market--ugh!  Stuff we must buy though so we go!

This is the famous photographer Randal Hale!

After the heat we head for drinks--here is a luscious cup of passion fruit juice--please pass me ten I am sooo thirsty!

Now we head back to the villa amidst motor bikes galor.  I could never stand driving here!

A bakery that we hit on the way home to get fresh baguettes and treats for breakfast.

The wheels on the bus go round and round!  Here we go!