Hoi An

Ahhh...I love Hoi An! The weather is cool, the town is quaint, the food is delicious, the people are friendly, and the shopping is all custom and amazing. A little piece of heaven if you ask me :)


Day 1: Monday

In the heart of downtown Hoi An cars and scooters are not allowed, only pedal bikes and walking. Our hotel offered free use of their bikes which was a big bonus. I do have to admit that I was a little nervous to ride a bike again since it's been a few years, but don't you worry it quickly came right back to me....

Uncle Brian was the best driver a little boy could ask for....Drey was loving it!

We met up with our good friend Ngoc and Lee for lunch and had our first taste of Cao Lau. This is a noodle dish with pork, cilantro, and mint mixed in a delicious sauce. My favorite Vietnamese dish and only made in Hoi An due to the special well water the noodles cook in. 

Nicole's first clothes fitting. Hoi An is the place to go for custom clothes in Vietnam. There are so many options for tailors and they will make any item you want. I think both Nicole and Brian came away with new wardrobes. 

Enzo at the wheel

Fresh fried donuts, banana fritters, and coconut buns.

Japanese Bridge

Drey dropping a paper lantern into the river at night. The little children sell these on the streets for .50 cents.

Day 2: Tuesday

Right back at it, shopping at AoBaBa's.  This was the best tailors, they even copied a few LuLu Lemon and H&M pieces for Brian and Nicole :) 10:00am pick out clothes, material, and take measurements -  5:00pm return to get fitted -  8:30pm pick up new clothes. Custom clothes in one day.....yes please!

I love that every building in town is painted yellow.

Our new "Holzer Family Established 2007" sign done in Chinese lettering. 

Cao Lau for lunch again :)

Just a little injury. The Vietnamese ladies put ice and salt on it to help the swelling go down and it worked great!

A tour group passing by...

How I feel about Hoi An!

After our morning shopping we jumped on scooters to check out more of the town.

Classy....for the pony tail. I cringe when I think about this helmet on my head.

The back roads of Hoi An....heading to the beach.

Cashing in on his reward! We promised Drey he could go to the beach if he would become potty trained and he did it! He is loving playing in the sand. The man behind him is sealing his fishing boat with some sort of mud/paste.

Troy could not resist taking the rental scooter  for a spin on the beach.  

Feeling nostalgic for the sand dunes and a dirt bike.

The side effects of sitting up front on a scooter.

and their out!

Day 3 - Wednesdy

My Son Sactuary Ruins

Drey loved running around and in between the ruins.

Nicole braved this experience....only in Nam!

Marble Mountains. On our way to Da Nang we stopped at the Marble Mountains for a hike (I actually stayed in the car with a sleeping baby).

caves...

 pagoda built on the mountainside....

carving the marble....

Souvenir shops at the bottom sell everything made from marble. Troy and I picked out some pieces to buy when we become gazillionaires and can afford it...haha!

We ended the day after a quick dinner since we have a 6:00am flight to Nha Trang...

Day 2 - Sunday.....

.....looked like this:

I think the first words out of Drey's mouth this morning were "where is orange phone?" And not two seconds after I told him it was with Auntie Nic, he ran to their room, kicked her out of bed, and stole her phone :) Brian woke up at 3:00 am and couldn't get back to sleep, the jet lag is a killer!

Church, always enjoyable.

Just a little brotherly love. This is how Drey now "hugs" Enzo....not sure Enzo is feelin' the love, more gasping for air .

For lunch, hot ham and cheese sandwiches on paratha bread....delish! 

Enzo was fighting taking a nap so I sent Nicole in to sleep with him. After 4 of her own, she's a pro at getting babies to sleep.

Oh yes we did....all the way down our alley and back. 

"You haven't lived until you have ridden a scooter (in Vietnam)"  - Nicole upon her return.

Almost there Enz! Look at those dirty paws.

And Troy finally got his birthday cake with a little singing.

It has been a very nice restful day. Tomorrow we leave for Hoi An for a few days and then Nha Trang...I've heard great things about both towns so it should be a fun time. More to come...