Monday Monday

Our morning began like most others here in Vietnam , with breakfast at Highlands coffee. Sarah again ate a huge breakfast followed by snacks shortly after. With eating like she is, I will bet she is up to an "average" weight soon. (Well, at least maybe she'll gain enough weight to keep her pants up.)
After breakfast we attempted the not so simple task of getting money from our account at home. We were told that travelers checks and visa were not readily accepted here so we brought some cash with the anticipation of having to get more during our trip. Turns out the bank we finally ended up at does take travelers checks and that would have been a whole lot easier and cheaper. But, after about a hour and a half, stops at two different banks , showing multiple pieces of id and 3 separate tellers windows, we finally ended up with cash (dong) in hand. We really miss Premier West Bank! :)
One possitive side to our quest for cash, was that we spotted a mall on the way to the second bank. Later this afternoon we stopped back by there for some shopping. It wasn't your typical mall and the food court was just plain nasty but, we were able to buy some interesting souveniers. We also met up at the coffee shop with a family we had met from the hotel. They are traveling with their two young sons and have two babies that they are adopting. They are going on week four here. We hope for their sakes that their visas are approved soon and they are able to go home. They were a wealth of information. In addition to providing us a list of good restaurants they had gone to they also shared with us that our hotel is actually on the site of the infamous Hanoi Hilton from the Vietnam war. So those of you that jokingly asked if we would be staying at the Hanoi Hilton during our trip, the answer is yes. Apparently, the Sommerset Grand Hanoi Hotel and towers is on the original grounds of the Hanoi Hilton (prison of the Vietnam war.) Two-thirds of the prison were torn down to build our hotel and the remaining third is still very much intact and open for tours. We plan to check that out tomorrow.
Sarah continues to bond with us and us to her. She has a great since of humor and will do almost anything to get a laugh out of you. She has had a few more episodes of crying, grief and calling out the name of her foster mom. But they are becoming fewer and she seems to find comfort in us. She is also loving her daily talks with Big brothers Tim and Sam and big sister Marli, and Grandma and Grandpa at home. (That Vietnamese sim card was money well spent.)