Walking In Old Hanoi, 36 Hour Birthday, 4 Shrimp Eyes But Pass On The Hornet Larvae!

Started the day by passing some time walking around in old Hanoi again. Since Yanic has been asking me constantly for last week if various objects were stronger than metal, I decided to start the day in the blacksmith section of old Hanoi. We watched people with minimal clothing (shorts) and barefoot of just simple sandals forge metal. Yanic and Sophie were quite interested in watching the square metal change shape into a pointed fence part. One of the blacksmiths gave Yanic his hammer so that he could give it a try himself. The tool probably weighed half as much as he did so needless to say he had a hard time picking it up!
Found a relatively hidden market buried in the old quarter. Always interesting to walk around a market in Vietnam, especially to see the various things that become supper! Saw pig feet and tongues, any imaginable organ of various animals, a basket full of toads and fruits and vegetables or all colors and shapes. A little later in our walk we saw a group of men that were removing hornets and hornet larvae from a section of nest that they had. Most of the hornets appeared to be dead but the larvae were alive a wiggling! They had accumulated quite a jar of larvae that I suspect was going to be fried and eaten. They offered Yanic a larvae to eat but unbelievably hey declined! We could not believe that he turned down an opportunity to provide us with a little food shock! They also had next to them on the back of their motorbike a net full of large, live hornets and a section of nest.
Went out with the other adoptive family that we have spent the last 3 weeks with to do an early little celebration for Sophie's 9th birthday. She wanted sushi at a Japanese steakhouse, so we found a choice and headed there. Got to the restaurant and there was at least a 30 minute wait so we decided to walk around to kill a little time and just happened to find another Japanese choice just around the corner. Had a nice enjoyable meal with our family and friends, now back at the hotel for hopefully the last night! Soon the Boulet 5 will have their newest American citizen in the fold, just have to clear customs in the US with the ultra secret, don't break the seal or open package of paperwork that the embassy has you hand carry with you back. Mike writing for 4 other family members that are trying to get to sleep!