Roadtrip to Houston

We had a blast today in Houston! We got a little turned around trying to get to Bellaire but I think we now have the route down pat. No more getting lost for us. The shops were fantastic. The mood was great b/c everyone was jammed in the mall trying to do their usual shopping in addition to preparing for Tet. It was so much fun. Typically, I might have low tolerance for the extreme crowd factor but today was different. It was really neat to get caught up in the excitment of finding the right candies, cookies, flowers and decorations along with all the folks around us.

Lan and I stocked up on treats, for Tet as well as for NOW. ;) We found some great decorations and I can't wait to put the banner on the front door. This is the equivalent to a wreath at Christmas I think. I also found two beautiful mums and a healthy bong mai with blooms on it. These are all for good luck. Got the red candles ready to go for the prayer table. Then it was off for good foods.



We had the Vietnamese crepes/banh cuon for lunch. This was really delicious. The food court is a new experience for us and this was our first meal at this crepe place and we really liked it...they really got the crepes right, thin without falling apart and the right amount of meat filling. Yum. Picked up lots of sandwiches and pate chaud, tofu (sweet and savory) and of course, about 10 cups of the sweet porridge, all varieties. We drove down the block for that treat however. I can't recall the name of the place though. I'll write about it again next time we go. With 10 cups, you get one free! Free yums. :)

I had a great time with Lan and we are already looking forward to our next trip, probably in a month or so. If only we had this type of foods and festivities closer, like Austin. When Tuan and Lily lived here my first year in TX, we didn't see a lot of Tet activities and supplies in my opinion. Nevermind, Houston's only about 3 hours away and it's not a bad drive.