Hanoi, part 2

Yes, there's a statue of Lenin in Hanoi.  Or as they say here, Lê Nin (we saw the statue on our map, and I must say I didn't recognize the name until I saw the statue and recognized his face - then I realized Lê Nin = Lenin.  I guess I also wasn't expecting to see him).  We saw this on our way to the Thang Long Citadel.  The location of the citadel dates back to the 7th century.  More recently, it was the headquarters of North Vietnam during the American (Vietnam) War. 

We also passed the Cua Bac church, recently painted a lovely bright yellow color.  And, after a full day of walking and exploring, we had some dinner in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant.  Many of Vietnam's best restaurants are places set up for dinner in alleys or on the street, or restaurants like this one, not much more than a few walls and an awning.  There was a tree growing through the side of the kitchen area - or more accurately, the kitchen area wall was set up around a tree.  The people there were really lovely, though they spoke no English.  So, we ordered randomly off the menu.  The first dish was awesome - stir fried green veggies with garlic.  The second meal didn't work out as well - expecting authentic Vietnamese cuisine, we were surprised when they brought us French fries!  They were good though!  We also had beer here - in Vietnam, many people like to drink very weak beer - maybe 2-3%.  It's also super cheap - 4000 to 8000 dong, depending on the place.  So, about 20 to 40 cents per glass.