We woke up refreshed at the Sofitel, and decided to forgo a froofy French hotel breakfast and instead go out for some local snacks at the grocery store down the street. Why pay too much money for a breakfast that you can get anytime at home when you could pay way too little for a new culinary experience. That put us sitting on a bench lakeside with a sandwich filled with chicken and chili sauce and a sweet bread that was partially fried with onions. We made the right choice.
Today we wanted to balance relaxation with shopping for souvenirs, and I think we did a good job. In the morning we went to the bigger grocery store that we had visited earlier and shopped like crazy. We filled our baskets with stuff to bring back, and couldn’t believe how inexpensive it was. I bought a can of “bird’s nest white fungus” drink to try out later as well. It turned out to be better than it sounds.
We shopped for some other goodies around the old quarter for a bit, and I was struck by how accustomed we had become to the swarming people and scooters. Now we walk across streets teeming with scooters and cars without even thinking. I still remember the night we arrived and thinking we would never even be able to cross the street.
We skipped lunch and instead went back to our hotel for high tea. We sat at a comfortable table in one of the restaurants and they started bringing fruits, breads, sandwiches, and of course, lots of tea. As part of the high tea they had a rather extensive chocolate buffet that was very well done. Kuniko and I hit that a few times, and I switched to wine after tea. It was fun to people watch. The other guests of the hotel still seemed a little stuffy, but our server was pleasant to talk with. She seemed like a genuinely nice person.
The afternoon and evening we spent taking some final pictures of places I wanted to document, and doing last minute shopping before our departure the next day. We decided to spend the evening at the bar of the hotel, and since we had received some free drink vouchers when we checked in we decided to put them to use. I was a little surprised that they were only for use on the terrace of the outermost restaurant, but it was comfortable enough out there. We ordered some drinks and a light dinner (still full from the high tea) – Kuniko had escargot and I stuck with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich.
One of the odd things about sitting out on the terrace was that we were very exposed to people walking by. I think maybe the hotel wanted their guests out there to kind of show off “the good life” to the locals and other tourists. It felt a little like we were on display, but after another glass of wine I was less concerned about it. After we finished up we did a couple more rounds of drinks at the poolside bar inside the hotel, and then called it quits.
We came back to our room to find yet another big plate of fruit and chocolates, and we snacked on those while packing all our gear away for the trip home. Now that the trip was ending, I didn’t want to leave the security of a comfortable bed and a toilet that worked.
