Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Heart and Seoul

Still here in South Korea, and still enjoying time with our newest grandson and big brother. Everyone is doing great and I'll have more to say about our little men another day, but today I want to talk about Seoul. 


Hubs and I spent three nights in the city last week to give the family of four a little time on their own and also give me a chance to see the sights. I absolutely loved Seoul! The city is clean, modern but still old world in places, friendly and so interesting. Also, the women here are beautiful, and oh so chic! I wish I could pull off trendy the way some of the Korean women do. 



My daughter lives less than an hour's train ride from Seoul Station and we booked tickets ahead of 
time online so easy peasy.  More or less. Once we got the hang of the system it was easy peasy. Bonus they assign you a seat which I appreciate. 


Once we arrived in Seoul Station we hopped the metro in the direction of our hotel, got a little turned around and ended up taking a cab a short distance. People like to say English is everywhere, but not true. Yes there is some English here but there's also a fair amount of pantomime and finger pointing at menu pictures or your neighbor's plate to get what you want. 

We stayed in Aloft Seoul Myeondong and I would highly recommend. The location was perfect, and the staff was wonderfully helpful and kind. Probably the best front desk experience I've had in a hotel in a long while. From our hotel we could walk to several nearby metro lines and to many of the city's best known sites. And walk we did. According to my phone app we walked 20 miles in three days which was probably a good thing because see below-


Once we were settled into the hotel we made a bee line for one of our favorite foods-Mandu aka Korean dumplings aka pure deliciousness. After lunch we ventured into the subway and more or less figured out which line to take (with a bit of help) to get us to our destination-Gyeonbokgung Palace. 


The original 'Palace of Shining Happiness' was completed in 1394 and was the main royal residence of the Joseon Dynasty.   



Side note-traveling somewhere new always reminds me how much I don't know about so many things particularly in this part of the world.  


In the early 20th century much of the palace was destroyed, but since that time the original palace continues to be gradually restored. 


The complex also contains the National Palace Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum, the latter of which we visited and really enjoyed. 



On the down side, we've all been fighting colds and in my case the cold is winning so by late afternoon I was running out of steam. We went back to the hotel to rest before walking to dinner at a nearby spot the hotel staff recommended, then called it a night soon after. The end of a fun full day in this fabulous city. 

Tomorrow Seoul Tower (or how I always end up riding a cable car in a foreign city) the lantern festival and more...


...because there always is on From This Side of the Pond. 

4 comments:

  1. I'm glad you made time for some sightseeing while you're there. Lovely pics.

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  2. Oh, my goodness, what a fun time you two are having. Making the most of your time there, that's great. So, glad that Momma and baby are doing well. Blessings abundant!

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  3. The city does look beautiful. I have enjoyed Shannon's videos and photos as they played tourist a few times before the baby was born. It is great that you two got a way for a couple of days site seeing. I really can't wait to see those boys and to read about Tommy transitioning to big brother! I'm sure Shannon is tired but a trooper. Love to all and thanks for sharing your adventure with us!

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  4. I'm so impressed. It is all so beautiful and I'm so happy you got to spend time there. Hope you're feeling better.

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