A Little More Seoul

Our third morning in Seoul found me still coughing. So much so that after pantomiming my symptoms to a very helpful shopkeeper in a tiny store called something like CVS (trademarking is loose here) I purchased some sort of S. Korean cold medicine. There was not a word of English on the box so I took it to our very helpful hotel desk clerk who translated the dosage for me, and if that doesn't deserve a five star rating I don't know what does.

We had a leisurely breakfast in the hotel then headed out for an area of the city called Bukchon Hanok Village. Hanok is the word for the traditional wooden houses that once covered Korea, but have now mostly been replaced with more modern architecture.

We took a taxi because we were a bit unclear as to how to enter the village. Our driver dropped us off at the end of a road and pointed vigorously, which we took to mean mean walk in that general direction, so we did and eventually landed in the right place. 

This area y'all!

So charming! Old world meets new all over this city, but maybe nowhere more so than this little neighborhood.

The steep, winding, narrow streets and beautiful design-

Gorgeous front doors and beautiful gardens peeking over the fences. People live here and there are a number of signs posted regarding quiet hours (visit before 5 PM and not on Sundays) which visitors seemed to respect.

We saw so many people dressed in the traditional Korean dress known as hanbok.  I believe it is designed to be worn as semi-formal or formal attire during festivals, celebrations, and ceremonies but we saw people everywhere we went in the dress taking lots and lots of photographs.

Hanbok is colorful and beautiful and all five palaces in Seoul waive the entry fee if you're wearing this traditional dress. You can also rent outfits around the city but as a visitor I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that, although apparently many do.

After leaving the village we browsed a shopping area known as Insadong, then made our way to Seoul's most prominent temple, Jogyesa, headquarters for Korea's main Buddhist sect.

The temple sits in the heart of the city and the design is stunning.

By this point our feet were aching so we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Well hubs got ready for dinner and I put on my pjs, drank my ?cough syrup? and went to bed.

Hubs used to travel to this part of the world fairly often so while I slept he was able to meet up with a dear Korean friend for conversation, catching up on work and family, and of course traditional barbecue (I was sorry to miss that). I was so happy this worked out as his friend had just returned home after several days out of town, then had to fight traffic to make this dinner happen.

Sunday we took the train back to our daughter's home for another week with the grandest grandboys I know. We're soaking up all the minutes, trying not to count down the days or calculate how many months old this precious newborn will be the next time we see him in person or when's the next time big brother will snuggle up beside us asking to read 'Noah and the Whale' because that kind of thinking steals the joy from today, and we definitely don't want to do that.

Life is always teaching us something, isn't it?

Mountaintops and Riverwalks South Korea Style

Since we were only spending a few days in Seoul we wanted to be sure and see the highlights. People watching, browsing local markets, and coffee in a local cafe are always on the agenda when we travel, but I also want to see some of the sites a city is known for. I'm a big fan of the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides which are easy to use and have pullout maps of cities and subway systems.

If you have a short window of time to spend in a large city the DK Eyewitness Top 10 guides are especially good at steering you toward the 'don't miss' stuff. When you're using an underground metro system it makes sense to plan your day a bit so you don't waste time criss crossing the city unnecessarily and we used the Top10 Seoul guide to help plan our days.

We had beautiful weather the three days we were in the city. One thing you need to know about S. Korea is the air quality is not always good for outdoor activities. There are days you're advised to stay indoors and we do, which might explain the abundance of cafes and coffee shops here. We've had several poor air quality days since arriving, but the weekend we spent in Seoul was gorgeous.

Friday we slept in because that darn cold-ugh! then grabbed coffee and pastry at a nearby bakery. Actually hubs had coffee and I had the famous Korean milk tea which was scrumptious! This bakery offered the tea warm or cold, but the girl behind the counter told me cold is the way to go.

She was right-so good!

After breakfast we walked up the hill to get on the 'tram' that would take us to the cable car that
would take us to the elevator that would take us to the top of Seoul Tower.  If you read here you know how I feel about cable cars but when in Rome...

Seoul Tower sits atop Namson, a peak in the mountains that make up Korea. There are fabulous views from the tower observation deck and several dining and shopping options at the base and up top both. There's also apparently a Teddy Bear museum but we missed that.

When you get off the cable car, but before you enter the elevator taking you into the tower itself you see trees and fences and railings covered with padlocks.  Couples buy a lock and attach it to one of the 'trees' then throw away the key, symbolizing eternal love. It's a colorful sight for sure.

Way back when, during the Joeson era, Koreans used smoke signals to communicate, and Namsan was at the center of a network of chimneys used to signal warnings.

Depending on the threat anywhere from one to five beacons would be lit and then copied on successive mountains all the way up the coast to the Chinese border.

The communication and observation tower was built in 1971, stands 774 feet high, and has spectacular views from the top.

After leaving the tower we went back to our hotel for a small siesta then rode the metro to the well known Gwangjang Market, one of the oldest and largest traditional markets in South Korea, to see what we could see.

Fish. Lots of fish. And people dining on everything from live squid to blood sausage and pig intestines. We stuck with less adventurous fare and sampled the mung bean pancake (Bindaetteok) and seaweed rolls (Mayak Kimbap).

The market was bustling and filled with locals on their way home from work on a Friday night, a fun place to explore.

After we left the market we walked along the Cheonggyecheon Stream to see the Lantern Festival.

This is a two week festival beginning on the first Friday in November each year and definitely worth seeing if you're in the city during its run.

The theme this year is "Your Seoul, Light Through Dream" and features Korean characters from Korean folk tales and stories-

Fairy tales from around the world-

and more-

It's beautiful and the walk along the stream really is so dreamy.

A magical way to end the day.

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. 

Anyang Hasseo aka Hello

Greetings from the land of the morning calm. Obviously not America-ha! I don't always write when I'm traveling, but since I've got people and dogs in my house this trip it feels okay to blog in real time-ish. I'm
alwaysusually behind here on From This Side of the Pond, so 'real time' is a relative term, but I'm determined to get some words penned before Christmas rolls around and fall happenings feel like old news.

My daughter just told me I'd probably spend the first three paragraphs explaining why I haven't written lately, and another couple talking about the flight over and by then the post would be so long I'd  feel the need to wrap it up without ever really getting to the heart of the matter, which is this-

A brand new baby boy to love.

In South Korea, which is a long way from the Palmetto State but still! He's here and he's perfectly perfect with his head full of dark hair and  the most deliciously squishy cheeks, and we are already head over heels.

His mama is a rock star y'all. Giving birth is always a bit scary, but giving birth in a country not your own where English is not the language of the day requires a heaping helping of faith, strength, and courage, and her well runs deep.

So let's talk for a minute about the trip over because my daughter knows me and she's right when she says I'll overstate it. She also knows doling out a million unnecessary details is kind of my jam, and isn't that why you read here?

The days leading up to our trip around the sun were only slightly crazy. 9,717 miles since October 2nd kind of crazy but whatever. Here's how it rolled out...

The week before we were due to fly east hubs, Daughter2 and I drove to Maryland for the wedding of a boy whose family we've known and loved since our kids were small. We spent the Friday night before the wedding with hubs sister and family, then attended the very lovely ceremony in Annapolis on Saturday. We got up at the literal crack of dawn Sunday to get Daughter2 on her flight back to South Carolina and hubs on his flight to South Dakota for a long planned pheasant hunt and me on the road for the drive further north to my mom's in NJ. I was more or less 'in the neighborhood' and believe it or not this made the most sense.

I know it all sounds nuts and it kind of was, but we tried to just take it one trip at a time, vowed to enjoy the moments as we lived them, and never allowed ourselves a look at the month in it's entirety so as not to lose our minds. We mostly succeeded.

Hubs arrived back in Maryland Thursday afternoon and hopped in the car as I buzzed the airport arrivals lane, so we could hit the highway home. We made it back to SC just before midnight, spent Friday doing laundry, unpacking, repacking, having my hair done (priorities!) and then were back up with the birds on Saturday for our flight to South Korea.

Bring on the Morning Calm please.

We were able to get a direct flight out of Atlanta and a mere 14+ hours later were in the airport in Seoul waiting on our driver for the hour and a half ride to our daughter and son-in-law's home. Easy peasy. And bonus, we beat baby boy here which was such a blessing as we were able to stay with the mancub while his mom and dad brought his brother into the world.

We're Tired. Yes with a capital T. Jet lag is for real when you're in an upside down time zone, and five days in I'm still waking up at 3 AM and nodding off at 7. But!! we're here and we're so grateful for so much.

For the miracle of new life, and for strong willed little girls who grow up to roll with whatever life brings...

For new experiences and the blessing of time...

...the way our hearts expand and grow right along with our people.