Seoul bound! Heading first to LAX then Inchon airport and to our air BNB Artmonstay at Myeongdong for check in! We will be losing a day from the time difference but hopefully the boys will not be too jet lagged. Dinner at the historic Mah Jang meat market for Hanwoo beef, Similar to Kobe or Wagyu beef. We purchase our meat from the market and take it to the various restaurants upstairs who will give you a table with a charcoal grill, side dishes and a selection of beer or soju. Liam said it was the juiciest meat ever.
Artmonstay Air BNB at Myeongdong, our home in Seoul for a week. A bit hilly to get to but with incredible views and a site for K Drama filming. We explored our neighborhood, ate at a Michelin rated restaurant for lunch ( without breaking bank) #myeongdonggyoja, stopped by Olive Young for K beauty stuff for me, people watched, enjoyed buskers, caught an amazing show, Nanta and then took an Uber back to our stay! It was a full and fun day!
Cafe culture in Korea is quite a sight to behold and experience. There’s so much creativity and charm in each cafe we visited. This is an old theater converted into Starbucks. A place for gathering, people watching and live entertainment.
Korea trip log 13: Starfield library
we made it to the historic city and my birth place, Gyeongju. We picked up halmoni from the nursing home and visited Bulguksa temple ( or as Liam says “bulgogi” temple) and Seokguram grotto, a UNESCO world heritage site. Over a thousand years old, these spiritual sites were made in the Shilla dynasty and is still a functioning Buddhist temple.
outdoor library at Cheong Gye Cheon stream in the middle of the hustle and bustle. The water is soo clean and the area is very peaceful, Liam and I grabbed a book and relaxed with our feet dipped in the cool, refreshing water.
A day trip to GapYeong Rail Park was so worth it! Amazing views of farms, mountains, rice patties, imaginative tunnel displays, rivers and streams, raspberries all along the route, clean air, amazing sunset, waving to farmers (and them waving back!) Liam said this was his favorite part of the trip so far!
We took a day trip to Nami Island, the filming site for the famous K drama, Winter Sonata. What a change from the hustle and bustle of 10 million people living in Seoul central!
A surprise trip to Little Italy for pasta and petit France for ice cream! Story goes that a rich businessman had a penchant for collecting Italian and French antiques and decided to open a “museum”. Beautiful scenery and yummy food!
A fun day with halmoni at Gyeongju and Bomun lake! We had jjajiangmyun which I was craving and rode the swan boat.
Today’s itinerary included a visit to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Children’s Grand Park and museum. Liam got in some piano practice and also learned how to navigate around the subway system!
Today we visited Garden of the Morning Calm, about 45 minutes outside of Seoul. It is my favorite garden to visit in the world! So peaceful, calm and healing. I could stay here all day.
We visited the National Children’s Museum which the kids loved. There are so many fun interactive displays!
We made it to Ulsan, a port city, and are staying at an air BNB above the Mercure hotel on the 30th floor. The apartment and views are amazing and has easy access to the pebble beach below! It also has a room with an adjustable bed and bedside table perfect for my mother. One thing about Korea I noticed is that everyone is so deferential and thoughtful to the elderly.
Spent the day at the Royal court at Gyeongbokgung palace. It’s so fun to see people from all over the world dressed in traditional Korean clothes walking the palace grounds.
