Kindergarten field trips
505 Green Chile
Being able to always laugh at ourselves
Live streaming of American sporting events
Cooler weather
Friday, August 28, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
L's Birthday Update
A few pictures of Lauren's birthday...
Singing Happy Birthday to Lauren
Lauren told me that the only thing she wanted for her birthday was blueberry pancakes. Well, we found pancake mix but weren't about to pay the absurd price they were asking for blueberries. Thinking we were out of luck, Momma Gilmore read Lauren's mind from miles away and sent this treat which arrived on the day of her birthday. A mother's intuition is seriously incredible.
On Saturday night we went to the show Nanta.
During the performance they came looking for "volunteers". Guess who was chosen...
The kids at school were sweet as ever, the pancakes were incredible, and the show was a terrific time.
Birthday party at school
Singing Happy Birthday to Lauren
Lauren told me that the only thing she wanted for her birthday was blueberry pancakes. Well, we found pancake mix but weren't about to pay the absurd price they were asking for blueberries. Thinking we were out of luck, Momma Gilmore read Lauren's mind from miles away and sent this treat which arrived on the day of her birthday. A mother's intuition is seriously incredible.
On Saturday night we went to the show Nanta.
During the performance they came looking for "volunteers". Guess who was chosen...
The kids at school were sweet as ever, the pancakes were incredible, and the show was a terrific time.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Thankful Thursday
Giving many thanks for...
- Never-ending love and support from amazing friends and family
- only 1 more day of intensive teaching (intensive teaching = all planning periods converted to teaching time)
- waterproof mascara
- Our boss, Ms. Grace
- Surprises
- Never-ending love and support from amazing friends and family
- only 1 more day of intensive teaching (intensive teaching = all planning periods converted to teaching time)
- waterproof mascara
- Our boss, Ms. Grace
- Surprises
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Happy Birthday Lauren!!!
Happy Birthday to my best friend!At 25 years old, you are the most beautiful woman I have met in my life. Everyday you impress and encourage. People who know you would agree with me when I say your laugh can light ablaze. Your happiness is unequivocally contagious as you put everybody else's wants and needs before your own.
I have never known, and I'm sure will never meet, anyone else in the world quite like you.
Your committed companionship
extraordinary energy
limitless love
and special spirit
keep me on cloud 9 everyday of my life.
So a toast to you, my beautiful wife, on your 25th birthday. May God bless you this year, 10-fold the blessings he has given me with the gift of you Lauren.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Life Changes
This life change is all about one third grade vocabulary word. Definition: The movement of people or goods.
Transportation for us has changed immensely. We have lived our entire lives to this point completely reliant on personal automobiles. Getting from A to B was no problema.
Step 1: Enter vehicle at point A.
Step 2: Push firmly against the pedal on the right and direct your vehicle towards the landing place (optional: adjust temperature, entertainment, and comfort to satisfy).
Step 3: Find the closest available spot to the intended destination to minimize walking.
Step 4: Exit vehicle and walk to point B.
Simple and effective. It was nearly a never-fail situation. Car broken down? No problem, there are so many options! You could always borrow someone's car. Practically everyone has one, some people even with spares. If that doesn't work out, you could always ask someone for a ride. If you can't secure one of these options, you can always cancel your plans. All else fails, you're not left with much: Public transportation or your own two legs.
Nowadays, walking and public transit are our only options. And you know what? It is pretty awesome.
First of all, using our legs for a longer distance than the 100 ft from door to door we were used to, has been incredibly refreshing.
It may be a little busy and require some dodging at times; actually all the time. This is a regular neighborhood street and we've to date never seen any sort of traffic regulation signs or equipment with the exception of main roads and highways. Even on these main roads a RED light means "stop...if you feel like it and you can't dodge the object in front of you. Once your path is clear (even if by inches) you have permission to go".
No worries about breaking the law either. We've seen 3 patrol cars in the last 6 months...only one with its lights on. We live in this giant city and...literally in the center of this heavily populated metropolis and hear sirens once a month. Even with these potentially dangerous driving practices, using our own two legs for 85% of our transportation needs has been quite nice. Not having to rely on anybody, or any object but your own body gives a much appreciated feeling of independence.
Unfortunately this city is enormous and walking won't take us everywhere we need to go. The Seoul Metro System is pretty incredible for our underground travel...
It may be crowded, but it is always cool and incredibly reliable. Not to mention it goes just about everywhere in Seoul.
If you're curious, we are located near the Seolleung Station (find where the green and yellow lines intersect).
Finally, there is the bus system. The bus system is also extremely efficient and it seems, at times, that more people use it than the subway. We don't take the bus as often as we would like or should. The bus gives a constant tour of Seoul - there is so much to see. We've had a few major fails on the bus but we continue to try it when we have extra time for travel. Some of you may remember this bus incident this story.
We have come to adore the various modes of transportation. I still miss this beauty, which is currently residing at mom and pop Haws's place, and often think of the day when I get to drive it again.
But for the rest of our lives, we hope our dependence on automobiles won't be as heavy.
Transportation for us has changed immensely. We have lived our entire lives to this point completely reliant on personal automobiles. Getting from A to B was no problema.
Step 1: Enter vehicle at point A.
Step 2: Push firmly against the pedal on the right and direct your vehicle towards the landing place (optional: adjust temperature, entertainment, and comfort to satisfy).
Step 3: Find the closest available spot to the intended destination to minimize walking.
Step 4: Exit vehicle and walk to point B.
Simple and effective. It was nearly a never-fail situation. Car broken down? No problem, there are so many options! You could always borrow someone's car. Practically everyone has one, some people even with spares. If that doesn't work out, you could always ask someone for a ride. If you can't secure one of these options, you can always cancel your plans. All else fails, you're not left with much: Public transportation or your own two legs.
Nowadays, walking and public transit are our only options. And you know what? It is pretty awesome.
First of all, using our legs for a longer distance than the 100 ft from door to door we were used to, has been incredibly refreshing.
It may be a little busy and require some dodging at times; actually all the time. This is a regular neighborhood street and we've to date never seen any sort of traffic regulation signs or equipment with the exception of main roads and highways. Even on these main roads a RED light means "stop...if you feel like it and you can't dodge the object in front of you. Once your path is clear (even if by inches) you have permission to go".
No worries about breaking the law either. We've seen 3 patrol cars in the last 6 months...only one with its lights on. We live in this giant city and...literally in the center of this heavily populated metropolis and hear sirens once a month. Even with these potentially dangerous driving practices, using our own two legs for 85% of our transportation needs has been quite nice. Not having to rely on anybody, or any object but your own body gives a much appreciated feeling of independence.
Unfortunately this city is enormous and walking won't take us everywhere we need to go. The Seoul Metro System is pretty incredible for our underground travel...
It may be crowded, but it is always cool and incredibly reliable. Not to mention it goes just about everywhere in Seoul.
If you're curious, we are located near the Seolleung Station (find where the green and yellow lines intersect).
Finally, there is the bus system. The bus system is also extremely efficient and it seems, at times, that more people use it than the subway. We don't take the bus as often as we would like or should. The bus gives a constant tour of Seoul - there is so much to see. We've had a few major fails on the bus but we continue to try it when we have extra time for travel. Some of you may remember this bus incident this story.
We have come to adore the various modes of transportation. I still miss this beauty, which is currently residing at mom and pop Haws's place, and often think of the day when I get to drive it again.
But for the rest of our lives, we hope our dependence on automobiles won't be as heavy.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Thankful Thursday
This Thursday we are thankful for...
Late night ice cream runs
15 grocery stores within walking distance
Youtube as a teaching tool
Bilingual bank employees
Answered prayers
Late night ice cream runs
15 grocery stores within walking distance
Youtube as a teaching tool
Bilingual bank employees
Answered prayers
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
P51
4th grade social studies class received a jolt of life today.
We are currently in a unit discussing wars the United States has participated in. Today's topic included the Korean and Vietnam wars (lumped these 2 into one class because of their relative physical distance from one another).
**Side note: I am still pretty uncomfortable using textbooks that talk about "we" and "us" referring to the United States and its citizens. I'm sure these kids get a healthy dose of their ancestor's history at their respective Korean schools, but it still is a little bizarre.**
I was explaining to them briefly the reasoning behind the Korean war (I'm sure they already knew from Korean classes, but either played dumb for my benefit or wanted to hear the English tale). I was talking about how the Soviet Union supported the communist North Korea and how the United States supported the democratic South. This brought cheers from the classroom and praise for the United States.
Unplanned, I then remembered my very own grandfather was involved in the Korean War. I told the class about his participation in the war. With surprised little faces they seem to all simultaneously ask "Your grandpa fought for South Korea?!?!"
With a great sense of pride and a puffed out chest I told them, "well, yes he did support them". The joy that flashed across all of their faces was incredibly contagious. I told them (hopefully accurately...it has been a few years since I heard the story first hand) about his job to fly his plane down close to the ground so he could take pictures.
The job was quite dangerous for him because of the short proximity to the ground he needed to achieve in order to take quality pictures. During this particular mission he was flying through a narrow valley. On his final pass through he was able to get the pictures he needed and ready to head back to the base when he spotted something out of the ordinary approaching fast.
The enemy had strung cables across his flight path and he was now too close to avoid them. With no options he reluctantly plowed ahead as the cables stripped all antennas and external devices vital to communications from the plane. Realizing the plane was still mobile he quickly retreated into the clouds to test the plane's instruments. Deeming the aircraft fit he began navigating back.
The base was surely a welcome sight, but he wasn't out of the woods yet. He had no way to communicate with the tower and vice versa. He circled the area a few times silently communicating to the tower there was an issue. Wisely, ground control cleared the runway granting him access to bring the plane to the ground. Safely, he did.
I'm not sure if I have ever seen the kids so quiet. They stared blankly at me with gaping mouths. I asked if they wanted to see a picture and before I could even pull it up I had twelve kids jammed around my computer monitor smothering me against the keyboard.
I pulled up the known address where I could find the picture I was looking for.
They told me to pass along a message to you Grandpa - Thank you.
Thank you for giving some great social studies material, but more importantly thank you for your service.
If I butchered your story in any way I am so very sorry and please inform me so I can make the appropriate changes.
We are currently in a unit discussing wars the United States has participated in. Today's topic included the Korean and Vietnam wars (lumped these 2 into one class because of their relative physical distance from one another).
**Side note: I am still pretty uncomfortable using textbooks that talk about "we" and "us" referring to the United States and its citizens. I'm sure these kids get a healthy dose of their ancestor's history at their respective Korean schools, but it still is a little bizarre.**
I was explaining to them briefly the reasoning behind the Korean war (I'm sure they already knew from Korean classes, but either played dumb for my benefit or wanted to hear the English tale). I was talking about how the Soviet Union supported the communist North Korea and how the United States supported the democratic South. This brought cheers from the classroom and praise for the United States.
Unplanned, I then remembered my very own grandfather was involved in the Korean War. I told the class about his participation in the war. With surprised little faces they seem to all simultaneously ask "Your grandpa fought for South Korea?!?!"
With a great sense of pride and a puffed out chest I told them, "well, yes he did support them". The joy that flashed across all of their faces was incredibly contagious. I told them (hopefully accurately...it has been a few years since I heard the story first hand) about his job to fly his plane down close to the ground so he could take pictures.
The job was quite dangerous for him because of the short proximity to the ground he needed to achieve in order to take quality pictures. During this particular mission he was flying through a narrow valley. On his final pass through he was able to get the pictures he needed and ready to head back to the base when he spotted something out of the ordinary approaching fast.
The enemy had strung cables across his flight path and he was now too close to avoid them. With no options he reluctantly plowed ahead as the cables stripped all antennas and external devices vital to communications from the plane. Realizing the plane was still mobile he quickly retreated into the clouds to test the plane's instruments. Deeming the aircraft fit he began navigating back.
The base was surely a welcome sight, but he wasn't out of the woods yet. He had no way to communicate with the tower and vice versa. He circled the area a few times silently communicating to the tower there was an issue. Wisely, ground control cleared the runway granting him access to bring the plane to the ground. Safely, he did.
I'm not sure if I have ever seen the kids so quiet. They stared blankly at me with gaping mouths. I asked if they wanted to see a picture and before I could even pull it up I had twelve kids jammed around my computer monitor smothering me against the keyboard.
I pulled up the known address where I could find the picture I was looking for.
They told me to pass along a message to you Grandpa - Thank you.
Thank you for giving some great social studies material, but more importantly thank you for your service.
If I butchered your story in any way I am so very sorry and please inform me so I can make the appropriate changes.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Cookies sans Oven
I wanted to make Chris a homemade tasty treat for his birthday but as you know, we have no oven. How could we celebrate a birthday without any baked goods?! I looked around for a non-bake cake recipe but everything I found called for ridiculous ingredients that we could not possibly find here. I decided to attempt some non-bake peanut butter cookies. Despite the lack of all the necessary items, they turned out quite scrumptious and we've found ourselves craving them several times since the birthday batch.
The recipe called for....
1/2 cup white sugar (check)
1/2 cup white corn syrup (kind of check, I wasn't sure if the label meant white but it was clear)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (impossible to find so I didn't use it)
1 cup peanut butter (check)
2 1/4 cup crisp rice cereal (again, I couldn't find this so I used a Korean version of Frosted Flakes)
Because we have no measuring cup it was impossible to get the exact amounts needed. Well, that's not entirely true; we have a plastic container that has milliliters marked by the hundreds. After guesstimating everything, the finished product was absolutely delicious. We enjoyed them warm but they were even more delicious after being in the fridge for a few hours.
We actually purchased a mint condition toaster oven off of Craigslist this weekend so our baking/cooking options have just multiplied by a million. We're very excited :)
If you want to try these tasty treats prepared my way....
- Cook the sugar and corn syrup on medium heat until it looks done (maybe one minute or so).
- Add and stir in a spoonful of honey.
- Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter and cereal.
- Drop by the spoonful (or whatever looks like a good size) onto wax paper.
- Heat a chopped chocolate bar and drizzle over cookies.
The recipe called for....
1/2 cup white sugar (check)
1/2 cup white corn syrup (kind of check, I wasn't sure if the label meant white but it was clear)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (impossible to find so I didn't use it)
1 cup peanut butter (check)
2 1/4 cup crisp rice cereal (again, I couldn't find this so I used a Korean version of Frosted Flakes)
Because we have no measuring cup it was impossible to get the exact amounts needed. Well, that's not entirely true; we have a plastic container that has milliliters marked by the hundreds. After guesstimating everything, the finished product was absolutely delicious. We enjoyed them warm but they were even more delicious after being in the fridge for a few hours.
We actually purchased a mint condition toaster oven off of Craigslist this weekend so our baking/cooking options have just multiplied by a million. We're very excited :)
If you want to try these tasty treats prepared my way....
- Cook the sugar and corn syrup on medium heat until it looks done (maybe one minute or so).
- Add and stir in a spoonful of honey.
- Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter and cereal.
- Drop by the spoonful (or whatever looks like a good size) onto wax paper.
- Heat a chopped chocolate bar and drizzle over cookies.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Thankful Thursday
We are grateful for...
Skype
Catch up emails
Filtered water
Garlic
Extreme internet speeds
Replacement cell phones (oops)
Skype
Catch up emails
Filtered water
Garlic
Extreme internet speeds
Replacement cell phones (oops)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Life Changes
Our living arrangement has been quite the change for us. For the first five months of our marriage we lived in an adorable apartment in Congress Park – it was a lavish home compared to our standards now. Thanks to our very generous wedding gifts, we practically had every kitchen gadget imaginable. Our meals were cooked using the best non-stick pots and pans available. We enjoyed our food using our beautiful dishes and pristine flatware and no drink touched our lips unless it was poured into the appropriate glass. Once every scrap of food was rinsed away down the handy garbage disposal, the dishes were nicely placed in the brand-new, silent-mode dishwasher. My, how things have changed.
If you read our first post you would know that our "honeymoon suite" was very bare when we first arrived in Seoul. Well, it’s been five months and not much is changed. We still have only the one pan and one knife, which were given to us by Mr. Kim. We’ve upgraded and now have one fork. We eat mostly using chopsticks and spoons (we are high class and have four of each). We have one non-stick pot and one very not non-stick pot. Two glass plates, four plastic plates, four bowls, two mugs, and five 5oz plastic cups sit in our cabinet. The only gadget in this household is our trusty “magic bullet” – it comes in extremely handy. There is no oven, no microwave, and only two gas burners. All, the few that we have, dishes are washed by hand and any and all food scraps are saved and later deposited in the Seoul-mandated food recycle bins. This limits our cooking options but we’ve become experts in using what we do have. It was interesting getting used to not having an oven or a microwave or even a toaster but it is completely and easily doable and we are actually really enjoying it. We eat nearly every meal at home and living without the Western commodities has quickly become second nature.
Although we feel the change mostly in the kitchen, all household areas are different. Our giant (queen sized) bed takes up one quarter of our apartment leaving little to no room for much furniture besides our small two-person table, eternally black, poor quality TV, and a three-drawer dresser/cardboard TV stand. However, we are very pleased with our newly acquired matching nightstands – by nightstands we mean orange cushioned stools abandoned near the dumpster (nothing a little Windex can’t fix, right?).
We’ve mentioned that we have our own washing machine (hooray!). This is extremely important, especially since laundry day is about every other day due to the unbearable humidity causing abundant amounts of sweat shocking our dry-climate-adapted bodies. We do not have a dryer, which isn’t an issue except for those 80% humidity days when it takes 72 hours for anything to dry and the line takes over our already tiny living space.
This semi-minimalist way of life has fortunately suited us well and is teaching us a lot. We’ve really been focusing on escaping the material “necessities” some cultures say we “need”. Don’t get us wrong, we look forward to the day we get to re-open all of our nicely packed wedding gifts that are awaiting our return stateside, but we are embracing this lifestyle and discovering the many values it continually teaches us.
"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever more." Psalm 16:11
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Summer Vacay continued...
Following our first day of vacation was a week topped off with exploration, relaxation, and tasty treats. It was really pleasant to have a week away from teaching. We could not escape completely however, as we found ourselves talking daily about the children we have grown to love so much. We were happy as can be to get a break, but admitted missing all their faces dearly.
Nonetheless we were able to get out and do some things around Seoul that we had yet to do so far during our journey.
For example, we were able to go to the pool. All the public pools in Seoul are positioned along the Han River in various districts. The pool we went to was located in the Jamwon area (location: 37°31'11.40"N, 127°00'37.41"E). We were blessed to get a couple of hours of sun in the morning before the eternal overcast returned. There was one subtle difference we noticed about the pools in Korea though...swim caps. EVERYBODY (exclude these two Americans) had swim caps. We did not spot a single person without one. We began to think it was a rule here so we entered the pool extremely cautiously, polarized ourselves to the wall and kept our heads dry above the surface of the water for fear we would set off alarms by getting our hair wet. After a little google searching on the subject we discovered many pools in various parts of Asia do, in fact, have swim cap rules (not like we could have understood if there were signs posted) The pool was a great time otherwise though!
A traditional teahouse was another experience we had yet to be exposed to. After walking through a few art galleries stopping at a few street vendors in Insadong,
we took a side alley in search of tea.
(LOC: 37°34'29.12"N, 126°59'05.12"E)
We found ourselves entering a quaint little spot ordering up a one 5-flavor and one persimmon tea. The quiet environment and traditional decor made it a very relaxing hour.
Seoul Tower: This city is ENORMOUS. Seoul metropolitan with its 20+million population boasts 2nd in the world largest metropolitan areas. In the middle of the city is Mt. Namsan (and by Mt. I mean hill [rocky mountain standards]). Erected atop the hill is Seoul Tower (Loc: 37°33'05.46"N, 126°59'16.03"E). This location provides a panoramic view of the incredible city. The mountain itself is Namsan park. The top of the mountain surrounding the tower hosts a Teddy Bear museum, traditional Korean restaurant, and a 3-D theater.
Looking West
Looking south towards Gangnam (our area)
Fixed to the guard rail lining the top of Mt. Namsan were thousands upon thousands of locks. Each is a "lock of love" couples attach with their names and short messages. It was a pretty awesome site.
We will surely be returning to this spot as there are a number of running trails along the base of the of the park.
One of our favorite stops Deoksugung Palace (Loc: 37°33'57.00"N, 126°58'29.75"E). This palace is one of the five royal palaces of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The palace was named Deoksugung, meaning palace of virtuous longevity, by King Gojong's son, Sujong" in hopes that his father would live long there. While there we were able to watch a re-enactment of the Royal Guard Changing Ceremony of the Joseon Dynasty.
Trying to capture the traditional Korean architecture against the western style building against the modern skyscraper
Unfortunately the Rodin Gallery nearby was closed :(
The film Up! finally arrived in Korea during our break, which we opted to see promptly. We requested tickets for the 3-D version from a woman working the box office when she gave us a bizarre look and said Korean, Korean while motioning with her hand from her mouth outward. We saw the 2-D version in English thanks to the kind lady who gave us the heads up. The movie was fantastic!
Would you take a ride on a "pleasure cruise"? Sounds a bit shady, but extremely enjoyable. The Han River Pleasure Cruise owns a fleet of ships holding from 50-300 passengers taking trips up and down the Han River. We opted for a night cruise to see some of the city lights.
We are amusement park fanatics and lovers of roller coasters, how could we not visit one of the world's largest indoor theme parks, Lotte World. The park is not located entirely indoors, but a very large chunk was indeed under roof.
There were, of course, very interesting sites, including these enormous bows so many visitors chose as a fashion accessory
Many thanks to this man for keeping those in long lines far from boredom...
For anyone who was a Vine patron 05-07ish know exactly what this machine is...unbelievable that I wore this shirt and found this machine in Seoul...wow.
GYRO DROP(LOC: 37°30'32.29"N, 127°6'2.36"E) - Think Tower of Doom. Rotates on the way up, gives a nice view of the park and surrounding city
As I mentioned earlier, this vacation also included some tasty treats.
I used to think On The Border was a joke of a Mexican restaurant...well in Korea, this is as good as gold.
Our favorite, buffalo chicken dip. Seriously if you haven't had this before, make it immediately (especially before football season starts), click here for recipe.
Thanks to Momma Haws for the ingredients we were unable to find in Korea :)
This post has extended far too long and includes an excess of information so we'll leave it here with this "A vacation is over when you begin to yearn for your work" -Morris Fishbein
Maybe we don't yearn for work, but we sure do miss those kiddos.
Nonetheless we were able to get out and do some things around Seoul that we had yet to do so far during our journey.
For example, we were able to go to the pool. All the public pools in Seoul are positioned along the Han River in various districts. The pool we went to was located in the Jamwon area (location: 37°31'11.40"N, 127°00'37.41"E). We were blessed to get a couple of hours of sun in the morning before the eternal overcast returned. There was one subtle difference we noticed about the pools in Korea though...swim caps. EVERYBODY (exclude these two Americans) had swim caps. We did not spot a single person without one. We began to think it was a rule here so we entered the pool extremely cautiously, polarized ourselves to the wall and kept our heads dry above the surface of the water for fear we would set off alarms by getting our hair wet. After a little google searching on the subject we discovered many pools in various parts of Asia do, in fact, have swim cap rules (not like we could have understood if there were signs posted) The pool was a great time otherwise though!
A traditional teahouse was another experience we had yet to be exposed to. After walking through a few art galleries stopping at a few street vendors in Insadong,
we took a side alley in search of tea.
(LOC: 37°34'29.12"N, 126°59'05.12"E)We found ourselves entering a quaint little spot ordering up a one 5-flavor and one persimmon tea. The quiet environment and traditional decor made it a very relaxing hour.
Seoul Tower: This city is ENORMOUS. Seoul metropolitan with its 20+million population boasts 2nd in the world largest metropolitan areas. In the middle of the city is Mt. Namsan (and by Mt. I mean hill [rocky mountain standards]). Erected atop the hill is Seoul Tower (Loc: 37°33'05.46"N, 126°59'16.03"E). This location provides a panoramic view of the incredible city. The mountain itself is Namsan park. The top of the mountain surrounding the tower hosts a Teddy Bear museum, traditional Korean restaurant, and a 3-D theater.
Looking West
Looking south towards Gangnam (our area)
Fixed to the guard rail lining the top of Mt. Namsan were thousands upon thousands of locks. Each is a "lock of love" couples attach with their names and short messages. It was a pretty awesome site.
We will surely be returning to this spot as there are a number of running trails along the base of the of the park.
One of our favorite stops Deoksugung Palace (Loc: 37°33'57.00"N, 126°58'29.75"E). This palace is one of the five royal palaces of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The palace was named Deoksugung, meaning palace of virtuous longevity, by King Gojong's son, Sujong" in hopes that his father would live long there. While there we were able to watch a re-enactment of the Royal Guard Changing Ceremony of the Joseon Dynasty.
Trying to capture the traditional Korean architecture against the western style building against the modern skyscraper
Unfortunately the Rodin Gallery nearby was closed :(
The film Up! finally arrived in Korea during our break, which we opted to see promptly. We requested tickets for the 3-D version from a woman working the box office when she gave us a bizarre look and said Korean, Korean while motioning with her hand from her mouth outward. We saw the 2-D version in English thanks to the kind lady who gave us the heads up. The movie was fantastic!
Would you take a ride on a "pleasure cruise"? Sounds a bit shady, but extremely enjoyable. The Han River Pleasure Cruise owns a fleet of ships holding from 50-300 passengers taking trips up and down the Han River. We opted for a night cruise to see some of the city lights.
We are amusement park fanatics and lovers of roller coasters, how could we not visit one of the world's largest indoor theme parks, Lotte World. The park is not located entirely indoors, but a very large chunk was indeed under roof.
There were, of course, very interesting sites, including these enormous bows so many visitors chose as a fashion accessory
Many thanks to this man for keeping those in long lines far from boredom...
For anyone who was a Vine patron 05-07ish know exactly what this machine is...unbelievable that I wore this shirt and found this machine in Seoul...wow.
GYRO DROP(LOC: 37°30'32.29"N, 127°6'2.36"E) - Think Tower of Doom. Rotates on the way up, gives a nice view of the park and surrounding city
As I mentioned earlier, this vacation also included some tasty treats.
I used to think On The Border was a joke of a Mexican restaurant...well in Korea, this is as good as gold.
Our favorite, buffalo chicken dip. Seriously if you haven't had this before, make it immediately (especially before football season starts), click here for recipe.
Thanks to Momma Haws for the ingredients we were unable to find in Korea :)
This post has extended far too long and includes an excess of information so we'll leave it here with this "A vacation is over when you begin to yearn for your work" -Morris Fishbein
Maybe we don't yearn for work, but we sure do miss those kiddos.
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