It begins... in Nagoya.
After the long ass bus ride, surprisingly rude taxi drivers, and the quest to find out hotel, our first stop was the impenetrable Jongmyo Shrine
All we wanted to do was get up there!
And to do so we had to walk ALL THE WAY AROUND THE ENTIRE PLACE to find the entrance ^_^
Almost immediately after you exit the history of the shrine you run right into colorful, modern Seoul. After I took this photo, these guys were shouting for us to join them for a drink :P
How many times have you seen crosswalks with arrows?
Insadong, the antiques market
We met up with some new friends for dinner. And then proceeded to spend the next 4 days with them, ha ha. But they took us out for our first real Korean meal, sam (I think.. I forgot almost all the Korean I learned within minutes >.<).
I set that up to make it look like there was lettuce in my teeth...
That's Romeo on the left and Jasper on the right.
Heard about this place from some tourists asking for directions. We wanted to check it out but it had a really high cover charge. Definetly NOT cool. ha ha ha ha ha ha
Jasper took us to this fantastic tea shop where you get your own individual room with sheer curtains and cushions reminiscent of beds
I challenge you to find the odd sign in that list. Hint: it's not the eros museum :)
Gyeongbokgung, the Palace of Shining Happiness
Some students asked us to fill out surveys on the palace as part of their summer homework
In the museum at the palace
These little guys are the Korean equivalent of gargoyles, and the more of them there are the more important the building is. The palace had 9 I think
After over a year of looking at sleek Japanese weaponry, it was a refreshing change to see an enormous (and presumably very heavy) Korean sword
For lunch we met up with our new friends again for more Korean food. And I thought my teachers were teasing me when they said Korean people cut their food with scissors...
The only Starbucks in the world that isn't written in English
Changdeokgung, the Palace of Illustrious Virtue. Accessible only by guided tour
Which Romie has taken many, MANY times, ha ha
The secret garden (it's really called that)
They should pay me for that, don't you think?
At a Korean palace with our Japanese fans
Heading to the art museum near Itaewon, the foreigner hangout of Seoul
This statue looks almost exactly like the one in Roppongi!
Itaewon
The gate near Dongdaemun market
And boy did we wander trying to find that market
The next day we met up with... yep! Jasper and Romie for lunch ^_^ This time we had bibimbap
And then Jasper took us to this "unique" coffee shop near his university. He was crushed when I said I'd been to one in Minnesota and the guy behind the counter confirmed it was a chain, ha ha
In the afternoon we got a tour of the school where Jasper teaches, Ewha Women's University
In Jasper's office
For Theresa, whose brother's name is Bob ^_^
We went out with Romeo for dinner to this shop that serves all you can eat rice and noodles
And I had the spiciest kimchi I think I've ever eaten in my life!
Back in Dongdaemun for more shopping ^_^
mmmmm... silkworms.
At the DMZ, after going down to see one of the tunnels that North Korea dug to infiltrate the South. This one was discovered in the 1970's, and I believe they're still looking for them to this day
At the overlook of the DMZ. They won't let you get any closer to take photos
As close as I'll ever get to North Korea
Dorasan Station, which has 1 train a day to the factory in North Korea, and 3 a day to and from Seoul.
A stark reminder that the fighting stopped with only a cease fire, barbed wire and warning signs
The shrine for those with relatives left in the north
Whenever we were on our own for food we ended up doing non-Korean. Like mediterranian! mmmm. falafels.
And then our last dinner in Seoul was with.... Jasper and Romeo!
And we (well, me mostly) kept daring him to eat the hot peppers
For our last night, Theresa and I caught a performance of Nanta, a show with very little speaking but lots of cabbage chopping and banging pots and pans ^_^
And silly signs
The alley behind our hotel
Waiting for the bus at 550 am... until a taxi came by and offered to give us a ride for the same price. At half the time. Literally. We thought we were gonna die on that ride, lol the drivers in Korea are insane!
Departing for Nagoya (3rd from the top); it's strange to think that going home means flying to another foreign country. But it's SO COOL not to have to stand in the foreigners line at immigration v^_^v
And the bus ride back to Takayama!
