Saturday, February 20, 2016

Seoul Weekend

written 16/09/2018 to remember things by (as I realize that I've been losing my pictures - don't know why)...

My friends and I booked a room in one of the small hotels in Insadong. It's an ondol-type one good for the three of us with our own private bathroom. It's a good hotel for sleeping and leaving your stuff behind as you go explore the wonders of the old town Seoul.

We woke up early so we can maximize our days since the day is still short. We saw Insadong still asleep, with only a few sellers opening their stores. Luckily, the coffee shop was already open so we headed in for some coffee and bread. I expected to have traditional Korean bread or something but this coffee shop is very Western with all types of bread and pastries.

 what to eat?! so many choices!

hello there! I don't know what you're saying but I love your smile =)

We also visited Gyeongbukgung Palace to see the changing of the guards and to have a tour of the palace grounds, went around Bukchon Village (where I was able to still play - like a beginner - Somewhere Over the Rainbow on the piano), toured the Changdeokgung Palace, and went up to see the Namsan Tower.
 the morning changing of the guards. what i bright ceremony!

 so I guess it is still truly winter...

 the guide said that only the royal family can use these colors

the view of the Bugaksan Mountains behind the palace grounds

 so we did not know how large a Korean serving would be and we ordered one each. it took us ages to finish it because we were conscious about not finishing our meal and it was just tooooo spiccccy! but it was tasty.

frozen lake. there's a small gate on the left where people of lower rank had to go through. it is small so that when they pass through, they are required to bow low...

The best thing today though is making a new friend who is also a Pinay doing a training in Seoul. We gravitated to each other when we were waiting for the English tour to start at Gyeongbukgung. Later, we all decided to spend the day together - which was really fun!

So thank you, Lord, for the great day and the new friend. Amen.

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