Check in here to see our updates from our vacation to South Korea!!! We will be there on vacation through the first couple of weeks of December...many pictures and fun posts to follow!!!!
Day 1-YongPyong Ski Resort
We made it here! Our flight was great (long, but great) on Korean Air. Lots of meals and beverages, and lots of movies to watch. It certainly didn't feel like 14 hours long to either of us. We arrived in South Korea late Monday (Korea time) and drove out to YongPyong Ski Resort with some of our friends from Seoul. We are in an adorable condo that overlooks the ski slopes and resort grounds. Javier wanted to learn to snowboard, and Emily decided to try to learn to ski, so between our friends that came with us and another friend of theirs, they managed to teach us! We skiied most of the morning, and then for an hour or two after lunch. Lots of restaurants to choose from here, so we can try new Korean food when we want or stick to old favorites like pizza, which we did tonight. It has been a great day, and an amazing experience so far on just the first day. We are both learning to get around by speaking Korean, and everyone is extremely nice and helpful to us. Enjoy our pictures!!
Day 2 - Yong Pyong Ski Resort
Today at Yong Pyong Ski Resort, we took a ride on the cable car to the top of Dragon Peak, and saw amazing snow everywhere and the snow machines making snow for the slopes. It was so cold!! We had some delicious hot chocolate and looked out the windows at the winter wonderland. Later, after lunch, we found our way to the spa and indoor heated waterpark, bought bathing suits, and played in the saunas, hot tubs and massage pools!! Yes, 30 degrees outside and we were in bathing suits! Hard for us to believe also. At one point we actually had to GO outside to get to the sauna building. COLD!!! We took a shuttle bus back to Seoul in the afternoon to our hotel, where we will be for 3 nights. Enjoy the pics!
Day 3- Our Traditional Korean Wedding!!!!
Today we got married again! We had a traditional Korean wedding ceremony performed at a place called Korea House, and we were both dressed in traditional Korean wedding hanboks. Afterwards, we had lunch at the Korea House restaurant and took a tour of Namsan Village, and were able to see a traditional Korean family house and some other aspects of Korean culture. Very fun!! We went out of Seoul to our friend's parents home for dinner and spent time visiting with them.
Day 4 - Seoul (The BIG city!)
This place is amazingly big...we spent today walking and shopping around Seoul. We found everything from a very high end department store (think Ferragamo, Tiffany Co, and Louis Vuitton) to the awesome Namdaemun Market where you can buy almost anything (Think....flea market). We were able to buy souvenirs AND our baby hanbok for our baby's first birthday celebration!!! An explanation of the first birthday is under the About Korea page. There are also a few pictures of our hotel/apartment and views of Seoul.
Day 5 - Sokcho Fishing Village and the East Sea coastal region
Today we drove with our friends out to the east coast of Korea, where the East Sea meets the coast. We drove through the country's beautiful mountains and also the Misiryeong Valley, and as we were leaving Seoul to start the drive it began to snow! It snowed off and on the whole 3 hours we were driving, and at several places was very heavy snowfall! To us it looked like a snowstorm, but I'm sure for Korea it was light snow! Once we made it to Sokcho, we visited a fish market and seafood restaurant, where Javier was able to choose his crab from the live selections and have it brought upstairs to be cooked. A very unique experience for sure! We went up to a lookout point where we could see the main harbor and the sea, as well as the beach. Afterwards, our friends drove us to the most famous Buddhist temple in South Korea, and we walked the grounds of the temple. Parts of the structure were very new, as a fire claimed a large portion of the original temple about three years ago. We saw a 1200-year-old Buddha statue which was saved from the fire by the monks. Very beautiful buildings and grounds. Our apartments for the night had kitchens, so we cooked dinner and brought it down to our friend's apartment. Tomorrow we head back to Seoul for our last few days.
Day 6 - Back to Seoul!
Today we drove back to Seoul from the East Coast, and spent the afternoon resting in our hotel apartment and also navigating the subway system to the local E-Mart grocery/department store. This place is amazing! The E-Mart is around 4 stories, and this particular one is located "in" a subway station. The first floor of the E-Mart is the same floor as the subway station, and it goes upwards from there. We bought lots of toys and books for our baby to have as he or she ages; things that can only be found here in Korea. We bought a child's utensil set, which here consists of a fork, spoon and chopsticks! We also bought lots of books that were printed in English and Korean, as well as a DVD of Pororo, a cartoon penguin that is huge here with kids. YAy!! We cooked dinner at the hotel, and rested for the rest of the night. We made a quick stop at Dunkin Donuts on the way back to the hotel from the subway station! Tomorrow we are doing some sightseeing, and some more shopping at Insadong Market, so that should be lots of fun!! Oh, and Emily had her first full conversation in Korean today with a lady in the supermarket...hope she can keep up the learning pace after we come home!!
Day 7 - Shopping in Seoul
Today we shopped until we dropped!! Prior to shopping, we stopped in to visit a local veterinary clinic that treats lots of exotic animals; So-Young had set up a time that we could come and tour the clinic. Javier was able to see a clinic in action, and see what kinds of things veterinarians are doing here that he could learn from and take home, and also provide ideas and help to these veterinarians. Very fun! We went from there to the COEX mall, and bought more toys and then bought a cute table for the baby's room!! Afterwards, we walked around the luxury department stores and window shopped at places we had never seen in person before!! (Prada, Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana....) A quick trip to California Pizza Kitchen for some much needed familiar tastes, and then off to the night time markets!!! Also included are pictures of our interesting toilet seat, which provides a heated seat, jet stream water and warmed-air drying capabilities for a more "comfortable" experience. :)
Day 8 - Seoul Sightseeing
Today we spent the morning at Namdaemun market again, trying to squeeze in all those last minute souvenirs and gifts that we wanted!! It started snowing again while we were at the market!!! In true tourist fasion, we walked out and started playing underneath the snowfall, while the locals pulled out umbrellas and hats almost immediately. After we cooked lunch in the hotel, we hopped on the subway and went to Gyeongbukgong, which is an area that has a temple, a palace, the National Folk Museum and the new Palace Museum! We looked around the grounds of the temple and palace, and went into the Palace Museum. Wonderful pieces of history-some of these things were from a thousand years ago!!
