Seoul Sad!

It was our last day in Seoul and we still had

so much to do! After breakfast we headed out

 to see just how much we could check off my must see list.

We started our walk heading down some of the many winding alleyways.

Then we turned the corner and it turned into the most picturesque streets that I have seen since Europe.

 

We then arrived at the Deoksungung Palace. The palace

had a very romantic feel despite being surround by modern buildings in a very

busy area of the city. You almost forgot that you were in the middle of a large city 

while you explored the grounds.

We spent a few hours exploring, then headed to our next location, but we needed 

to stop and refuel!

Our next stop was the Jogyesa Temple,  it is the main temple of the Jogye

Order of Korean Buddhism. This was originally our first stop on Saturday that I moved

 to allow us to sleep in a little, but unfortunately a service was going on when we arrived. We didn't enter the ground, so I snapped the two photos as we listened to the service from outside the temple grounds.   

After that it was off to find the family some lunch. I had seen an authentic looking chicken place during 

our walk, but hunger got the best of them, and so they opted for a cute looking 50's burger diner.  

Someone was so excited trying kool-aid for the first time, but then didn't drink half of it. 

Everyone got different style burgers and not one bite was left on any plate.

 

The diner was located next to the Cheonggyecheon Stream and Plaza. My original plan was to visit this area the Saturday night, but due to the attempted mutiny, I had to postpone till Sunday. 

The area was very nice and I heard it comes to life at night. So, we will be adding

it to our 'to do list' for the next time we come back.

Someone loves the camera!

After that we headed back to our hotel to pack and we took a few pictures along the way.

 

We had a late check-out at the the hotel, but still had a few more hours to kill

before we needed to head to the train station. We dropped our bags off at the concierge desk and heading 

out to explore the underground market and out door market near our hotel.

Unfortunately the underground market only had a few stores open, so we headed back up street level and explored the outdoor market. 

I purchased a few items from some different vendors along the way for them to try and The Diva and Mr. Man both requested to try a few different things that they had saw. The only dish that was not a hit was the one The Diva requested (red sauce).  I love that the kids are so willing to try different foods. We have decided that next time we will skip a sit down lunch and hit up a bunch of different food vendors. We wandered the streets shopping and eating until it was time to pick up our luggage an head to the train station.

And with that, our weekend in Seoul had came to an end!

We had a great time, knocked a few things off our 'must see' list and added a lot

more things that we need to see. Luckily Seoul is just a quick train ride away.

All in all, I think it was a great trip to get us (okay me) accustomed to the area and learning to navigate

another foreign country. 

                   

As the husband  said "we popped the cherry", so  now I'm in official trip planning mode. We already have our first trip out of South Korea partially booked and I just read that Japan is going to be opening up

to tourists even more soon. Hello, Tokyo!! I am so excited to explore this side of world.

Still Seoul Much To Do!

 After lunch we headed to Changdeokgung Palace to explore

the grounds and take a tour of the Secret Garden.

The Changdeokgung Palace was built in 1405 and was a secondary palace of the 

Joseon Dynasty. After its destruction during the Japanese invasion (1592-1598), it was rebuilt in 1610.

It then served as the main palace for about 270 years. 

We had about an hour to explore the palace before our

guided tour.  Shortly after we started exploring the grounds,

this gentleman started asking us questions about the palace

and giving us lots history about the palace. He walked us around the 

palace for about 30 minutes before he had to leave us. It turns out he was 

 one of the tour guides at the palace and he spent some of his down time giving us 

a short tour. He had so much information, and managed to engage us all and make it fun.

I could have spent hours following him around the ground.

We grabbed some water and headed off to find the starting point 

for our tour of the Secret Garden.

The only way to view this area is by a guided tour and the only option 

was a group tour. 

I crossed my fingers and was hopeful that because it was 

the English tour it would not be crowded.

Luck was not on my side.

We headed out on our 90 minute tour with 

100 of our newest friends. 

The grounds were beautiful and I 

could spend hours taking photos. I would love to go back in the Fall

 and when the cherry trees bloom, but I was not a fan of the tour.

While the guide did provide some history he

spent a lot of time talking about all the K-dramas

and Netflix moves that have been filmed at the gardens.

The garden is closed on Mondays to allow film crews 

to use the area and I can see why.

The Diva was all over that! She loves K-dramas, so it 

was a great addition for her. 

I had heard some rumbling durning the tour, but didn't give them much thought and once

we got done I was ready to head to our next location, the Cheonggyecheon Stream.

We had already logged 19k steps and I was ready to keep going, but I was

informed that I was about to have a mutiny on my hands 

if we didn't head back to the hotel. The most shocking part was the 

ring leader of this mutiny was my very own husband. 

Not only did I have to head back to the hotel they had all decided that

were going to take the bus!

I don't like to take the bus or subways while we travel, because I 

believe you learn so much about a city just by walking it.

About 30 seconds after this picture was taken this little

guy was out cold on my lap.

After we got back to the hotel someone was feeling

a little guilty for being the ring leader of the mutiny, so

he took me up to the M lounge to 

have appetizers and drinks.

The lounge did have some amazing views.

We chatted about the city and upcoming trips. He

is trying to talk me into a vacation instead of another trip for our 

November excursion. According to him a vacation is relaxing 

and not go go go with 20k plus steps each day, but a trip is filled with lots history and walking.

He does know the way to my heart, unlimited americano, so

I think he thought if he could keep the americanos coming, I would

agree to a vacation over a trip. 

We decided to table that discussion until I do a 

little more research on the area we are going to.

After chilling in the lounge for a while we headed back to our room to relieve our 

babysitter (Mr. Man) and got ready for bed.

I had to rework our plan for the next day to see how much

I could squeeze in before we had to head home.