Valentines Adventures in Seoul

 

For Valentines we decided to be tourists in our own city for a change. We booked a room at the Hill House Hotel and ventured out into the great big city. Our first day in Seoul we visited the Changdeokgung Palace which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

 

It was incredible to see how a huge palace complex could hide so quietly in the presence of the concrete giants that surround it. 

 

Once through the giant gate, the palace grounds were serene and spacious.

They engulfed my imagination entirely.  I could imagine the last emperor, Emperor Sunjeong padding softly to his wife's chambers while wearing his Hanbok attire and soft slippers on his feet.

 

 

The Hanbok imagery was probably enhanced by the few Korean tourists wearing their Hanbok, traditional Korean dress, to honor the Lunar New Year holiday.

 

 Loren commented that he'd much rather live in a Korean palace than in a cold European castle. I'd have to agree.  The palace buildings are made mostly of wood with stone forming the foundations.  Many palace buildings have airy doors and windows covered in lattice work and a whitish paper material covering that I imagine lets in a beautifully diffused light.

After the palace, we walked through Samcheongdonggil a cute neighborhood full of boutiques, restaurants, galleries, and coffee shops.  We stopped for some tea and cheese cake right across the street from the President's residence.

One thing Korea really does well is cafes. There are tons of little cafes with that hard to manufacture Ma and Pa feeling, and yet, they are all manufactured to cozy perfection.

Feeling full and warmed up from our tea and cake we confidently struck out again in hopes of finding our hotel since it was getting late and we still hadn't checked in yet. After living in Seoul for one and a half years we thought we'd be able to find it on foot. We knew it was close to Myeongdong which I was certain was in the vicinity of City Hall. We started to walk in the direction we thought it'd be in and instead found a Lunar New Year festival taking place on a busy intersection that was closed down for the purpose. People were flying kites, ice-skating, and listening to a traditional Korean drum performance.

 

  

 

We absorbed the cultural experience while still heading in the direction of our hotel. Unfortunately I also started absorbing the unforgiving winter cold along with an impatience for the milling masses who were constantly meandering in my path. We started to try and find the hotel more in earnest.

We realized that even though we've lived in Korea for one and a half years, we are not experts on the Seoul area seeing as we live in the burbs.   We called the hotel for directions then jumped on the subway and popped out at Hoehyeon station.  From there, the hotel was just a short taxi ride away.   Looks like we need more than just time in the burbs with in frequent trips into the big city to figure Seoul out.

 

Our room was very warm from the ondol flooring and comfy even in spite of the questionable art work above the bed. 

 

It was so tempting to drift off to sleep instead of trying to find a nice place to eat dinner but we forced ourselves back out into the cold, crowded streets. We headed to Myeongdong, a shopper's Mecca, where it is said over one million people pass through on a daily basis, to find the location of our romantic Valentines dinner.

Loren, joining the milling masses in Myeongdong for the first time, was mesmerized by the lights and crowds. I've been there more than a couple of times because it houses the only sure bet for western women to find clothing that won't break the bank and will also fit our amazonian proportions, Forever 21. Yes, I know, it's not really p.c. to shop there but until I can find an alternative, I guiltily patronize the mega 3 story Forever 21 when I'm desperately, and I mean desperately, in need of some retail therapy.

Our stomachs told us there was no time for shopping so we found a lovely Italian restaurant called Spannew to fit the bill for a romantic dinner to be accompanied by a glass of wine.  After our long day and filling dinner, we decided to call it a night.

When we awoke, we put two things on the agenda for our day after v-day: watch shopping, and movie watching. Loren promised me a new watch for my 30th b-day and we've had a bit of trouble finding one. So, we hit Myeongdong again and scoured the shops for the perfect watch. The watch shopping was a success. 
The only English movie we hadn't seen yet was Wolfman, so up to the 10th floor cinema of another massive shopping mall we went.  I don't think either of us were prepared for the carnage that was to unfold before our eyes.   Nothing says romance like a bloody gore fest.  (I'm not sure I needed to see handsome Benicio Del Toro covered in fur and even worse, covered in bloody entrails!)  We survived the movie, admired my new watch, had a nice Indian lunch and headed back home to Bundang. 

Loren and I agree there is still a ton to see in Seoul before we leave it for Shanghai next year.  We hope to be able to check out all of it's sites before we leave.  Our Valentines weekend was a good start.

Happy Valentines day to all and a happy Lunar New Year as well.