Chusok Celebrations!

The trip to the DMZ had us up and going early so we took Sunday as a down day.  Monday morning rolled around and brought the official Chusok holiday with it so we decided to head out to one of Seoul's palaces.  I took the family on the subway for the first time and they survived unscathed.  

See, all in one piece on the subway...and they've even got the Korean photo pose down!

Gyeongbokgumg Palace is one of the most well known in Seoul, fairly close to school, and quite lovely.  Because of the holiday it was FREE--which was just an added bonus.  We had fun taking pictures with the palace guards who were dressed in period costumes (and probably roasting to death in the late summer heat and humidity) and spent a good amount of time wandering through the palace grounds with LOTS and lots of Korean people.  I wish I had captured a picture of one of the little girls dressed in their traditional costumes but I was too shy to walk up to a parent and try to ask.  Before leaving the palace we stopped in at the Folk Museum to see the history of this country represented through its art and various treasures.  Determined to try to pack as much sightseeing as possible into a day we also ventured over to Namsan Tower to try and catch the cable car to the top but about 500 other people had the same idea so we're saving that for another day!  Here are a few pictures from our visit to the palace...

Dad with a palace guard.

I'm trying out new angles with the new camera...this is the entry gate to the palace.

Yep, I'm still a tourist here too...

I love the colors used for decorating traditional Korean architecture.

A throne...I think.

Awww...isn't my family adorable?!

Now my turn for a photo!

Doesn't Daniel look like he fits in with this exhibit?  He's practically Korean already!

Mom and Dad taking part in the wedding exhibit.

We visited King Sejong in our attempt to catch a taxi in front of the palace on Chusok.  Nice thought, but no go.  We took the subway home!