Blossoming Seoul: Seoul Forest and Good Eats

On the last day of the Chusok vacation we headed out into the city once again for more culture and fun. Our first stop is arguably one of my favorite areas of town...ahhh Insadong! I first visited this arts and crafts center last August or September and fell in love with the fun little shops and tea rooms, so I knew I had to take mom there (the guys probably could have passed on this experience). We wandered down the main street, stopping for a few souvenirs, before it became evident that we were just torturing the men. After a quick photo stop at Starbucks and the lucky frogs, we headed off to Seoul Forest for lunch and a bike ride.

Starbucks-a

Celebrating in Korea

Two goobs with the froggies!

Awww, mom wants in on the good luck too!

It was about a thirty minute subway and bus ride to Seoul Forest from Insadong so our first order of business upon arriving at the park was finding a bench and eating lunch. From there we located the bike rental and procured ourselves some bikes for an hour of exploration. It was pretty comical to watch the bike rental man trying to make the seats high enough for dad and Daniel--they ended up on mountain bikes with very uncomfortable seats (another ball buster according to Daniel). Mom and I chose old fashioned looking bikes with baskets...think Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love. The four of us were quite a sight--Daniel and dad trying to figure out the best position on the tiny bike seats and mom and I wobbling back and forth because the steering on our bikes was pretty bad. None-the-less, we managed to spend nearly a full hour biking around various parts of Seoul Forest. I learned that the park includes several fountains, a sculpture garden, a skate park, playgrounds, a cafe, and an equestrian center....plus more that I'm sure we didn't see!

Walking up to Seoul Forest--a haven of green in a very big city.

It was a warm day, perfect for playing in the fountain.

A super cool sculpture/play structure.

More fountains

Mom, dad, and Dan with their awesome bikes.

Book sculpture in the sculpture garden.

More sculptures with the city in the background.

Mom playing on the rocking bridge.

I told Daniel I didn't think he could make it over to the boat platform without falling in the water, so of course he had to prove me wrong:).

Success!

I'm pretty sure there was a sign in Korean that said "No bikes on the bridge" but we biked across anyway!

One more ride through the serene sculpture garden before leaving Seoul Forest.

By the end of our hour we were all pretty tired, so we hopped on the subway and headed back to Yonhi-dong to spend the rest of the Chusok holiday relaxing.

On Thursday I went back to work and left the family at home to fend for themselves. Not surprisingly, they didn't venture much further than Yonhi dong (Seoul can be a little intimidating I suppose). Daniel came in and hung out with me during a day of study halls. That evening I took mom with me to my ladies bible study and the guys joined some of my school friends for a trip to the Korean BBQ! Ruth, Paul, Gabriel, Sofie, Greg, dad, and Daniel made their way down the hill to a kalbi (beef) restaurant and spent the evening eating Korean (the first time for the guys). They cooked their own meat on the bbq pit in the middle of the table and both guys tried kimchi for the first time. Apparently Daniel was only planning on trying a small bit but was unsuccessful in his attempt to cut his kimchi into a small bit with a spoon so he ended up with quite a mouthful of fermented cabbage and chili paste! Here are a few photos Ruth took of the guys...