Spring...Finally!

After a long and cold winter, spring has finally arrived in Seoul.  La Primavera!  Yay!  One of the best parts about spring here is Cherry Blossoms!  The buds first began blooming a couple of weeks ago, but being busy it actually took the promise of rain to get my butt out of the apartment to see these beauties in bloom.  Last Friday after school I put on my sneakers and headed out for a short hike--skirting around the mountain you'll eventually end up at a nice little area with a water wheel, pond, stream, and lots of beautifully blooming trees!  Lucky for me, I ran into my neighbor Bridget right before the walk and she agreed to join me with camera in hand to document the blooms.  


It was a sweaty walk--in fact, it was feeling much more like summer than spring.  As we walked, we captured lots of blooming things...and a giant gold Buddha (cool, right?).  We saw bright, bloom shaped lanterns strung about, all in celebration of a tiny white and pink flower.  I loved every minute of it.  I also enjoyed the chance to catch up and chat with Bridget, who will sadly be leaving for Jakarta at the end of the school year!  


Here are some of the lovely images we encountered along our hike...

The hillside of Mt. Ansan bursting with puffs of pink

The Golden Buddha 

My favorite blooms of the day--the magnolia trees are absolutely stunning!

Blossoming lanterns

Tiny viola flowers

We found some SFS friends along the way!

A blossoming walkway

Seodaemungu

We weren't the only ones out enjoying the cherry blossoms!

Bridget and me

Hiking back to school

Truly Asian...a lantern amidst the blossoms

As you can tell by my sad lack of blogging, I haven't been out and about in the city much this year.  I suppose last week's hike was a good reminder that I need to make time to get out and experience the beauty of Seoul, especially since all I really need to do is walk out the back gate and I'm in Mother Nature's backyard!  The rains came and went and it appears that some of the blossoms managed to cling to the trees, but more often than not we see them raining from the branches with each gust of wind.  And thus my second spring in Seoul is here, with summer hot on its heels.  Ahh, summer....well, I guess I shouldn't get too far ahead of myself and instead I should focus on celebrating each lovely spring day and the promise of a bright and beautiful tomorrow!