It is common to see many fathers out and about on this occasion playing with their children.
Our school, like all of the others, as closed on Wednesday, so I had the whole day to spend with my parents!
We left around noon for Seoul with plans for some souvenir shopping in Insadong, a tour of Gyeongbukgong Palace, and dinner in Jonggak.
I wanted to walk them through Insadong so they could get the gist, then tour the palace, then go back through Insadong to purchase.
First, though, we stopped at the hilarious men who sell their "royal" candy. The white string in his hands started out as a rock of honey. They stretch it and fold it until it forms 1600 strings. Then they roll pieces of it around crushed nuts and sugar. The result is stickey and absolutely delicious.
To accompany our snack, we stopped at Starbuck's for some coffee... the only Starbuck's in the world that's allowed to be in a different language.
Here's a view of busy holiday Insadong!
Then we made our way to the Gyeongbukgong. It was very crowded, so my parents sat down to rest while I stood in line for tickets. Then, just as we were enterring, we noticed a procession of the guards. We made Dad go stand as inconspiciously as possible near them... he's pretty good at inconspicious.
Inside the palace walls, we toured many different rooms, this building housed the king's throne.
Today, the palace is a huge space that is preserved within a bustling city all around it. From this point, my dad and I were looking directly into skyscraper after skyscraper, but our backs were dotted with mountains and other natural scenery. It's one of my favorite places in Seoul, as it encompasses that which many countries with rich histories struggle: preserving history and living modern.
The family at Gyeongbukgong.
After we finished at the palace, we took one more walk through Insadong and bought up all the souvenirs my parents would be taking home. Then, we met Liz Teacher, Dustin Teacher, and Saebomi for dduk sam in Jonggak. This is the same chain of restaurants that we went to after the folk village with Karen in this post, but in Jonggak, instead of Jukjeon. Jonggak is also where we spent New Year's Eve.
Mom and Dad before the meal.
Happy with full bellies after the meal!
Dustin, Dad, Mom, S-bo, and Liz Teacher outside the restaurant when we finished.
Then, we walked back to Insadong for some Ho Dduk. Remember the yummy treats I made here? They are delicious rice cake fried pancakes stuffed with crushed peanuts and cinnamon. Obviously, I love them, I couldn't even stop eat it to take a picture.
Then, we walked to Myeongdong to see the cathredal, and on the way, got a good shot of Seoul Tower at night.
Then we made it to Myeongdong Cathedral. There was a concert going on inside so we stopped in for a minute to listen.
Then, we went around to the back of the church to the Grotto. Weezer lit a candle and stopped to pray, so if you're on her prayer list, know that an offering was made half way around the world for you, too!
Then, the old people had to go to bed, so we said good-bye to Saebomi who wouldn't be getting on the bus with us. She lived with the Scheibers during my junior year of high school so she was in my class at Luers. They also have a daughter in my brother's class and twin girls in my sister's class. The twins have made a second home at my parents' house in Fort Wayne, so them meeting Saebomi brought everything full circle... I love circles.
Stay tuned...
No comments:
Post a Comment