Itaewan, Insadong, and Samchung

This past weekend we did a mini stay-cay in Seoul. We went up Saturday morning and checked into the Army Lodge at the Yongsan base. Don't get me started on how much nicer this place is than the Lodge we stayed at for almost 3 weeks down here. Just outside the gates is a cute little area called Itaewan. It's an eclectic mix of all kinds of restaurants, including Meditteranean, which I haven't seen since DC. By us it seems like the options are Korean, pizza or Korean. There were lots of little shops covering the hilly area. A Korean guy stopped us and explained that he wants to propose to his girlfriend and could I write something in English on the little white board he was holding. Uhh, sure! So I wrote "I love you. Will you marry me?" He was thrilled! Anything I can do to help ;)

My favorite Korean car - a micro mini-van.

Itaewon

Later on Saturday we met our new friend, Yoonsuh, a native of South Korea, who happened to live in DC for the past six years. We met up with her in Insadong, a trendy, very crowded area for walking and shopping.

Its totally normally for scooters to weave through crowds of people.

She took us to a so-called Templestay. In this case, it was a building across the street from a Buddhist Temple. We walked into a very modern informational/museum area and went up stairs to the restaurant. The monks grow and prepare organic vegetables and the public is invited to eat it for a small fee. What a neat idea! It was simple and delicious.

Kimchi, veggie pancakes, some-kind-of-greens soup, rice, and the wormy things are sesame plants.

On Sunday, we rode the metro (which is super clean and wonderful, except for the lack of elevators with a stroller) to Gyeongbok Palace. The grounds seem to go on forever with large buildings scattered around, each for a different purpose. Supposedly one of the large structures was just for the King's bathroom-doings. The designs on the buildings looked very similar, if not exactly like the designs on the Gakwonsa Temple buildings from my last post. 

The guards don't move and stare straight ahead even with all the tourists taking pictures next to them. And they're all wearing fake beards.

The King's throne!

Part of the palace gardens.

What's this? Just a gaggle of Chinese tourists adoring Toby.

Eermehgeerd! He's blond! Quick get your camera!

Taking turns posing.

wow

Jonah having a pre-nap meltdown. As you can see I'm over it and walking away.

We continued walking through the gardens and finally got both boys to sleep in the stroller. Right outside the back end of the palace walls is an area called Samchung. Its my favorite area so far! I couldn't believe how cute, hip, funky and artsy it is. Every shop and building is adorable. Thank goodness the boys were sleeping so we could stroll along and enjoy the area.

These dogs are the size of baby elephants.

Is he adorable or what? Koreans like to take portraits of their 1-year old boys to show off their, ahem, boyness.

Super-cool Samchung

Lunch with pumpkin porridge, salad and the usual sides.

Stopping for a post-nap treat

Freedom!

Just before we were told to get off the grass. What is grass for if not for sitting, enjoying and running upon??? We took our time getting up.

It was such a nice weekend, mainly thanks to Yoonsuh, but also because everything we saw is such a contrast from where we live. It was a much needed dose of urban culture! Thank you, Yoonsuh! Thanks, Seoul!