Yellow Brick Trip

I'm a procrastinator. The following blog is about something we did five weeks ago but I'm still going to write about it just to have it for our memories.

Last month we decided it was time for another sleepover in Seoul to get a much-needed dose of urban civilization. We usually stay at the Army Lodge because that's the easy thing to do, but we like to make things more difficult on ourselves, soooo...we used our miles to stay at a hostel for free.  A hostel, like for single 20-somethings? Correct. You get what you pay for, right? Ha ha ha ho ho ho! Ohh (drying the tears), you sure do. No, it was fine...just a little tight.

We picked a place called Yellow Brick right in the heart of Insadong, a fun, trendy area of Seoul. Unlike the Army Lodge, it was nice to just walk out the door and be in the thick of things rather than having to drive across the post, walk to the metro, take the metro, etc. We took the train up this time so we could be car-free.

Train ride up to Seoul. And Baby Bingsu's first trip back since being born there!

The hostel was really simple and minimalist. Like most hostels, its typically for young single travelers, but it worked for us because they had a few family rooms with four beds.
 

Lockers instead of a closet for our stuff.

Time to get cozy! Really cozy!

The bathroom: a typical Korean wet bathroom and not much bigger than an airplane lavatory. The bathroom is the shower and the shower is the bathroom.

As you can see, it was tight. And with two crazy boys (and a baby that we couldn't put down anywhere) it got pretty hectic in there. This is one of those experiences that we'll be able to laugh about in years to come (right?), but at the time it was just a means to spend more time in Seoul for really cheap. That doesn't mean I want to do it again, though!!
There is a common kitchen in the basement of the building. Breakfast is provided and includes bread, peanut butter, jelly, juice and eggs that you make yourself.

Breakie. Toasted pb&j, tangerines, and fried eggs.

Checking out the decor

Marc frying eggs and someone else doing their dishes.

It was cute, clean, minimalist.

Brick pets outside the hostel

Marc likes the narrow alleyways...

...so we usually end up exploring several of them. We just passed someone's front door!

Hot steaming dumplings in the morning.

After wandering around Insadong we made our way to my favorite area in Seoul, Samcheongdong, where I bought my backpack last year. It's so lovely in fall.

Thai Noodle Box for lunch. Jonah tried some crispy pink sweet potato rolls.

Looking over Samcheondong shortly after purchasing our selfie stick.

 We found a trail head at the end of the street and checked it out...

We think its hilarious when Toby overextends his legs into the splits on these ubiquitous exercise machines. Cute little butt.

Trending now- Upside down hat.

We opted for the Childlike Forest

Koreans are really serious about keeping their shoes clean. At the end of almost every trail are these high-pressure air blowers to clean their shoes before getting back in the car, because that's the other thing - they're really serious about keeping their cars clean.

On the same street as our hostel I saw a sign for Thai massage, specifically a foot massage, which sounded really great after walking around carrying a baby all day. I ran inside to see if they had any appointments and they did, in one hour. So we took the boys back to the hostel, got them settled I and headed over to my spontaneous massage!! Yippee! The spa was gorgeous. Very dark and warm-incense-smelling and zen-y. I had to change into a pajama outfit even though I was just getting a foot massage...and later found out why. The therapist led me to a room with a floor mat. I have never experienced a Thai massage before and it was intense! She worked (and I mean worked) my feet and legs for 40 minutes. When I thought it was over she still had more to do. Thai massage therapists use their whole body to work on you. So she sat me up, wrapped one of her legs around my shoulder, bent me forward, then twisted another leg somewhere. She basically contorted me into all sorts of complicated stretchy positions while using her own body as resistance. I'm not as flexible as I used to be so a few times I worried I would be injured. "Uh! (gasp) lady, I can't...(gasp)! Uncle!Uncle!" But she knew just how far to go. I was as loose as a goose after that. Whew! And that was just the foot massage!


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Aaaaand back to the chaos in the tiny hostel room...It was dinner time so we headed back out to restaurant alley. And by that, I really mean narrow little alleyways with one restaurant after another jam-packed with people. They come alive in the evenings when Koreans like to do their social eating and drinking. The restaurants are all open-air but it doesn't feel cold because every table has a fire in the middle and there are so many people!

I'm not sure why, but whenever I see Buddhist monks I feel like I've gone back in time.

My guys at an open-air barbeque restaurant.

Waiting for the hot coals in our barrel table.

This would never be allowed in the US - coals on fire in the middle of a very small table, crammed around a bunch of other people...in an alley...with no firetruck access. But that's how it works! And kids learn quickly what to touch and what not to touch. 

Trays of used-up coals just laying around in the street.

Trying to get Doren to fall asleep so I could eat dinner with both hands. Success!

After our dinner of Korean BBQ I really wanted to check out this other place. Its a soup restaurant where all they make is one kind of broth and homemade noodles. As full as I was, this was our last opportunity and I cannot resist fresh noodles, so we went there for dinner, Part 2. It was amazing watching these women and the process of making the soup.

This gal is washing out the equipment right in the alley - another thing that would never be allowed in the US but is totally normal here.

Scrubbing outside because there isn't enough space inside. Plus there is a hose and gutter. What more do you need??

Making the noodles by hand. Bless you, good woman.

Ahh, the final product. The bowl is much larger than it looks here. Its a full meal by itself. Handmade noodles with broth and a sprinkling of dried seaweed on top. You add as much chili paste as you want for flavoring. I want more now!! Its so simple and satisfying.

We spent our second night at the hostel, had more toasted pb&j and fried eggs and packed our stuff. We let the boys play at a school playground down the street and then headed back to the train station to go home.

Thanks for more memories, Seoul!