Wine cruising and scooter shopping

Our Scooter

We've had a busy weekend. On Saturday we went on a wine cruise along the Han river. We went with my partner teacher, Lenny, and her fiance, Bernie. Like everything in Seoul, the boat was crowded but we still managed to drink some good wine. After the wine cruise, we hung around in Itaewon because it was 'Hi-Seoul' (a big festival with lots of food stalls from around the world). There was a South African stand and we could by some Boerewors rolls.

On Sunday we went scooter shopping and we now have a little black scooter. I'm still getting used to it, so I won't be taking it to work tomorrow. We had fun riding along the Han river on it. We promise we'll take some decent photos of it when we get a chance.

On the wine cruise

Us

Lenny and Bernie

After the wine cruise, in the taxi

Hi-Seoul festival

Brad was happy to find some boerewors rolls

More Photos

My birthday at the Seoul Club

Cherry Blossoms

Brad and dad enjoying some drinks and donuts at Krispy Kreme. The donuts were freshly made and still steaming hot, we bought a dozen to take home and they gave us 4 complimentary ones. We spent the next week eating donuts.

My father's favourite street stall. He bought himself some food from this stall quite often. They make a green tea 'pancake'. It's made of green tea dough and it has some honey/nut paste inside. I'm not really sure how to describe it but it's tasty and sweet.

Since the weather was good, we decided to have a Sunday afternoon braai.

Mussels and wine at a French Restuarant. They gave us blankets because it was a bit chilly and we were sitting outside.

Seoul in pictures

These photos chronicle what we've been up to over the past week or two in Seoul.

Gyeonbokgung Palace (the Royal Palace).

The intricate painting onthe wooden structures was a sign of royalty. Common people weren't allowed to paint their houses. We watched the changing of the guards.

The National Folk Museum

At the Folk Museum they had the characters of the Zodiac. I was born in the year of the sheep, Brad in the year of the rabbit and my parents in the year of the monkey.

Eating lunch at the War Memorial. We weren't expecting the lunch to be so enourmous.

Flowers at Namdaemun flower market

Eating at a Vietnamese restaurant near Brad's work. Brad's a regular there and the owner always gives us complimentary food. This time we got some delicious crab spring rolls, soup and coffee for free. I'm eating a shrimp, rice and pineapple dish all served in a pineapple. Brad's got some hot Vietnamese noodles.

Noryangjin Fish market. It put my dad off fish and my mom nearly stepped on an octupus that was making a run for it across the floor.

The first photo is of the average Saturday evening in Myeongdong (spot the foreigners - me, Brad and, if you look really carefully, my mom). The second one is of us eating Shabu Shabu in Myeongdong. All those things you see on the plate are dropped into the sauce that is boiling in the middle of the table. You then scoop your food out of the sauce with your chopsticks and eat it. It's really tasty.

Seoul Tower and the view of Seoul.

It wasn't a very clear day but it was still one of the clearest days we've had since my parents have been here. My dad is lounging on one of the chairs in the indoor viewing area

Storm has been thouroughly spoilt while my parents have been here. She's been for daily walks with my dad. In the first photo we're at the Han river. In the second photo, Storm is doing her favourite trick, she walks under the lace curtain and when it falls off her head it gives her a tickle. She loves doing this.

My parents arrived to a hazy and overcast Seoul on Friday 23rd March. We've done a great deal of site seeing over the past 2 weeks and we've had a fantastic time. On their first night in Seoul, we took my parents to a restaurant in Itaewon, Gecko's Garden. It's a Western style restaurant and they weren't required to use chopsticks or anything of the sort. On the Saturday we thought they needed to experience some of the local culture and we took them to Insadong, a popular and quaint shopping region. They were able to explore some of the ceramic, paper and traditional craft shops and then we took them for tea at a traditional tea shop. It's called the 'Bird Flying Tea Shop' because there are lots of little birds that fly about inside the shop. At first we were seated on the floor, which didn't really suit my parents so we moved to a place where we could sit on old logs around a glass table. It's the quaintest and sweetest little tea shop. It's really small and it's got wooden floors and old furniture and it reminds Brad and I of something you'd find in a Harry Potter style world. The tea is good and they bring some traditional rice cakes with it.

Looking at the street stalls in Insadong

Looking at the ceramics

Outside the Traditional Tea Shop

Inside the Traditional Tea Shop with birds flying around us

If you approach one of these people they will do exactly as their sign says - give you a hug for free.

Then we took my parents for dinner at a Korean Restaurant. We went for Galbi (Korean barbeque). The meat is barbequed in the centre of the table (there's a sunken area that holds coal and it heats the grill where the meat is cooked). You then take small pieces of the meat and wrap it in a lettuce or sesame leaf together with some other vegetables and a bit of hot sauce. You then put it all in your mouth at once. The lady at the restaurant was very attentive; they don't get many foreigners eating there and she paid special attention to my mom and dad. She would wrap their meat up for them and even feed it to them. It was very amusing.

Eating Galbi

Brad in Switzerland

Brad went on a business trip to Zermatt, here are some of his pics.