It’s that time! For a NYC excursion. Planned with the ‘Ya-Yas’, my friend’s crazy mom and mom’s best friend, the ‘Ya-Ya’s in Training’ (aka. Ya-Yits) are all that remain. We made the best of it, slinging raincoats in tow, to seek out our own adventures in the city that never sleeps. And yes, managed to get a nap in.. the city that never sleeps. Oh yeah..
I got here Thursday night. When isn’t transportation in the city an adventure, you ask? Certainly not when the electricity in the train system is down. So, Bussing it I went, as trying to get a cab from Newark to the upper east side seemed a little, oh, I don’t know, INSANE. It took a bit of time, which gave me the time I need to think about the kindle that I left resting comfortable in the seat pocket in front of me. Is Southwest as honest as they are friendly? We may soon learn, however, it has been beyond the 24 hours in which I was promised an answer. Moving on..
I saw the city lights for quite some time before making it in, only to learn when I got there that el Pres is in NYC, in the very area, for a fundraiser. Finding a cab was a joyous adventure, but finally with comfy shoes and perseverance, I did. 20 blocks later with my bag in tow. Made it to the apartment and we took the liberty of kicking up our feet and ordering in. The only memorable part of the meal was our black and white ‘half moon’ cookies that you simply must get when here.
The next morning we went to the diner around the corner for a speedy and traditional breakfast. We recognize all of the wait staff, even though my last visit here was two years ago. With a gruff ‘take any seat’ we sat down and ordered some great eats. I got blueberry pancakes and a gallon or more of coffee to get my day started well. The coffee kept coming, and my smile grew with every pour. When we were leaving, we got a gruff ‘see you tomorrow!’ and of course, we did. Nothing like a two block crawl for breakfast.
We headed down to Canal street for the shopping and people-watching. With the 'magic' raincoats in tow, the rain stayed away except for a light mist that did, ahem, wonders, for our hair. ('Magic' raincoats being the phenomenon when you are prepared for foul weather, like the 70% chance of rain expected, it doesn't happen. It's strangely more likely when you are entirely unprepared for it.) I got a couple of things, and no, we did not get stuffed in a back room for the knock-off coach bags. Instead, they carry a laminated copy of the pictures of the bags. Thought that was an interesting change. The recession has apparently hit hard here too, as the folks with the knock-offs were quite persistent, and downright assertive in some areas.
We found our way to Mulberry Street, the heart of Little Italy, and ate in a lovely little restaurant that reminded me a lot of Rome. Tables spilling out onto the street and all facing the street, they served up amazing dishes of fresh-made pasta. Lisa got lasagna and I got cannelloni, which is just as good as I remembered it from my visit to Rome. We them went to our favorite pastry place (that I have yet to remember the name) and got sweets: lisa a cannoli (pre-piped, which gave us pause). I got tiramisu as it was so beautifully displayed, with a tiramisu center surrounded by lady fingers all around. Yum! We went back for a nap in the city that never sleeps (ha!) then dined in Eataly, Mario Batali’s market concept restaurant complex. There are 5 or 6 restaurants, and a complete market with everything including a fishmonger, butcher, dairy and cheese area, gelato, chocolates, breadmaker, fresh pasta, dried goods and canned/bottled goods. There are quite a few restaurants but since we had a big lunch, we decided to split a pizza. It was a brick oven ‘za and quite good.
Today I went to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, probably the last touristy thing left in the city that I hadn’t previously done. The sun started to shine between the clouds (unfortunately after I left our room, and my sunscreen behind.) I cabbed it to Battery Park, got a ticket and proceeded to stand into what appeared to be the longest line I’ve ever seen. Thankfully, as always in New York, there was excellent people-watching and some entertaining musicians to keep my mind occupied.
It was a short ferry ride to Liberty Island, and worth seeing. The statue is quite large, and just so impressive up close. The island offers a wonderful view from all around the base of the statue. The sun was shining now so it was truly beautiful. I then took the ferry to Ellis Island, which was incredibly interesting. You walk up to this huge building with the though of the millions of immigrants who’s first glimpse of the Unites States was this building. With the hoards of people, how intimidating it must have been! I did do the audio tour and was glad I did. The tour starts you at the large exhibit of bags and trunks, talking about the people who came through there with their most prized possessions stuffed in the small bags.
Next you walk upstairs to the registration room. It’s simply huge, and the tape describes the thousand-plus people coming off the ship to be routed through the hall. Going through medical inspection, where the inspectors wrote in chalk on their jackets if they had any concern. There was a legal inspection and others, ultimately pulling out around 2% of the people going through to be deported back to their country of origin. It could be for things like insanity and medical issues that were not treatable (otherwise you might be detained until healthy), or if it was believed you would be unable to find work.
People had to have somewhere to go and to essentially be claimed before they could leave. The tape described the families coming over, and that the journey even for third class passengers was the current equivalent of $2000. So often a man would go over, and then send money back until the family could come, or possibly they would come individually.
It’s hard to imagine what it would be like for a person, alone, not understanding the languages around then, being poked and prodded, quizzed and interrogated in order to enter the country. I think of my great-grandfather who came in and wonder what it was like. I wish I asked my grandfather for more details, and wish I wrote down what he did tell me. I believe he had said he came over in one of the last boats from Poland before WWI. His name was changed to Abrams (he had a long Polish name ending in ‘sky’, go figure, and Abrams meant ‘friend’ in Yiddish and was a common name given.) He ended up in Philadelphia and was a cobbler. I saw a picture of him years ago with my grandfather and a great-uncle, standing in front of a wall of shoes. What was the journey like? Did he talk about it? Sadly, I’ll never know.
The museum was very well done, and one of the rooms showed some of the family items that passed through Ellis Island: woven dresses and blankets, religious items like books, crosses, and other items. It also talked about some of the people and families that came through. There also was a wall of people and their pictures: Sarah, Hungarian, 19 years, servant, Charles, Scottish, 23 years, mason.
It was a really amazing and interesting morning. I made my way back on the ferry, deep in thought, when a man sitting next to me asked for some restaurant suggestions in the Time Square area. How funny that I was able to help him!
I met Lisa at Pipa, one of my favorite little Spanish tapas restaurants that I recommend to people frequently and we enjoyed several tapas (the dates were amazing!) and a glass of red sangria. Ahhh! I went on a mission to get my macarons, a French confectionary treat of amazing goodness that I get every time I’m here as, until recently, I never found them outside of NYC. (I just found a little café 2 minutes from where I work with a French-trained chef who makes them… ooh lala!!) I found our usual place, and to my discontent, they sold out of everything except for vanilla and passion fruit. Bah! I got a nice walk in, of course, meeting several lovely dogs and missing mine quite a bit!
We made reservations at Les Halles, Anthony Bourdain’s restaurant, and were really looking forward to it. It’s a French brasserie, and walking in very much reminded me of Paris. Sadly, that’s where the similarity ended. I will say that I LOVE Bourdain and everything about him: his caustic wit, his intellect, his snobbishness about, and passion for, good food. Bourdain and French cuisine: how could you go wrong? Well, it started with waiting over an hour to get our entrees. Everyone around us seated after us got theirs, and the waiter came over twice to say it would only be another minute. Finally a woman came over to apologize for the wait and that it was coming. Ten minutes later, it did.
I got a steak, which I only eat once or twice a year, figuring that it would be amazing here. I got a sirloin with a red whine shallot butter. It was a decent cut, though not impressive by any means, cooked medium, not medium-rare, and didn’t have the red wine sauce on it. I did say something to the waiter but wasn’t interested in waiting another hour for a steak. Someone else came by to examine the steak and agreed that it was medium-rare, but offered to get me another. Lisa got macaroni and cheese French-style, but didn’t like it and barely ate it. Then they did offer us a free dessert, but offered us a choice of two and not the dessert menu, which I thought was interesting. Anyways, I won’t openly bash the place as they did attempt a recovery, but would absolutely not recommend it as I’ve gotten a better steak at Outback for much less! I will say that the crème brulee was spectacular.
Today, on our last day in the city, we walked around Rockefeller Plaza area so Lisa could do some shopping. On a mission for ‘our’ macarons, the French pastry made of two meringue cookie shells filled with a flavored crème covered in ganache.. my passion started in Paris, and until recently, NYC was the only place I’ve found them. So my trips to NYC have become on obsession to find macarons and pizza, as only NYC can do well. Yes, we’ve eaten our way through the city, but such in the fun of it! We took a cab down to a new place that was open on Sunday (according to their website) only to find they lied and were not open. So we found a café and had breakfast, then headed to Rockefeller. I was pleased to find a new French place opened, called Bouchon, and was quite pleased with their macarons. We sat overlooking the plaza and the flags, eating the macarons making ‘num num’ noises and savoring every bite. I’m not quite sure why I’m so obsessed with these confections—they are good, don’t get me wrong, but still. I drooled over one of the new Movados while Lisa look at shoes, then we made our way over to Radio City Music Hall to pursue my other obsession: Cirque.
This show, Zarkana, marks my tenth Cirque show. I’ve never been to this venue so was curious, and we were not let down. Zarkana is unlike any other Cirque show I’ve seen. It’s coined a rock opera, and the music was very different. The colors were bold and gem-like, vibrant and beautiful and the music was wonderful as well. For those Cirque ‘virgins’, it’s unlike anything you’ve seen: artistry, beauty in music, voice, costumes, music and bodies performing amazing acts of strength, agility and flexibility weaving creativity and plot. Ahh.. Cirque.
We left to find a pizza shop to enjoy the city’s finest ‘za, you know, the kind that stands straight out when you hold the crust so you can fold it over to eat it, then lisa headed back via cab while I walked back to the apartment. On the way I found that “The World’s Best Chocolate Cake’ was open, though the website said closed on Sunday! Too tempting to resist, I bought two pieces, a milk and a dark chocolate. They certainly don’t give it away, and $18 lighter, I staggered home, thinking that these tiny slivers of cake certainly should be the BEST I’ve ever had. Made of a mixture of chocolate cake, mouse and meringue, they were good and interesting, but sadly, I wouldn’t say the BEST. Harumph. Good advertising, though.
Today was a perfect day in NYC and definitely easy to fall in love—it was a bit muggy, but around 80 degrees with a nice breeze blowing. I heard it’s supposed to be 116 in Phoenix tomorrow, so I’m tempted to stay here. Maybe I’ll collect a fund to see if any of my readers will send money for a good cause… Hell, I did give a guy with a sad story on the street today $5.. I’ll work on it!!
s
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
San Francisco... here I am!!!
It's been four long months since I've written on this (gasp!) I know, I know, but usually visits with family doesn't count. However, I'm seeing my second family now in northern California.. my sister from another mister (so to speak.) Tanya and I have been friends for close to 18 years. I've known her husband since right after she met him, and her kids since they were concepts. I come here once a year to reconnect, enjoy and continue to adore them. The two kids, Mitchell and Isabelle, are precious, precocious and lots of fun when they aren't being bratty (oh hell, even when they are!)
We've been doing lots of family time with the kids and I've seen a glimpse of 'soccer mom' life: walking the kids to the bus stop, going to a field trip (to a one room schoolhouse, think: Little House on the Prairie.) We, of course, played our parts complete with boots and bonnets (pictures may possibly follow) and had a great time. Tanya and I went into San Francisco today to kick around. I wanted to see a city: big buildings, street folks and hear horns blaring. I was disappointed by the lack of tooting though Tanya sure gave it her best effort. We walked by pier 39 and watched the sea lions frolic, saw a view of Alcatraz, went to Ghiradelli (of course) then found the falafel truck for a 'little loving' (two falafel balls in a pita and sweet potato fries, in a paper wrapper addressed to us specifically.) Sat in a park with lots of grass and flowers watching the dogs play and feeling the cool breeze. Ahhh.. very nice.
Walking back from the pier we met Gloria and Flat Stanley. Apparently it's a book that gets mailed around the country, which has become a great young school project where kids draw and cut out 'Flat Stanley' then friend and family pass around Flat Stanley to take pictures of him on their travels. Gloria asked us to take a pic of Stanley and her in front of a street car. Of course we got a shot with him as well (Why not?) then talked with her for a bit. It's always great to meet interesting folks!
We planned to go camping but instead decided to enjoy the hot tub, sit on the grass and talk, watching Bill and Mitchell tossing a ball back and forth. It's lush and green here in San Fran suburbia. Friendly neighbors, lots of dogs and kids... pretty cool. We did make s'mores in the fire in homage to our camping trip that didn't happen this year. There's always next time. Oh, and we did get to go to not one, two but THREE baseball games for Mitchell. Now, those of you who know me know that baseball is my least favorite sport, and if not for cracker jacks, I wouldn't probably ever go. But there's something interestingly fun about seeing 9 year olds playing that kept me enjoying it. At least the first couple of games. :o) Family fun always keeps me coming back.
This year won't be big for international trips, but lots of family and long-time friend trips to reconnect with those I care about most. When it comes down to it, isn't that what makes travel so special? Those connections.. old and new....
We've been doing lots of family time with the kids and I've seen a glimpse of 'soccer mom' life: walking the kids to the bus stop, going to a field trip (to a one room schoolhouse, think: Little House on the Prairie.) We, of course, played our parts complete with boots and bonnets (pictures may possibly follow) and had a great time. Tanya and I went into San Francisco today to kick around. I wanted to see a city: big buildings, street folks and hear horns blaring. I was disappointed by the lack of tooting though Tanya sure gave it her best effort. We walked by pier 39 and watched the sea lions frolic, saw a view of Alcatraz, went to Ghiradelli (of course) then found the falafel truck for a 'little loving' (two falafel balls in a pita and sweet potato fries, in a paper wrapper addressed to us specifically.) Sat in a park with lots of grass and flowers watching the dogs play and feeling the cool breeze. Ahhh.. very nice.
Walking back from the pier we met Gloria and Flat Stanley. Apparently it's a book that gets mailed around the country, which has become a great young school project where kids draw and cut out 'Flat Stanley' then friend and family pass around Flat Stanley to take pictures of him on their travels. Gloria asked us to take a pic of Stanley and her in front of a street car. Of course we got a shot with him as well (Why not?) then talked with her for a bit. It's always great to meet interesting folks!
We planned to go camping but instead decided to enjoy the hot tub, sit on the grass and talk, watching Bill and Mitchell tossing a ball back and forth. It's lush and green here in San Fran suburbia. Friendly neighbors, lots of dogs and kids... pretty cool. We did make s'mores in the fire in homage to our camping trip that didn't happen this year. There's always next time. Oh, and we did get to go to not one, two but THREE baseball games for Mitchell. Now, those of you who know me know that baseball is my least favorite sport, and if not for cracker jacks, I wouldn't probably ever go. But there's something interestingly fun about seeing 9 year olds playing that kept me enjoying it. At least the first couple of games. :o) Family fun always keeps me coming back.
This year won't be big for international trips, but lots of family and long-time friend trips to reconnect with those I care about most. When it comes down to it, isn't that what makes travel so special? Those connections.. old and new....
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Dragon's Beard Candy in Seoul, South Korea
In Seoul, South Korea, we came across a confectioner's stand in the Insadong area of the city. The guy was a hilarious character, and put on quite a show making this very good candy.
Enjoy!
Sam
ps- my apologies for the one flipped frame. I was able to splice multiple clips and flip the video, however, one frame near the end was quite pesky and didn't give in. Still worth seeing!
Enjoy!
Sam
ps- my apologies for the one flipped frame. I was able to splice multiple clips and flip the video, however, one frame near the end was quite pesky and didn't give in. Still worth seeing!
Auntie Sam, I jump on bed!!!
S
Nephews are one of life's great joys, though a nice, calm wake-up they are not! My Mason decided that my bed was a fabulous trampoline and made good use of it. The joys of three and a half year olds!
Sawyer, at 7 weeks, is a bit more sedate and quite a warm little motor (fabulous for Auntie Sam, who is not used to Colorado cold!) "I wuv brother," says Mason. What a good big brother he is!
The goodies from Asia were a hit, including the stuffed animals and the elephant 't' from Cambodia. Yes, this one's in constant motion!
On a side note, my sister-in-law told me about her conversation with Mason a week ago, just following the loss of my dog. After my brother hung up with me, Mason asked why I was sad, and Cortney explained that my dog died. He thought for a minute and said "I bring my Tigger to her." (Tigger is his much beloved golden-doodle puppy whom he loves/loves to abuse.) It was a very sweet offer and I was incredibly touched.
This morning was quite cold, and I learned that a cold three year old is quite snuggly. Definitely the makings of a perfect morning!
S
Nephews are one of life's great joys, though a nice, calm wake-up they are not! My Mason decided that my bed was a fabulous trampoline and made good use of it. The joys of three and a half year olds!
Sawyer, at 7 weeks, is a bit more sedate and quite a warm little motor (fabulous for Auntie Sam, who is not used to Colorado cold!) "I wuv brother," says Mason. What a good big brother he is!
The goodies from Asia were a hit, including the stuffed animals and the elephant 't' from Cambodia. Yes, this one's in constant motion!
On a side note, my sister-in-law told me about her conversation with Mason a week ago, just following the loss of my dog. After my brother hung up with me, Mason asked why I was sad, and Cortney explained that my dog died. He thought for a minute and said "I bring my Tigger to her." (Tigger is his much beloved golden-doodle puppy whom he loves/loves to abuse.) It was a very sweet offer and I was incredibly touched.
This morning was quite cold, and I learned that a cold three year old is quite snuggly. Definitely the makings of a perfect morning!
S
Friday, November 26, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Day 13: Last day in Seoul
We woke up early to squeeze out what we could of our last day in Seoul. We had breakfast at the hotel then headed out to the subway. We went up to the Bukchon area which is considered the middle of the nation's capital city. It was very quaint and had a lot of beautiful old homes as well as a lot of cute little museums and galleries including a Chicken Museum, and a Kite Workshop, that was unfortunately closed. We took a tour of a Buddhist art museum, and walked through several of the side streets in the neighborhood.
Next we headed over to Changgyeonggung Palace, the other large palace in the city's center. It was impressively large and had a bunch more little buildings and homes, but really was more of the same from the palace we saw yesterday. There is a Hidden Garden (not so hidden, I guess) near it, but unfortunately you can only go with a tour guide and the tour started 30 minutes before we had to leave. So instead, we decided to head back to Insadong to get some of that Dragon's beard candy. We got to watch our new best friend give a demo, and recognized us instantly and warmly. He was quite a ham and I got video of it which I'll try to add together and post (for some silly reason, I cut it into a couple of videos.)
We headed back to our hotel, checked out and made our way to the airport, and are waiting for the looong flight home now. This has been such an amazing trip. When I'm back I'll post some pictures as well as provide some more of the things that we enjoyed.
Hope you've enjoyed traveling along with me! Until the next adventure...
Sam
Next we headed over to Changgyeonggung Palace, the other large palace in the city's center. It was impressively large and had a bunch more little buildings and homes, but really was more of the same from the palace we saw yesterday. There is a Hidden Garden (not so hidden, I guess) near it, but unfortunately you can only go with a tour guide and the tour started 30 minutes before we had to leave. So instead, we decided to head back to Insadong to get some of that Dragon's beard candy. We got to watch our new best friend give a demo, and recognized us instantly and warmly. He was quite a ham and I got video of it which I'll try to add together and post (for some silly reason, I cut it into a couple of videos.)
We headed back to our hotel, checked out and made our way to the airport, and are waiting for the looong flight home now. This has been such an amazing trip. When I'm back I'll post some pictures as well as provide some more of the things that we enjoyed.
Hope you've enjoyed traveling along with me! Until the next adventure...
Sam
Day 12: Seoul, South Korea
We arrived in Seoul at 5:20 am, after a sleepless flight (well, I was sleepless, anyways!) We tried to book a tour to see the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone between North and South Korea ) with no luck. Even though the website and the flyer at the stand said no reservations required, they insisted they needed one. Since the tour ends at 2, there just won’t be enough time tomorrow so we’re out of luck.
The cab ride from the airport was interesting on many levels. First, because he was by the the craziest driver we’d had yet! I was expecting Seoul to be a larger, more modern Hanoi, and couldn’t have been more wrong. It is very modern, but was not dirty or polluted at all! The air is clean and it’s very nice. It took an hour to get to the hotel. The lobby is very cute, and we left our bags and set out for breakfast and especially coffee! We ate next to the hotel then headed out to visit the palaces. On the way we came across an interesting place and stopped to check it out. It’s the Namsangol Traditional Korean Village, a cluster of old homes stands. It is five traditional Korean houses from the house of Yeong-Hyo Bak, one of eight great families in Seoul that were moved into the traditional village.
We then headed out to visit the palaces. We’ve been finding Asian culture really interesting in many ways. First, the concept of personal space. There is none. And coming from the US, I find myself often bristling when people are pressed up against me, or aim at me walking, particularly when there’s plenty of room around. It’s interesting to see this concept play out in the homes and shops as well. Walking around Seoul, we didn’t see one shop of a certain kind, but multiple shops in clusters, or neighborhoods. There was the clothing area, the textile area, the sewing machine parts area, pet store area and even a prosthetic store area! We laughed as occasionally a ‘rebel’ store would appear, like we saw a blinds store in with the textiles area. What a shock!
Houses were also clustered with apartments in a grouping, and nice homes. My friend read that the homes were numbered as they were built and as a result can be out of sequence, and we saw several instances of that. We walked down a street and saw house 29, then house 84 then house 66.
We had a couple of funny bathroom ‘incidents’ that I’ll share as well (and several that I won’t, for decency sake!) First, I’m noticing that women simply do not shut bathroom stall doors! It’s the strangest thing but quite a few times now I’ll go into a stall only to find it in use and the lock wasn’t closed, and often the door isn’t even shut! Then my friend had a funny occurrence when he walked in a bathroom and there were two buttons, a red and a green. Green opened the door, and he went in, then hit the red door to close the door. Immediately the lights went out. Completely! He finally found the green button to open the door, but never figured out how to get the lights on with the door shut. Given my findings with the women, maybe that’s why they don’t close the doors? I don’t know.. Then in the ladies’ bathroom I found an ‘etiquette alarm’. Intrigued of course, I pushed the button and heard a fizzing sound then smelled a slightly floral fragrance.
We got to the first palace which was closed today, a place called Changedoekgung Palace, so headed to the second and got quite lost. We tried but could not find a good map, and given that the signs are in Korean characters, we had no clue except for a general direction. At one point we needed to cross a major road and couldn’t find a crosswalk anywhere! Thanks to the kindness of strangers! A jolly man with a bike helmet waved to us, beckoning us to follow him. He took us to a small elevator and we followed. When we got down, he pointed us in a direction, then waved goodbye and went in the opposite direction. Apparently there is underground crossing for major streets! It was very nice of him to show us the way!
We then came across a market, and wandered around a bit. Just like on the street there was the clothing area, the textile area, the food area.. and we saw lots of rather interesting things including pig’s snouts, bugs (for eating) and some various animal body parts that I have no idea what they were, nor do I care to consider it for any longer!
We wandered through a large college campus then decided to stop at a Starbucks for some caffeine and warmth. We then headed back out and were told to take the subway to the palace. Interestingly, we haven’t seen a ton of people walking, given the size of the city. We figured out the subway system, which is actually quite decent, and found our way to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. We bought tickets and ran in just as some brightly dressed people were marching in to some beautiful traditional music. We then took a one hour tour with a Korean gal who was funny and very good. The palace is a small part of what it once was, and consists of over 20 buildings beautifully painted, along with some very nice and large courtyards.
I was quite exhausted by then but did catch a good bit of the tour, which was very good. We then did a quick walk-through of some of the two free museums next to the Palace including the Folk Museum and the National Palace Museum of Korea, then headed back to the hotel for a power nap. We realized that we were not sure exactly where the hotel was from the subway perspective, so took a cab back. After our nap and a quick shower, we were on our way to the Insadung neighborhood, known for its restaurants, shops, galleries and other stores. We walked it end to end twice looking for a restaurant that my friend had found recommended by several sites online, but never found it. We asked several people too!
He bought a beautiful painting on rice paper, and I ended up buying two rings that were really interesting, one silver and onyx, and one that is actually tin and a green stone (jade?) Both are quite different looking. We were starting by then and found a really good restaurant and ordered quite a meal including Bibmbap (sp?) a very traditional Korean dish of a fried egg, rice, sprouts, carrots, greens and beef. It’s laid out beautifully and you mix it all together with some hot sauce. It came in a cast iron bowl and the rice was crispy in parts from cooking. We also got potato pancakes, which had a beautiful herb leaf of some kind, and pork wraps. The pancake was very good and the pork wrap was so-so.
We headed back down the street and decided to go to a tea shop to unwind. It was very cute and quaint and smelled wonderful. He got a Traditional Medicine tea which was quite powerful. It had nuts and dried fruit floating in it, and I thought it tasted of strong liquor. Mine was Five Taste Tea, which turned out to taste very much like plum tea (which I’m not a fan of, unfortunately.) We got green tea rice cakes which were ok dipped in the tea, and they brought some interesting cakes that had the texture of cheetos mixed with a slightly sweetened sticky rice.
It got quite cold with the sun gone, so we decided to call it a night and headed back via the subway. On the way out we stopped to look at a stand that we noticed earlier making some kind of thing we weren’t sure of. Turned out it’s a candy-like thing called Dragon’s beard or King’s beard. It’s tough to describe but has a wispy white coating that is the consistency of a very fine string and flaky over a textured nutty-like center. When we asked what it was, the guy opened one from the freezer to let us share it and boy it was great! We’re definitely stopping back there tomorrow! He asked where we were from and we answered ‘the US’ and then he asked what state and we said “Arizona”. He smiled and said “Diamondbacks!” Which is the baseball team in Phoenix. It was so funny that he knew that. Then he asked my friend "Are you a handsome and famous American movie star?" We laughed out loud, and I commented that now I was going to have to deal with him and his swelled head! We took a picture of him and assured him we’d be back.
I did forget to mention, I believe, that not only were we offered marijuana in Hanoi, but we were offered marijuana and opium in Siem Reap, Cambodia! So far, no offers in Seoul and we leave mid-afternoon tomorrow!
Good night all.. last morning tomorrow then we head out for the long flight home!
s
The cab ride from the airport was interesting on many levels. First, because he was by the the craziest driver we’d had yet! I was expecting Seoul to be a larger, more modern Hanoi, and couldn’t have been more wrong. It is very modern, but was not dirty or polluted at all! The air is clean and it’s very nice. It took an hour to get to the hotel. The lobby is very cute, and we left our bags and set out for breakfast and especially coffee! We ate next to the hotel then headed out to visit the palaces. On the way we came across an interesting place and stopped to check it out. It’s the Namsangol Traditional Korean Village, a cluster of old homes stands. It is five traditional Korean houses from the house of Yeong-Hyo Bak, one of eight great families in Seoul that were moved into the traditional village.
We then headed out to visit the palaces. We’ve been finding Asian culture really interesting in many ways. First, the concept of personal space. There is none. And coming from the US, I find myself often bristling when people are pressed up against me, or aim at me walking, particularly when there’s plenty of room around. It’s interesting to see this concept play out in the homes and shops as well. Walking around Seoul, we didn’t see one shop of a certain kind, but multiple shops in clusters, or neighborhoods. There was the clothing area, the textile area, the sewing machine parts area, pet store area and even a prosthetic store area! We laughed as occasionally a ‘rebel’ store would appear, like we saw a blinds store in with the textiles area. What a shock!
Houses were also clustered with apartments in a grouping, and nice homes. My friend read that the homes were numbered as they were built and as a result can be out of sequence, and we saw several instances of that. We walked down a street and saw house 29, then house 84 then house 66.
We had a couple of funny bathroom ‘incidents’ that I’ll share as well (and several that I won’t, for decency sake!) First, I’m noticing that women simply do not shut bathroom stall doors! It’s the strangest thing but quite a few times now I’ll go into a stall only to find it in use and the lock wasn’t closed, and often the door isn’t even shut! Then my friend had a funny occurrence when he walked in a bathroom and there were two buttons, a red and a green. Green opened the door, and he went in, then hit the red door to close the door. Immediately the lights went out. Completely! He finally found the green button to open the door, but never figured out how to get the lights on with the door shut. Given my findings with the women, maybe that’s why they don’t close the doors? I don’t know.. Then in the ladies’ bathroom I found an ‘etiquette alarm’. Intrigued of course, I pushed the button and heard a fizzing sound then smelled a slightly floral fragrance.
We got to the first palace which was closed today, a place called Changedoekgung Palace, so headed to the second and got quite lost. We tried but could not find a good map, and given that the signs are in Korean characters, we had no clue except for a general direction. At one point we needed to cross a major road and couldn’t find a crosswalk anywhere! Thanks to the kindness of strangers! A jolly man with a bike helmet waved to us, beckoning us to follow him. He took us to a small elevator and we followed. When we got down, he pointed us in a direction, then waved goodbye and went in the opposite direction. Apparently there is underground crossing for major streets! It was very nice of him to show us the way!
We then came across a market, and wandered around a bit. Just like on the street there was the clothing area, the textile area, the food area.. and we saw lots of rather interesting things including pig’s snouts, bugs (for eating) and some various animal body parts that I have no idea what they were, nor do I care to consider it for any longer!
We wandered through a large college campus then decided to stop at a Starbucks for some caffeine and warmth. We then headed back out and were told to take the subway to the palace. Interestingly, we haven’t seen a ton of people walking, given the size of the city. We figured out the subway system, which is actually quite decent, and found our way to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. We bought tickets and ran in just as some brightly dressed people were marching in to some beautiful traditional music. We then took a one hour tour with a Korean gal who was funny and very good. The palace is a small part of what it once was, and consists of over 20 buildings beautifully painted, along with some very nice and large courtyards.
I was quite exhausted by then but did catch a good bit of the tour, which was very good. We then did a quick walk-through of some of the two free museums next to the Palace including the Folk Museum and the National Palace Museum of Korea, then headed back to the hotel for a power nap. We realized that we were not sure exactly where the hotel was from the subway perspective, so took a cab back. After our nap and a quick shower, we were on our way to the Insadung neighborhood, known for its restaurants, shops, galleries and other stores. We walked it end to end twice looking for a restaurant that my friend had found recommended by several sites online, but never found it. We asked several people too!
He bought a beautiful painting on rice paper, and I ended up buying two rings that were really interesting, one silver and onyx, and one that is actually tin and a green stone (jade?) Both are quite different looking. We were starting by then and found a really good restaurant and ordered quite a meal including Bibmbap (sp?) a very traditional Korean dish of a fried egg, rice, sprouts, carrots, greens and beef. It’s laid out beautifully and you mix it all together with some hot sauce. It came in a cast iron bowl and the rice was crispy in parts from cooking. We also got potato pancakes, which had a beautiful herb leaf of some kind, and pork wraps. The pancake was very good and the pork wrap was so-so.
We headed back down the street and decided to go to a tea shop to unwind. It was very cute and quaint and smelled wonderful. He got a Traditional Medicine tea which was quite powerful. It had nuts and dried fruit floating in it, and I thought it tasted of strong liquor. Mine was Five Taste Tea, which turned out to taste very much like plum tea (which I’m not a fan of, unfortunately.) We got green tea rice cakes which were ok dipped in the tea, and they brought some interesting cakes that had the texture of cheetos mixed with a slightly sweetened sticky rice.
It got quite cold with the sun gone, so we decided to call it a night and headed back via the subway. On the way out we stopped to look at a stand that we noticed earlier making some kind of thing we weren’t sure of. Turned out it’s a candy-like thing called Dragon’s beard or King’s beard. It’s tough to describe but has a wispy white coating that is the consistency of a very fine string and flaky over a textured nutty-like center. When we asked what it was, the guy opened one from the freezer to let us share it and boy it was great! We’re definitely stopping back there tomorrow! He asked where we were from and we answered ‘the US’ and then he asked what state and we said “Arizona”. He smiled and said “Diamondbacks!” Which is the baseball team in Phoenix. It was so funny that he knew that. Then he asked my friend "Are you a handsome and famous American movie star?" We laughed out loud, and I commented that now I was going to have to deal with him and his swelled head! We took a picture of him and assured him we’d be back.
I did forget to mention, I believe, that not only were we offered marijuana in Hanoi, but we were offered marijuana and opium in Siem Reap, Cambodia! So far, no offers in Seoul and we leave mid-afternoon tomorrow!
Good night all.. last morning tomorrow then we head out for the long flight home!
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