Exploring Seoul

the view from our hotel room...see the mountains?

any guesses?? this was at breakfast

we're not sure what it is either (and I'm too
tired to google it) but Brian said it tasted like
fruit...kinda like pineapple

We took a tour today that stopped at four different places. The first stop was Changdeokgung which is a palace that was built as a secondary to Gyeongbokgung (the main palace). Basically if anything were to happen to the other palace then the king would go to this one. Both palaces look very similar but this one has landscaping during spring, summer, and fall that is amazing. Note: it's winter:). Our tour of the palace was 1 1/2 hours and we barely scratched the surface! We have been studying about this time period in History this year so I felt like I already knew what the guide was talking about....so NEAT because I usually don't know a lot about History. Anyway, Both of the palaces were burned down by the Japanese in 1592. After the war, Changdeokgung was rebuilt in 1610 and served as the main palace for 258 years until Gyeongbokgung was rebuilt in 1868 during King Gojong's reign.

This is the throne hall.

check out that throne and beautiful picture!

side view

this tree (and many others like it) have been around for
hundreds of years...one is even over 700 years old

the king had everything painted in beautiful colors with lots of
detail. no one else was aloud to have paint...but it was very
expensive so most could not afford it anyway.

close up of the roof

the entrance to the 'secret garden'

I had seen pictures of the secret garden and even chose this tour because I couldn't wait to see how beautiful it was. What I wasn't thinking about is that it's winter. NO GARDEN. Everything was bare and there were no flowers or flowing water...just a frozen pond:). We've been told fall is the best time to come to Korea (but the garden is prettiest in spring).

my secret garden:)

King Heonjong (the 24th Joseon monarch) built this for his
second wife (his first wife died at 16), which was very
unusual at the time.

queen's quarters, kitchen, etc. notice no color.

After the palace we made our way to an Amethyst showroom. Amethyst is mined in South Korea. Then we went to Insadonggil where there is 'market' type shopping. It reminded me of China town in NYC. There was SO MUCH to look at and we only had thirty minutes. We'll be going back there before we leave for more shopping!

Our last stop on the tour was Namdaemun Market. It was similar to Insandonggil but it's the largest wholesale area in the country. People come from all over to buy silk, shoes, clothes, etc. and then sell it in their stores. It was HUGE and we're planning on going back to buy Cailey and Braden hanbok's. Braden has grown out of his and Cailey has always wanted one so we can't wait to surprise them!! Hopefully we'll be able to find the same booth because there were SO MANY streets full of shops that all look the same. Think China town in NYC times 100! Oh..and apparently you are supposed to bargain in Namdaemun Market which I love to do, so I can't wait to go back and get gifts:).

We were a little nervous about venturing out on our own but really want to go back to the markets. Tonight we took the subway (which is SUPER clean like the rest of Seoul) and made it to dinner and back...YAY! Everything was marked in English so it wasn't as hard as we thought it would be. Everywhere we go people ask to talk to us and are just so friendly!

Tomorrow at 1:30 (currently it's 9:16pm Sunday) we'll get to meet Ephram!! We are THRILLED and nervous at the same time. I'm nervous about him not wanting to come to me (which HELLO is totally normal) and about eating something that I'll have trouble with. Brian has tried so many Korean foods since we've been here and loved them all. I am picky Nicky and am sticking with my American food (yes, we did go to Outback tonight:). I'm also nervous because I feel so sad for the foster mom. And that I'll do or say something wrong. And a million other reasons that I'm too tired to think about. But I'm excited. Excited that I'll meet the baby we have waited 3 1/2 years for!!! TOMORROW!!

Gotta get some sleep now. Look for pictures of Ephram tomorrow:)!!