Chris had a business trip to Korea. Unlike the Odyssey-like all-day trek to Hong Kong, Korea is virtually around the corner because it's a 2 hour flight from Haneda airport which is inside Tokyo. All other international flights are from Narita which is about an hour away.
Enough background already. Nicole decided to join Chris on this trip so we caught an 8 am flight on Saturday. Getting up at 5:30 am on a Saturday wasn't the greatest but we were glad when we're checking into the hotel at 11 am.
A quick lunch of bibimbap (Korea's greatest food; rice in a stone pot with vegetables, bean sprouts and spicy sauce) and kimchee (spicy pickled cabbage) and we were ready for some sightseeing.
Our first stop was Seoul Tower. We took the cable car up (we weren't ambitious enough to walk) and took in the scenery.
The padlocks symbolize the undying love of young couples. How cute.
We took the cable car back down (we still weren't feeling ambitious - this was a vacation after all) and that's when we felt even better about catching an 8 am flight because the line for taking the cable car up the mountain wound down 3 flights of stairs.
Next we walked around Myeongdong (a young hip neighborhood filled with a lot of stores, coffee shops and eateries). It was very crowded and packed with young people which reminded us a lot of Shibuya or Harajuku in Japan. Very fun and energetic.
Unfortunately, no amount of 20-something vibes and caffeine could keep us going after having slept for about 5 hours the previous night so we headed back to the hotel for a breather.
After taking a quick cat nap and showering we headed back out to Myeongdong for dinner. Being in Korea we wanted Korean cuisine and with bibimbap crossed off our list we wanted some famous Korean barbecue. There are many different types of Korean barbecue but the common names are galbi, kalbi or bulgogi.
One thing for sure...Korean food is spicy. And if you haven't been paying attention, we love spicy food. We had found heaven.
The other great thing about all Korean restaurants is that when you sit down - before you are even handed a menu - your host loads up your table with about a dozen complimentary side dishes (kimchee, spicy miso dip, vegetables, roasted peanuts and countless other small dishes).
In less than 12 hours we had sampled a good amount of Korean fare and wandered all over Seoul so we strolled back to the hotel to call it a night.
We got up early on Sunday and headed over to the outdoor Namdaemun Market. This market was a nice change from Myeongdong because it has more of like a flea market feel with little stores and outdoor stands.
The market is broken into different sections such as kitchen ware, food tents, ginseng roots, clothing, watches, dried bugs...you name it, they have it. They even have Davey Crockett hats.
Our next Indiana Jones adventure took us to Changdeokgung Palace. Now this place has a ton of history but all you really need to know is that the original royal family bloodline lived here uninterrupted for centuries right up through the mid 1980's. Then, the last direct descendant passed away with no heirs and it abruptly ended...very sad. Have no fear though, they still have some royalty alive and well.
So back to the palace. As with most royal palaces this place is big...and royal. Its center piece is the Hidden Garden. Now it's a little difficult to hide a few hundred acres of garden in the middle of Seoul but it's deep within the palace grounds and only the royal family was allowed to visit it until recently.
There are tons of buildings - a giant kitchen, a really impressive library, a place for meditation and much more. Interesting side note; the palace was the first place in Korea to have electricity.
Third stop on the whirlwind tour of Seoul was Insadong. This is a cool little hip neighborhood with a ton of restaurants hidden away on side streets, art galleries, gift shops and this awesome little outdoor mall/art gallery. It really doesn't do it justice to call it a mall because the shops are quaint and generally offer some high-end hand-made crafts and clothing. With the young hip shoppers it just has an all around cool vibe. Here's some links with more information about Insadong.
Having worked up a monster appetite we ventured way off the beaten path and found this great restaurant that served a monster bowl of broth, vegetables and dumplings. It was delicious and we were very content. No idea what the name was and we'd probably never be able to find it again but that's have the fun!
Chris was off to work for the next three days so Nicole did some solo exploring. Nicole revisited some areas and ventured into some uncharted territories. Along the way she came across 
Korea's version of "The Changing of the Guard."
On our last morning we found a true blue Dunkin Donuts. Nicole was so happy!
If you can't tell -- we loved Seoul. We definitely hope to make it back there again and if you're ever in Japan we'd suggest making a side trip there over the usual visit to Hong Kong.
