These two girls share the same birthday week, so we decided to give the gift of a girls' trip! It just so happened that we couldn't go during their birthday, because, Corona. So a late July trip it was instead.
I told them to be silly, and of course they are too embarrassed. So Linda and were silly.
This is what you get when you give your child the phone for a picture. They make you pose for about five minutes making you think they are taking your photo.
This is Seoul City office. It's like a wave.
I'm not gonna lie. This trip was mostly about shopping. As we were traveling between shopping sites we took in a few landmarks. Here we are at Cheonggyecheon Plaza.
We stumbled upon Hwangudan, which means altar. This was constructed for an emperor to perform sacrifices. It was originally a facility to greet Chinese envoys during the late Joseon, but Hwangudan was erected at this site in 1897 by one of the best royal architects of the time. Memorial tablets of the heaven gods were kept here along with stone drums. In 1913 during the Japanese colonial Period it was dismantled except for the round building you see, the stone drums and stone archways.
These stone drums were set up in 1902 to honor Emperor Gojong's ascencion to the throne. The three drums represent the instruments used when offering sacrifices to heaven, and dragon patterns are carved in relief on the bodies of the drums.
Look how short the doorway was.
This is what the girls were waiting for--Myeongdong shopping district.
After many hours of shopping, we treated ourselves to dessert/dinner at Billy Angel Cake Co., which consisted of bingsu (shaved ice with yummy toppings) and a multi-layered crepe.
By multi-layered, I mean like 27 layers or something ridiculous.
🎵Singing in the rain.🎶 Just kidding. They would never do that because that would be totally embarrassing. At lease I got them to pose in the rain.
The week before when DanFam5 was in Seoul we forgot a cable in our hotel. Since we were here again this week, us girls took a trip over the the largest underground shopping center in the world and picked up our cord while we were there.
Like Seoul's city slogan is 'I•Seoul•U', Gangnam has theirs, as well. It is 'MeMeWe Gangnam.' Apparently it stands for 'me, you, us,' but their website explains, "The you is represented as ME because we can all find a bit of ourselves in each other." A logo that has to be explained might not be your best bet, but whatever.
Let's get serious, people.
This globe was neat but the picture didn't go it justice.
If you look closely you can see the four of us reflected in the ball to the right of the tree.
Remember, this is Coex K-Pop Square, so there is a lot of art outside.
Even the entry to one of the subway stops is artsy.
Gusto Taco came highly recommended from a couple of friends. It happened to be on the side of town we were hitting later, so we went for lunch. It was worth it!
Next we hit the Meerkat Cafe.
Now that I see the living conditions of these poor animals, I know it is not in their best interest for people to support the cafe. But darn, they sure are cute! Look at this wallaby.
Later he crawled in this pouch for a little nap.
We had to take off our jewelry and watches and earrings to enter into the meerkat lair.
I left this bracelet on and all they could think about was grabbing it and biting it.
They crawled under the blanket and put a paw down Daisy's pants. She wasn't having any of that! It kind of freaked her out so she was not at ease.
They were cute little guys.
They also had a cute little raccoon.
We did not have our fill of cute animals yet, so we went to Zoo In The City. Once again, it was a unique experience, but the animals needed more space. This sweet kitty climbed on my lap and cuddled just like my Chuey.
This unique little thing is called a kinkajou.
These mystifying creatures are called teens and pre-teens.
They had several doggies, too.
Another dessert-for-dinner at Times Square Mall.
Our hotel was right across from Seosomun Historical Park so we popped in one morning to check it out. The Seosomun Gate area is the site that the people of the Donghak Peasant Revolution were martyred, along with 44 Catholics. It is now a holy site for Korean Catholics. Apparently there are four basement levels that include memorial halls, a memorial to commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed themselves called Sky Square, educational centers, a library and a parking lot.
We only wandered around the park on the ground level. We found this statue of Jesus on the cross paying homage to the martyred Catholics.
Seoul is so large, there is something interesting at every turn. DanFam5 had walked past Seoullo7017 several times a week before and didn't even realize we were missing something cool right above us.
Seoullo Skygarden was created from an old inner city highway. As the city grew, the highway overpass was no longer needed, so it was converted to a 983m long public park above the ground. It contains 50 families of plants, trees, shrubs and flowers.
Seoullo translates to 'towards Seoul' and 'Seoul Street,' and 7017 marks the overpass' construction year of 1970 and the new public park construction in 2017. There are also 17 walkways connected to it.
Seoullo is located next to the Seoul Central Station and is 17m above street level.
The linear park is arranged according to the Korean alphabet and designed as a collection of small gardens, each uniquely its own. Of course the aphabetical arrangement was lost on us, but we did appreciate the different flowers, plants and trees.
A pop of color among the inner city.
There was a little hut located along the way for posing.
I think momma birds are much like momma bears. Or maybe they're just embarrassing to their kids, I'm not sure.
Enough of the tourist sites. On to more shopping near the Jonggak Avenue of Youth.
We got to watch a man create 16,384 strands from a solid block of ripened honey in less than two minutes. He made a hole in the block, then stretched it to make two strands, doubled it to make 4, then continued until he had 16,384 tiny silky threads. It is then cut into little strips and filled with nuts, chocolate or other fillings.
It is called kukul tarea, which means honey skein, but is commonly known as Kings' dessert. The 16,384 strands suggest the prayer for longevity, health and good fortune. It is also called Dragon's Beard candy. The final product is made into little pillows filled with treats.
Time to get the girl's art-on in Insa-dong.
Look how cute these two are!
Daisy and Susie decorated their own phone cases. The puffy paint was like icing.
Then they added lots of bling.
The rest of the day ended up being a bit '2020.'
We headed south of the Han River in search of 63 Tower, with intentions to go there before we took a river cruise later in the evening.
Along the way we came across Banpo Hangang Park and got a little sidetracked.
The 2006 movie The Host was about careless American military personnel dumping chemicals into the Han River, and several years later this creature emerges, wreaking havoc.
The head reminds me of the demagorgon from Stranger Things.
Part of the lure of the park was the tandem bikes. Look how cute these two are on their double bike in their matching outfits.
This is the view of the Dongjak Bridge with N Seoul Tower in the background. The Hangang River was as area of struggle between the three ancient kingdoms of Korea. The Gorguryeo, Silla and Baekje all battled for the stronghold of the rich farming region that was the gateway to the Yellow Sea. Around 551 the Silla gained power of the Hangang and thus gained power on the Korean Peninsula.
Somehow Linda and I don't look as cute as the girls. Probably because we don't have matching outfits.
We had purchased an evening river cruise in advance. When we went to pick up the tickets we learned it was cancelled due to high waters on the river. Bummer!
A cancelled cruise does not stop us from getting cute pics!
There are 27 bridges spanning the Han River, but the Banpo Bridge is one of the most well-known. There are fountains attached to both its edges, making it the longest bridge fountain in the world at 570m on both sides. The Banpodaegyo Bridge (daegyo means bridge and it is also referred to as this name) is the first double-decker bridge in Korea. The bottom half is called Jamsu Bridge, and it was specifically designed to be under water (the Korean meaning is submerged bridge). During monsoon season, which is now, the lower bridge is covered with water.
After missing our cruise, which included seeing the Banpo Rainbow Bridge Light Show, we decided to watch the light show from the shore.
Daisy wanted Papa John's Pizza so we took the subway and then walked and walked and walked to get to it.
Time was of the essence because the show, which runs every evening in the summer, was getting ready to start. We grabbed a taxi and made it just in time. The taxi driver seemed to drive out of the way, although he showed me the map and tried to explain in Korean/hand gestures that the exit went past and we then had to backtrack. When he finally exited it looked like we were on some desolate country road and the driver had plans to do something scary to us. After a minute we arrived in the parking lot and I remembered that we were in Korea and I didn't need to worry about such things.
We sat down to picnic with our pizza and a bunch of Koreans. Nine o'clock came and no show. 9:05. 9:10.
We finally asked and someone said no show tonight. Very Korean--things are advertised to take place and they randomly do not. Water fountains are dry, businesses are randomly closed for the day; no rhyme or reason, it just happens.
I have mentioned before that Daisy has a bit of subway anxiety. As we were rushing to catch the train home the doors closed on her and Linda. You can see the mark on her leg. Poor girl is traumatized. But, on the bright side, we did not get separated.
We all had a great birthday trip. The girls were living their best twinning life.
