more randoms in Apgujeong

A random building with a board game cafe on the 2nd floor.I forget what kind of shop this was. Cars were coming so I had to move (there aren't sidewalks on the side streets).Not sure what this place is on the 2nd floor of this building. The drawings are backwards, so they're obviously meant to be seen from inside. The one with the guitar says things about dance and music: 'Dance Sports', 'Jazz' and 'Rock Music'. The one with the bottle says stuff about 'Tomato and (Sp?) Salad', 'Rhbarb Wine' and 'About a Soju'.The Barbie store opened a couple of years ago. It advertises cosmetics and shoes (not for kids). Went inside to see what it was all about. All I saw were some cute shoes and some very strange shoes. Not many shoes and no cosmetics. I wonder if they actually make any money.In front of Zoo Coffee.

Moroccan ? restaurant

There is a little restaurant in Apgujeong called Rabat. The writing on the outside is only in Korean. The decor inside is very cool with each table being in a little tent-like area, some with bench seating, some floor seating. The food isn't very Moroccan but the decor sort of is. We tried a 'couple' meal. Salad, pasta, pizza and wine. The salad was fantastic and perfect for our hungry stomachs. The pasta great. The pizza was a bit too much. It tasted good but the bread was a bit on the sweet side and I could only handle a couple of pieces. I think if the pizza bread weren't so sweet I would have really liked it.

galbi

This is how you eat galbi, or barbecued meat. It is cooked on a little grill in the middle of the table and cut up with scissors (you cook it yourself, obviously). You take a nice piece of lettuce, add rice, meat (dipped in a salt/sesame oil mixture or other type of sauce) and what ever else you like (onion, garlic, kimchi, etc), hen wrap it all up and pop it into your mouth. It's a bit of a mouthful, but definitely delicious.

randoms in Apgujeong

Walking from the Coffee Bean where I sometimes meet a friend (which is very close to being across the street from the Coffee Bean near my work) to Apgujeong there are so many interesting things and buildings to see. I'll try to take some more pictures another time.The wall around Samwon Garden, the biggest and most famous (first class) galbi restaurant in Seoul.A new bar/cafe in Apgujeong: Che (since 2010).

Interesting.

Gyeongju part 1

For summer vacation I decided I should try to see more of Korea while I'm still here. After the mud festival we headed down to Gyeongju. Gyeongju was capital of Korea, during the Silla Kingdom in the 7th to 9th centuries. Though a lot has been destroyed, there is still much to see. The most prominent being the tombs that are scattered within and around the city. Some are small, but some are quite large. According to a poster near the tombs, Tumuli numbers 90-114, and 151-155 (numbered during Japanese occupation) are earthen mounds. Larger ones have wooden chambers covered in stone and then earth while smaller tombs don't have mounds. One of the tombs that has been excavated, the Cheonmachong, (Heavenly Horse Tomb, named after ) is open to the public. The parks containing the tombs are quite large. Near the tombs there is a small forest. Inside used to be Banwolseong (Castle of the Crescent Moon). The only thing left is the Seokbinggo (a stone ice house) which has been rebuilt. Nearby is Cheomseongdae, which is the oldest astrological observatory in East Asia. Across from the main road we went to Anapji pond. It was made in 674 by King Munmu. The buildings burnt down in 935. The pond and 3 of the buildings were repaired and rebuilt in 1975 and many relics were found buried in the pond. From there we headed over to the Gyeongju National Museum. I love museums. I hated studying modern history in high school but I do love ancient and archaeological history.I think I started to make Zak crazy as every time I saw lotus flower pondseverywhere (lotus crops?) I would have to stop to take pictures. ESPECIALLY when a crane (the national animal of Korea) landed in one.Once back in the downtown area it was already well past lunch time and we were starving. We found an excessively cute (just my style) sandwich shop just off the main shopping street. It wasn't too expensive and the food and drinks were great. :) Definitely a possibility for another lunch. For dinner we found a nice little (sort of) Italian restaurant (also excessively cutesy) near the main shopping street near our hotel. Not too bad. The food was good but the house wine was one that I would probably use in cooking rather than drinking if I ever opened it at home.