"Spring!" I thought. It was an odd little butterfly. I noticed it had a good grip on my finger. Then I noticed it was gripping with only four legs. I looked and sure enough that was all it had. Not even stubs or scars where the other two legs should have been. Odd. A mutant butterfly. 
And full tension deep relaxation? 
It's a nice place for walking when the weather's nice. 
Last weekend the cherry blossoms were still out in full force. Beautiful. 
It's an interesting contrast when some trees are covered in flowers and some are still dragging themselves out of winter mode.
And of course Namsan has some fantastic views of Seoul.
Inside the base of Namsan Tower there is a restaurant and store. 
Along the central wall, little tiles have been bought and decorated by friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, etc. I love it! Such a great idea.
A gift. :) Did I ever mention that I LOVE giraffes?!!
Going down.
That's a little house on the right. It looks short because it is lower on the hill.
Turn the corner and you get to...
Looking down.
Looking back up at the stairs.
Go to the left. Looking down over a more traditional style home below.
A view of Seoul.
Going down again.
And around a corner.And around another corner:
More stairs. Around the corner:
Here is another picture that I took at this point.
And so on...
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).
A billiards club called Cock's Blue? Under a little pay by the hour room hotel called Barbie House?
And then there's Sexy Bar (or Sexy Ba if you refer to the vertical sign).
A sign in a bar bathroom in Itaewon. There are often interesting signs like this.
The few things that weren't fishy, though, sounded great. I got the beef and mushroom salad.
It was fantastic!
Soooooo delicious!! 
The pickles.
We both decided to try the rouge lemonade (red wine lemon ade). 
The lovely view (would be better without all of the cables and wires) of Namsan Tower as I walked up Haebangchon on my way home.
(Lemonade and orangeade)
Always good food.
(My chicken and mushroom pasta with an olive oil sauce)
Funghi Pizza
"Spring"
Spring, this sculpture at the Cheonggyecheon, was created by world-renouned artists Coosje Van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg. The idea for the exterior spiral was inspired from a shell rising upward like a pagoda. The vertical shape creates a dynamic atmosphere, representing the restored vitality of the stream and the cultural aspect of Seoul's urban development. Looking inside, two colorful ribbons, inspired from Korean traditional dress for women, stream loosely down, one a luminous blue, the other a peony red, representing the unity of opposites in nature an th human spirit.
Spring is the monument of the nature regenerated in Seoul and the symbol of the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project.
[from a plaque at the sculpture]
Also, the Korean national colors are blue and red. 
[pic from wikipedia]
The Cheonggyecheon (청계천) or Cheonggye Stream is right down town Seoul, not far from City Hall. It is about 6 km long and is a natural stream that for many years (since the 1960s) was covered by a road and then an elevated expressway. Then, Lee MyungBak (currently the President of South Korea) became the mayor of Seoul and decided that the stream should be uncovered. It was a HUGE project that so many were opposed to, but it went on. The stream was finally finished in 2005 and since then, has been very popular in all seasons. In the winter, they have Christmas lights up and in the summer, people go and sit along the sides and children sometimes play in the water. The stream definitely doesn't have a natural look but it is very nice. Parades now end along the Cheonggyecheon. I remember last year after the St.Patrick's Day parade, they even turned the water green!!!! Not sure what they used to do that. I hope it was environmentally friendly! There ARE fish in the water (though not sure where they come from. The original stream source has mostly dried up or disappeared because of the city (the stream 'starts' at the Cheonggyecheon Plaza - up to that point, it is still all underground) so most of the water is actually pumped in from the subway systems and from the Han River (filtered, of course, to make it cleaner). 
So, after checking out Deoksugung and the City Hall (on July 22nd, during my summer vacation), I walked up to the Cheonggyecheon. It's a great place for a little walk or to sit and enjoy nice weather. At one point along, there were people all the way along the sides, dangling their feet in, listening to a street performer playing guitar and singing to one side. There were families and couples, groups of friends and several individuals as well. They mostly stayed along a line, sort of being tumbled sideways trying to stay.
Mojeongyo, the first of the 22 bridges that cross the Cheonggyecheon. Mojeongyo was originally the bridge of a fruit market street. The first section of the Cheonggyecheon, up to this bridge, is a special part called Palseokdam, which was built using stones from tiger eye stones found in all 8 provinces. In this section, the sides are built up an there are steps down to the water and walkways IN the water so people can walk in the water. All of the bridges along the Cheonggyecheon apparently have a story behind them. They were all destroyed when the stream was covered and have been re-built.
[looking on down stream]
[looking back towards the start]
I went to the Kyobo Bookstore, the largest book store in Seoul, which is in the basement of the Kyobo building just north of City Hall. Almost all of the bookstores in Seoul are huge. And I have a membership card for each of the large bookstore companies. No wonder my wallet is so thick!!! All of the large bookstores have at least a small English section. The Kyobo's is a bit bigger than some of the others. The best book store for English books in Seoul, though, is What The Book, in Itaewon. If they don't have it, they'll get it (they have stock in Seoul and in the US). They have a great website as well, and provide free delivery on purchases over 25,000won. Not bad. I must say that bookstores are an evil invention. I can't help but buy books and stationery (the bookstores here have huge sections with pens, stationery and office supplies) when ever I go. One might say I shouldn't go then unless I really need books or stationery, but alas, I can't keep myself from going. It's like some sort of magnetic force. I am drawn to them!! Books make me happy!! :)
