Category Archives: Outdoors & Parks

Mallipo Beach (만리포해수욕장)

Today Mr. B did a solo exploration to Mallipo Beach (만리포해수욕장).  The weather was warmer than normal however a big storm was moving in quick.  The winds picked up and cleared the sky for a bit and allowed for some amazing images to be captured.  This beach has a large sand area that has plenty of room, waves for surfers and lots of coffee shops and restaurants.  A little bit of something for everyone.

 

 

 

 

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Children’s Day 2016

I completely forgot this post up to share with you all. Oops!

Children’s day is a nantional holiday in Korea was celebrated annually on May 5. If you are not familiar with Children’s Day, it’s a day dedicated to family and encourages parents to get out and spend time with their children. Schools are closed and parents are off. It’s such a wonderful concept, so meaningful and completely unlike the generic Hallmark greeting card holidays.

The traditional places families head to are children’s parks in almost all communities here, amusement parks, zoos, or to the cinema for an entire day dedicated to just fun and games! Places are just packed! Of course bumblebee and I took a stroll downtown and had to get in on the action. Getting to see all these cute little kids run around just full of smiles from ear to ear made for such a wonderful afternoon!

Enjoy some of the photos I snapped from the day. (I’m partial to the fifth photo down… USA booth food representation…. Hmmm….)

Backpackbees

On The Beach

Over the weekend we attended our dear friends wedding on the east coast of Korea. The couple opted to have the wedding at the dive shop that we’ve all come to know as our home away from home on the weekends.

Friday evening we got off to a bumpy start with a flat tire along the way in the middle of nowhere…still two hours out from our destination…Lol… Thanks USAA…ehh…or not (lesson learned). So just how many did it take to change a tire? Thankfully with help from some friends that coordinated with the local police station, an ambulance, police car, a fire truck, and a local garage all came to our rescue. Unfortunately we were missing an important piece of the puzzle, the lug nut wrench. Who would have thought? Lol… Poor Mr. B he took it out of the queen Volvo and put it in my car because he noticed that I didn’t have one. He was going to pick one up to replace his, but forgot. Hence our Dilemma. Eek. Eventually we got on the road after some grumbles, f-bombs, and Korean photo ops.. Yes, after the tire was fixed they wanted a photo with Mr. B shaking the local policeman’s hand and bowing to one another. Again, we’re going to be featured on some side of the road signage on the importance of being prepared. We were again back on the road, thankfully so because we were transporting the booze, THEE dress, and dinner reception decor. Basically the party don’t start till we roll in. We can laugh about it now. We rolled in and rolled right on into bed.

We cannot take credit for the cake, it’s the one item we didn’t transport. The poor thing just didn’t make it all the way in and out of Seoul and to the East Coast. The top slid off the cake and the fondant shaped sea creatures drooped and reshaped themselves. The lovely Ms. Louise and I did our best and tried to shift some of the fondant. At the end of the day it all worked out.

The evening ceremony took place down on the sandy beach just steps away from the ocean tide rolling in. It made for a very relaxing and beautiful backdrop as the two said their vows to one another.

The wedding and dinner reception was small but in the best way possible, sweet, and intimate. It was the perfect recipe for a relaxed and very memorable day. There were lanterns that provided romantic candlelight on the dining tables and twinkle lights strung from the ceiling of the tent above. Swoon! It was awesome getting to see all the various little details the bride and I discussed actually come to life.

The guest toasted with fabulous reds and whites the entire night, and dined on Greek salads, savory potato curry tarts, fresh grilled corn on the cob, grilled burgers, bratwurst, and vegetarian kabob. Many heartfelt thanks to Roy, Jeff, Mark, and Mr. B for being grill sergeants and keeping our bellies at bay throughout the evening.

The entertainment was absolutely perfect with live musical performances during the ceremony and throughout the dinner reception from Ms. Laura Kenny, or Kenny as she’s known to the group. Wow can this gal sing! Download her song on iTunes here! (Shameless plug)

The newlyweds brought together such a diverse group of friends. Everyone just clicked so well and really enjoyed the good company. It was wonderful getting to meet in person all the faces and names we had heard so much about. By the end of the evening we were all good pals sharing laughs as if we had known one another for longer than 12 hours.

Cheers to our dear friends! We wish them so much love, happiness, and health for the rest of their blissful years together.

Backpackbees

South Korea’s mysterious island- Ulleungdo

How was your 4th of July? Did you get to celebrate with a good ol’ cookout? Take in the local fireworks display? We hope it was possibly your best one yet!

We didn’t do a typical Independence Day celebration this year, but then again are we ever doing the typical over here? Nah… But boy did I miss me some grilled cheeseburgers, bratwurst, and fresh corn on the cob, oh and our families too! Thursday evening right after work we grabbed some snacks and hit the road south to meet up with our friends at a ferry port. We purchased ferry tickets to visit the island of Ulleungdo and Dokdo. These islands are located off the coast of Korea have been on my bucket list since moving abroad. Yippee I get to now cross them off! I love getting to cross things off my list!

Friday morning we woke up early, ate our Korean breakfast consisting of a rice porridge, kimchi, fresh tomatoes, and coffee. Lol…of course we tried it, but as you know there are just something’s you can never shake…mine is an American style breakfast. I opted for yogurt, a banana, and coffee.

We boarded the ferry that took us 3 1/2 hours to reach the island of Ulleungdo. Here is a link to see more about the island. http://wikitravel.org/en/Ulleungdo

Grab the Google map coordinates HERE.

ulleungdo_map1

The island was absolutely beautiful! We loved how preserved and untapped it still is! There is hardly any industry, except for tourist and fishing. However even with the tourist there isn’t a ton of large luxury hotels eating up the land. The water was so clean, so blue, the air was so fresh, and the land was so lush and so green! I really had to keep pinching myself to remind myself that we were still in Korea. It was just that breathtaking.

Just check out the views from our hotel!

^We ate this yogurt every morning during our stay at the hotel. There wasn’t any western style breakfast so this did the trick for about half of an hour. LOL!

We rented a large passenger van and cruised around the one main “highway” stopping off at all the little must see marks on the map from our car rental guy. It’s really easy to travel to all the locations, park, and walk. You honestly could do the island in one day if you rushed it, but we took our time, plus we had the entire weekend.

The guys got in some dives and were really excited about the clarity of the water and just how much sea life there was. Mr. B is already putting together a fun dive trip for the 38th Parallel divers. Something to stay tuned in for.

One morning we took another ferry, another hour and 40 minutes to Dokdo island. Here is the link http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264142 . The really awesome history about Dokdo is that Korea is constantly fighting with Japan over it, and still is. Japan has even wrote in history books that they teach their children that the island is theirs.. But Korea unfairly took it….but it’s not the case, and they found historical documents showing otherwise. While it is rather close to Japan, Japan would love to have it for the fishing rights. It’s pretty interesting. Oh and Korea has one resident living on the island. Also Korea is manning the island with stationed Korean police.

The ferry ride seemed much longer because we ended up cruising over two fishing nets that got wrapped up inside of the propellers. Oops. They did a number on the boat because it delayed our trip significantly. In the end they couldn’t cut away all of it and decided they needed to service it once we docked back on Ulleungdo. I felt sorry for the group leaving Ulleungdo that night that was scheduled on that very boat.

I think the a-ha moment was when someone decided to take a smoke break in the restrooms and the smoke detectors went off. I just sat looking up waited for the overhead sprinklers to kick on, luckily they didn’t. I’m not sure where the disconnect was with the passenger and all the signs posted in Korean not to smoke, smoke free vessel, etc. Eh…. I guess sometimes the struggle is that real.

We were nervous because the day we took the ferry to Dokdo island the waves were larger and there was the possibility we wouldn’t be able to dock on the island to get our chance to set foot on it. Thankfully we were able to dock and had some time to snap a few photos. It was really neat!

We met an older Korean gentleman, actually two different ones. Both such characters absolutely worth notating for future memories. The one worked on the ferry and kept a personal log book of guest he’s spoke with, said hello, blessed. He insisted we sign his log book and that we tell him where we were from in the states, after responding he proceeded to give us many thumbs up. We felt loved nonetheless. The other character sought us out while in line awaiting to board the boat back to mainland Korea. He handed us his business card and stayed he wanted us to return back to the island in August for a 5k that we could run or walk, all expenses paid. This man meant business and stood there wanting confirmation with guarantee we were coming. Sweet man. He then pulled us out of line insisting we get a photo with him in front of the boat, again posing with the thumbs up. Lol, I see a pattern here… So we got the photo, he seemed happy, but then later pulled just the two men out for a photo. It was harmless, but the joke was that our faces were now going to be on some Korean noodle restaurant sign that endorses just how delicious the noodles are. Do us a favor and keep your eyes peeled for us if ever in Korea. So that wasn’t the last of him, once on the boat he then purchased us all cold canned coffees and passed them out to our group. Too kind!

Fortunately and unfortunately, MERS the Middle East respiratory syndrome, has really made a dent in the tourism for Korea. Its made for some pretty fantastic advantages for travelers such as less people and discounted prices at some attractions. Almost all the attractions on the island were empty and we almost always had a discounted price.

The entire time we were on the island we ate what the locals ate, mostly seafood. Honghapbap-mussels with steamed rice, haemulcheon- seafood/green onion fried pancakes, sanchae bibimbap, ojing-eo bulgogi -squid grilled at the table with vegetables and hot pepper sauce. We tried the local flower shrimp, chicken shrimp, tiger beef, and frequented and befriended a local coffee shop.

The shrimp was out of this world! We were blown away by the taste and the fact they were only boiled. No old bay seasoning here folks. We would have ate sooooo much more, probably our weight in shrimp, but at 80,000 won a kilo…. Eek…bit pricey.

The tiger beef was outstanding as well! Again pricey coming out at 100,000 won per couple, we had three couples. But where else are you going to get to sink your teeth into a local delicacy like the island tiger beef? Nowhere but Ulleungdo so you just have to do it once.

The coffee shop was fantastic! The owner so nice and had excellent taste with his quality of bean choice. We highly recommend getting a nice treat there after a meal. Try the waffle, trust us it will not disappoint!

All and all the trip was wonderful and getting to pal around on the island with some good friends made the trip that much more! So if you find yourself needing to get away from Korea without getting to far away, check out the mysterious island of Ulleungdo.

Backpackbees

More helpful information about traveling to Ulleungdo Island:

Tourism Information Here

Our Hotel Information:
Ulleung Daea Resort
Phone: +82-54-791-8800
LINK

Beaches of Normandy

After spending a few days in Paris, we decided to get out of the city and booked a tour to visit the Normandy D-Day beaches, museum, and American cemetery. The tour was very informative, yet a rather emotional adventure for the both of us.

Landings on the beaches of Normandy took place over 80km of coastline that are divided into the five separate spots of attack. The beaches each named after the local men that fought on them. American forces landed on Omaha and Utah, British troops landed on Sword and Gold and Canadian forces took Juno beach. I thought it was a neat little part of history learning the reasonings behind the names of the beaches.

The weather was perfect that day! The sun was shining and the wind and sea gave off a gentle calming breeze. I remember walking along the coastline among the wild flowers thinking to myself just how beautiful this place was, how serene the countryside was, and how that very beauty of the surroundings made it quite difficult to imagine or comprehend the acts of war that occurred on the very steps we were talking. However seeing the bullet holes in the ceiling of a remaining bunker at Point du Hoc was evidence enough to quickly snap you back to reality and make realize just where you were.

Backpackbees

City Discovery Website HERE
Facebook page HERE

Picnicking in Paris

I remember the moment we were driving into the city from the airport and I was getting glimpses of the Iron lady standing proudly as we zipped off to our hotel. I started to get teary eyed because I couldn’t believe that moment was real, I was seeing the Eiffel tower in person!! Lol then I noticed the big ball hanging from the center of the tower for the French open. (Mr. B the comedian refers to this ball as the “truck nuts”.) Regardless those glimpses were so enchanting!

The morning of our anniversary we woke up and enjoyed drinks at a local sidewalk cafe. It was lovely just taking our time, enjoying the perfect springy weather with no real rush in our schedule.

From there we leisurely strolled to the Eiffel Tower to purchase our tickets and climb up the steps. Luckily we went early enough there was essentially no line, nor wait. Tip: If you can, take the steps! It’s an awesome workout to all the French food you know you’ve been pounding during your stay, the views are just incredible, plus you can save a few euros too!

We ascended up until we couldn’t anymore. From that point we took an elevator, got out looked around on the first observation deck, than took another elevator to the very top. When the elevator doors opened, I think I recall having to pick up my mouth up from the floor. Again…. These views! Magical!!

After our crazy hike up the tower, we strolled to a near by market and grabbed some goodies (Baguette, wine and macaroons)for a picnic to continue with the celebration of our wedding anniversary. I come from a long family history of picnickers. In fact, my grandmother would put together what I remember as a little girl, some rather lavished picnics and tea parties. So you can say there is something about a picnic that just makes my heart happy. I knew as cheesy as it might sound, when we were going to Paris, we had to picnic under the Eiffel!

Looking at these pictures again takes me away and makes me feel like it was only yesterday that I was lying under the tower on a beautiful spring day enjoying a delicious picnic at the Parc du Champs de Mars (Park of the Field of Mars) with the Man of my dreams. Someone please pinch me, I need to snap back to reality….

Later that evening after dinner we made it a point to stroll back to the park near the tower, watch the sunset and catch the evening show of the tower sparkling. We snagged a park bench to ourselves, people watched, avoided eye contact with the wine and selfie-stick peddlers, and enjoyed just being in that very moment together. Cheers Mr. B!

Backpackbees

Website: Eiffel Tower
Cost: Here
Schedule:
from 9 a.m. to midnight from mid-June to early September,
from 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. during the rest of the year,
At Easter weekend and during the Spring holidays extended opening hours to midnight.

Paris multi-day video

Woo-hoo!! Our Paris multi-day video is finally live thanks to Mr. B!
Location: All over Paris, France
Click on 4k resolution to view this amazing city in Super HD. It is worth the download wait we promise! Feel free to let us know what you think.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTtVCHFeVKc&w=600&rel=0&search=1]

A photo montage from some of our favorite pics.
Location: All over Paris, France
Click on 4k resolution

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w8vbW_TUyo&w=600&rel=0&search=1]

Backpackbees

Cooking Class in Paris, France

June 3, 2015
French Market Cooking Class – Marché Monge Paris
Location: la cuisine, 80 Quai de l’Hôtel de ville, 75004 Paris, France
(for best HD viewing click gear icon and select 4k resolution)

[youtube=https://youtu.be/RwBbpD5ex_I&w=600&rel=0&vq=hd1080&search=1]

To me France is thee epicenter of learning and applying gourmet and classic culinary technique. Like past adventures to new destinations, we researched and enrolled ourselves in a French cooking course through La Cuisine Paris. I cannot explain to you how excited I was to have the opportunity to take this class in Paris, France!

Once we found the school online, an even harder decision had to be made… What exactly did we want to learn? There was macarons, traditional breakfast pastries, classic French pastries and desserts, French gourmet dinner, a marketplace tour and cooking course, French tartes, French Baguettes and ‘Boulangerie’, Le Soufflé Déjeuner, classic French sauce, and so much more! See what I mean? Decisions, decisions. Staying true to form and our awesome experiences from past classes, we decided on the marketplace tour and cooking course.

We left our hotel and ventured to met up with our group at 9:30 AM just outside of Metro Station ‘Place Monge’ on metro line 7. We slowly started to introduce ourselves to one another; little by little new faces joined us. It was really interesting because we were such a diverse group from all over the world, very different occupations and stages in our lives, but with the same passion and desire to learn and create something new in the kitchen. About that time Chef Diane casually strolled up to our group and we could sense this was going to be an outstanding time. She had such a positive energy, a big smile, and personality that made you feel like you had been friends for years and years. This type of job was her glove and she wore it the best way possible. I think in that very moment I realized I desperately wanted her job too. It’s funny how long it can take a person to realize just how lost they might have become, how much of their creativity and life had become so gray until they get awarded these little opportunity to experience these life changing moments.

Chef Diane’s instructions were clear and she was very accommodating. She asked the group for any allergy or food aversions such as a lactose or gluten intolerance before we jumped into shopping at the Marché Monge Market. She gave plenty of individualized and group attention the entire time we were with her. She was incredibly knowledgeable about her ingredients, the marketplace, and the explaining French cuisine. She provided us with helpful little tips and advice on what to buy, what foods will pair well, as well as things you should avoid when cooking. It was awesome and we were absolutely drinking the culinary Kool-aid.

Together we shopped in the market at the produce, fromage (cheese), and butcher stands. We learned more about Frances organic food movement. In the U.S. the government labels “organic” as USDA Certified Organic, however in Europe the government labels organic products as “AB,” standing for Agricultural Biologique. France also uses labels for local agricultural shown as BioCert. She went on to explain that any thing marked organic will have at least one of these labels and MUST have at a minimum 95% organic ingredients, also no genetic modifications. Seriously?! What and why are we going around and around with food labeling in the U.S.?!

Once we left the market, we visited a nearby bakery, le Boulanger de Monge, where Chef Diane explained how France doesn’t really have a gluten problem. Again seriously?! In fact she explained that Most U.S. wheat flour contains potassium bromate to aid in the rising process. European wheat does not contain this additive. Perhaps this is a link to our gluten problems? She went on explaining that the sign out front of this bakery indicates that bakers are baking the breads daily on site and using only organic flour. This bakery was a heavenly place and of course was well-known through Chef David Lebovitz pastry app.

We departed the bakery and headed for the subway. La Cuisine Paris pre-purchased our group’s metro tickets to get back to the cooking school from the market area. A few short stops away we arrived at the school. We were immediately greeted and welcomed inside by other staff. (One of the staff was Korean and very kind reminiscing about Korean food with us. Hello again!) We were invited to sit, relax, and chat while enjoying tea and French press coffee as they prepped the workspace upstairs.

After we all finished our tea and coffee Chef Diane was ready for us to get to work. She provided us all with some of the recipes we’d be making, as well as some direction as to what each person in the class could start on. Everyone did a different task to prep for one of the three courses we were going to enjoy after we were done.

During the cooking class, our group learned some simple, yet amazingly helpful kitchen techniques, such as the best and easiest way to cut onions, safety with your knife and cutting board (how obvious it is to put a wet paper-towel under it… yet so many of us don’t think to actually do it?)  We were all mesmerizing by her ability to maintain such an acute attention to detail, yet multi-task and guide us all on various cooking parts to our shared meal.

Our favorite dish to prepare and eat was the duck breast. It was just spectacular so mouth-watering and now has us searching how to get duck breast in Korea to recreate. We topped the breast with a nice sweet and tangy soy sauce. Also the toothsome salad was so simple and fresh with the incredibly flavorful French nectarine and two types of goat cheese. And for the desserts, three tiny treats of beguiling and seductiveness. Quite the luscious indulgence to complete our fantastic meal.  Oh, yes you did notice that there is an “s” at the end of that (desserts)… Moelleux au chocolat, Creme Caramel, and Tuile aux Amandes done two ways, pistachio and poppy-seed. I suppose you can say we had a nice little sampler going on. You know me by now, a tad obsessive with sweets, I certainly wasn’t complaining, nor opposing.

We learned the importance of presentation and staging the plate before serving. How do you think we did?

Everything was almost ready, we patiently awaited the last dish to come out of the oven. We then individually plated our masterpieces and sat down at a big table with our group, poured wine and toasted one another, and ate every single tasty morsel! The group was almost silent relishing that meal and that very moment. I yearn to rewind time and taste the food and that moment again.

We cannot recommend the class highly enough! We had the very best time and wished we had more time to take a few more classes. We hope that this post enlightened and informed you and now when you find yourself in France, you will sign up for a class too. (If you do please let us know because we’d love to hear what you thought.)

Backpackbees

La Cuisine Paris

ADDRESS: 80 Quai de l’Hôtel de ville, 75004 Paris, France

WEBSITE: Here

YELP REVIEWS: Here

2015: Memorial Day Weekend

These are two of my favorite photos from this past weekend at the beach. I feel like they just exude summer. The calm, carefree, slow, peaceful, just be in the moment type of days that you only get to really feel during the dog days of summer (no pun intended). These are the days I find myself clutching onto for dear life as an adult.

What a view! We woke up every morning to this view of a Korean seaside village with brightly colored roofs, and the sea water so flat and crystal clear. Every spare moment I could snag I’d hideaway and find myself with the biggest grin on that balcony reading, sunning, watching the dear sweet ajumma’s tending to their flowers and vegetable gardens below, and at night taking in the beach or starry sky.

The days were filled with the perfect amount of sunshine, pillowy clouds, warm sea breeze, freshly brewed coffee, and meeting new friends. Plus I heard that the dive conditions were excellent, once you got past the frigid water temperature. The evenings just as breezy and blissful, filled with the celebratory Memorial Day Patbingsu, and BBQ. Ahhh perfection!

As we wrapped up our last evening with friends I made sure to pause and look towards the twinkly sky and give my heartfelt thanks to the many men and women that lost their lives defending our freedom. Without that selfless sacrifice we wouldn’t get to enjoy these carefree beach weekends year after year.

Backpackbees

Springtime in Korea

It wasn’t that we had a lot of snow this past winter, it was that winter seemed to last so terribly long. We along with 50 million other Koreans have been patiently awaiting warmer days. The chance for new beginnings, a fresh start, a spring clean!

Springtime in Korea has got to be one of my favorite times of the year! The cherry blossoms are so beautiful! The walking paths and streets are covered in the tiny pink and white petals every time the wind blows. I drive Mr. B crazy insisting that I need to stop and smell or photography almost every flower that we come in contact with. Especially the cherry blossoms and lilac bushes. I can’t help myself. I.am.obsessed.with.flowers. Luckily for the most part he doesn’t mind and even pauses for a moment and points out a flower if he sees something that I will swoon over. That boy of mine, what a catch!

This year we got to experience the cherry blossoms from another view because we moved into a new place at the end of the summer last year. These photos were taken after I had come home from work and the sun was setting with that beautiful warm orange glow. Looking at these photos now, I feel like these photos don’t even do the trees justice. We instantly fell in love with our new place because of the greens and blooming trees just outside of our windows. The daily drive or walk in and out of our little neighborhood just fills my heart and continues to remind me that even in our crazy messy world, there is still so much beauty around us.

Are you seeing buds of greens and new blooms popping up wherever you are located? What is your favorite thing about spring?

Backpackbees