Category Archives: Shopping

Sight & Sound Theatre

Christmases past we Bee’s have given our grandparents tickets to attend the Sight and Sound Theatre, typically accompanying them. Since we have been away almost two years, sadly we haven’t been able to uphold that tradition and go with them. So this year because we knew we’d be home, we purchased tickets to go!

Sight and Sound brings the bible to musical theater. This trip marked my third performance. Each time we attend I walk away even more touched by the story, music, performance, and stage production. It’s truly quite a sight to see!

This performance we all set sail on the extraordinary journey with Jonah and the whale! When we got to see the whale float over the crowd, and the glowing lifelike jellyfish drop from above our heads, our mouths all dropped in amazement.

I’m looking forward to the future when we get to see another show.

Interested in seeing a show for yourself? Click here for further details.

A horse and buggy is a pretty familiar and common sight for those of us that grew up in Central Pennsylvania, especially Lancaster. But, there are many visitors that vacation or travel through the state that come for a glimpse or experience in the Amish lifestyle and practices. I thought it was only fitting to include some photos of a tourist attraction that we passed along the route from seeing our show that day.

Doesn’t the countryside look so peaceful? Bloggers, this is my Pennsylvania.

Juice

Recently We took the plunge and purchased a juicer.

Let me rephrase, I got an extra early Christmas gift from Santa.

Yes, the Hurom Slow Juicer to be exact. The company is from here in South Korea.

I’ve got to let you in on this little gem, I am OBSESSED!

Obsession, pure obsession!

I already look forward to strolling around the local farmers market here in Dongducheon, this just takes that excitement to another level. This week we picked up cucumbers, peppers, broccoli, apples, plums, nectarines, and bananas. YUM! We’ve been juicing every other day since the juicer made its permanent home on our counter.

I used to think yadda, yadda, freshly squeezed juice. REALLY, there is such a difference. The taste is out of this world, not to mention how fresh and nutritious it is. Plus, there is no need to worry about all the sugars and additives that hideout in store bought juices. I’m sold!

Mr. B chuckled and said, “Uh-oh! Look out, juice snob in the making”.

What are your thoughts? Do you have a juicer? Any good recipes to share?

All Things New On Saturday

Saturday I invited a good girlfriend to tag along to Seoul with me. The main purpose of the trip was to check out a newly established farmers market located right in the downtown area of Seoul. I was particularly excited because a few other bloggers mentioned the freshness, the organic quality, and how everything was sold direct by the farmer themselves. How awesome is that?

Per the directions we were following, we got off at the Palace. We arrived just at the change of Guards. We watched for a few minutes, snapped a few pictures and were off.

Well…we made it to the Farmers Market location at around 10:30AM, the market should have been open for at least 30 minutes already. I was so delighted that we had found the location. Easy! However, there were no vendors insight, the park was completely empty. I was disappointed, I think my girlfriend was too. Was there a Korean holiday today? Was the weather to hot? Did the market take a break? Eek! All these things were left unanswered and unknown. Perhaps next time? I have at least until October to check things out.

Fear not! The great thing about Seoul is there are just so many other things to let yourself get into. We were only a short walk away from Insadong. Insadong if you recall from past posts is such a fun, lively, little area. Always something new to see or experience too. To Insadong we decided!

We arrived with a mission in mind. FOOD! Oh, and postcards too. We walked a bit, Korean, Italian, street vendors stands, Indian. Indian! That really sounded like the best choice in the moment. WE were both so eager to check the place out, we almost forgot that we’d have to lift baby G and his stroller up the narrow staircase. Almost.

WHEW! We ladies worked up quite the appetite. First I’ve just have to mention how unfriendly South Korea is for handicap people as well as mothers of small children. Okay, okay.. Enough about that. We chalked the entire experience up to getting our workout on, cardio and step climbing!

Once we made our way to the top of the steps with baby in tow, we were greeted by a young Korean girl and made our way into the Cafe Little India.

The ambiance was really eclectic. We both decided on Marsala dishes with sides of rice and yoghurt sauce to top it all off. I went with Chicken and Mrs. p, shrimp.

Oh! Baby G playfully enjoyed his Indian chicken fried rice too.

So, ratings on the entire restaurant. Out of five stars we both agreed a three wold be most suitable. The dishes were good, however nothing to write home about. The service was good too, not over the top, but also not bad in the same breath. The price was a bit steep..but…this is Insadong, a very touristy section of Seoul. We know, we know.

After lunch we enjoyed making our way through the rest of Insadong.

Of course I had to make a special stop along the way for Patbingsu! MMMmm..I seriously cannot get enough of this stuff! Plus I wanted to let Mrs. P taste it for the first time too. I was so proud of her, lord knows she was defiantly unsure of this crazy mixture of things.

We came across more new things as we walked. These crazy looking things, almost the shape of a candy cane, they tasted like a cross between a churro and a sugar cookie, and they were filled with a vanilla ice cream. What a special we three were. Then we caught a glimpse of the other brave shoppers that decided they had to give iterate vet this was a shot too. What fun, we giggled like little school girls forever!

Speaking of new and crazy… I’ve seen these little pastry chocolate filled guys before when in Insadong. I was told they represent piles of landmines(use your imagination here folks). Korean friends, is that true?

We finished with Insadong, hopped back on the train, switched lines, got off at Myeongdong. Mrs. P had never seen Myeongdong yet. I was thrilled to at least get to show her around a bit and share something new too. I think she was blown away at all the people pushing their way through the mass crowds while shopping.

Whew! The heat, the lifting, the steps, the walking, and the train. These things just drain you. We were both ready for naps, it was after 4:00PM. We knew we needed to mosey our way back North towards home.

A little after 5PM we arrived home. Hugged Mrs. p, blew kisses back to baby G, the elevator doors closed I thought to myself at last…time to relax.

Wrong! Mr. B promptly reminded me that we were going to dinner since our Friday night plans fell apart. Ahhh…I completely forgot, not to mention just assumed we were staying in tonight.

7:30PM back walking down to catch the train South for the second time today. No biggie! I enjoy the train, plus I adore my thoughtful hubby. Oh and by the way sushi was involved too. He he he…

Mr. B wanted to celebrate my birthday ahead because it falls on a work weekday. Yes, yes, I know, Wicked and Sushi was my early birthday gift. Trust me when I say I reminded this man about 50 times this entire weekend. How did I ever get so lucky? Really folks?! Goodness.

We arrived in Uijeongbu, just in time too! Most restaurants don’t start getting crowded until later in the night for the dinner rush. This typically works well to our advantage because we are early eaters. Tonight was just an exception to the rule.

We never ate at Hanabi Sushi house. All we knew is we walked past it various times on the way to some other restaurant or plan and kept saying, I want to try that sometime. Plus it had a sushi track, looked clean, and usually looked busy.

I have to admit, not only was this sushi restaurant new to us, the concept of the sushi track was new to me as well. I was delighted once I quickly learned the concept. Each plate has a color, the menu tells you exactly what the plate could be, and how much the price of the plate is. Simple, right? Gah! All this time…intimidation, and for what? Who knows. The sushi was awesome! The rolls were delish! The service was right up there too. Oh yes! We Bees will be back.

Eeek! Check out the damaged we did! I think I’m growing gills as we speak!

After sushi we decided on dessert. Mr. B said my birthday, my pick. Typically I’m so go with the flow not caring where we go. Today I threw that right out the window. I was milking this! Ann House. Decided.

The very much willing and open to checking out Ann House, Mr. B, let me lead the way.

Oh boy… Where to begin?

Dear Ann House,

Thank you for completely throwing we Bees for a loop tonight. We really thought your cutesy, girly, pink, purple, flowery, and lace ambiance was going to be so sweet and innocent. However, you have shown us a completely different side. Open until 2AM, playing tunes with the lyrics “F*%$ that S!$&” and let’s not forget the song S^% on the beach followed up by Whitney Huston’s, “Will always love you”, heart spoons that look like a persons behind, a massive Patbingsu that included everything but the kitchen sink, i.e.- tomatoes, whipped cream, ice cream, corn flakes, chocolate covered pretzel sticks AKA: peppero sticks, red bean, shaved ice, chopped nuts, vanilla wafers, all topped off with a Ritz cracker and tiny drink umbrella. We really thought we were on an episode of the Jersey Shore at moments, LOL!

Thanks for the memories!

Sincerely, The Bees

Ps. Don’t you think I look like Alice in wonderland in that oversized chair? How about Mr. B showcasing his princess palace pride in our plush private booth? Too funny!

What’d a Saturday! What did you think of the Ann House’s Patbingsu? Would you try it?

Express Bus Terminal

I had an appointment in Seoul today.

Yes, the long train ride, the heat….meh…

But, there was a silver lining to this day…

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The Express Bus Terminal!

After my appointment, I knew I had a long trip back to D-town. I decided why not explore! Check out a place I’ve never been before.

I wandered around, the time completely got away from me.

It wasn’t until 3:00, that I realized just how big this place really was.

Hallway after hallway…

Vendor after vendor…

Truly a shoppers delight!

Plus…

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Treated myself you vanilla fro-yo with berry topping, and two heavenly divine vanilla and earl grey macaroons!

What? You know I’ve got quite the sweet tooth 😉

Happy middle of the week!

Day 7 R&S Invade South Korea

Unfortunately I couldn’t tour Korea with Rebecca today, it was back to the daily work week grind for me. However I was very fortunate to have the time I did off with her.

Rebecca decided to get up, Skype, and catch the metro down to Myeongdong to see one of Korea’s catholic cathedrals. Afterwards she stopped off in Itaewon and found the foreigners bookstore called What The Book. She said the new books were priced a bit steep, but the used ones were very reasonable.

After grabbing two new books and a mango smoothie, Rebecca decided to make her way back to our place in Dongducheon. I’m so glad that shes the type of gal to seize the opportunity and get out see things even if I can’t join.

Once I got home from work we decided on dinner and a stroll along the metro line. I wanted to show Rebecca how the Koreans utilize the land and space for all it’s worth. It’s incredible! I mean even the building that I work at, outside has a tiny patch of something green sprouting up. We really could learn a lot as Americans from this self sufficiency.

As we walked, we reminisced about the fun times we had growing up. We talked about Rebecca’s friend Nora, which by the way she sounds so sweet, and how she is interested in starting up urban gardening programs. I made sure to snap some photos to share with her.

We ended up eventually at Lotte Mart. We decided that we wanted stone bowl bibimbop. It really hit the spot too!

Eventually, later in the evening, we met up with Mr. B and decided on going for dessert. Pot bing su! Is there anything else in the summer months of Korea?

Our cool treat was absolutely heavenly! We all walked back to Mr. B’s car while taking in the city lights, occasionally stopping for some photos. We’re big cheesers, we simply cannot help it !

Im super duper excited for Rebecca, tomorrow she is going on the DMZ tour!

Again, do these days really have to come to an end so quickly?!

2012_06_21 Rebecca Day Seven

2012_06_21 Rebecca Day SevenJun 21, 2012Photos: 20
 

Day 6 R&S Invade South Korea

Farmers markets around the world vary so much, they each have their own personality and aesthetics. Rebecca said that whenever she travels to a new country she really makes an effort to check out the local offerings. See what the locals sell, buy, make, how they live. You really get a better understanding of the culture that way, I couldn’t agree more with her.

Its true, I am a sucker for farmers markets. I have fond memories of my Grandparents taking me to market-houses in central Pennsylvania when I was a little girl. The fondness has Since continued to grow and today I love just taking a stroll through tents of vendors selling fresh produce.

Okay, so I know by now you must have guessed…we visited the marketplace near my house. The market is held every five days. The streets are lined with trucks, tents, tables, and loud speakers all trying to win your attention and bate you in.

We strolled along the streets ogling the produce, meats, beans, and well…the unknowns. Uh-huh…unknowns….

We decided before we picked up anything from the market we would go for lunch first. However, even before heading to lunch we made sure to drop off postcards at the Korean post office.

We stopped by the steamed dumpling stand for mandu. We picked up two bulgogi and one kimchi filled mandu. Rebecca picked up a red bean filled doughnut too. We sat in the shade and enjoyed our treat. AFTER munching them down we decided to get a seafood pancake.

The Seafood pancake reminds me of potato cakes from Pennsylvania. Rebecca enjoyed this tasty treat too. Whew! Two for two today! Ha Ha! The great thing about Rebecca is she is so eager to immerse herself and try all the cultural things, like myself.

After lunch we strolled more, stopped in a few stores, and looked at fun stationary. I loved sharing this with Rebecca too! I knew it was just her style and so inexpensive too.

After our shopping excursion we went back to the marketplace where we picked up some delightful looking cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and a watermelon. Everything just looked so yummy! It was hard to resist not picking up more, if only we had more hands…

2012_06_20 Rebecca's Day Six

2012_06_20 Rebecca's Day SixJun 19, 2012Photos: 14
 

Day 4 of R&S Invade South Korea

Early rise this morning. I made an appointment at the hair salon in Seoul for Rebecca and myself. I was in desperate need of a trim and highlights…I know, complete shocker these sun kissed blonde highlights are chemically engineered.

I was really eager to introduce the sweet girl that cuts my hair. I knew Rebecca would really enjoy her. Rebecca got a pedicure and picked out the cutest color pink to boot.

We took the subway down to the appointment. I knew it would be fun for Rebecca to experience public transportation in South Korea. Super convenient and super easy to use. Basically all your main areas are located along the subway line. Rebecca commented and said she couldn’t get over how clean the train and subway was compared to the DC metro. It really is rather clean and well kept after.

After the hustle to get to our hair appointment, we we’re able to enjoy not being against the clock. Take our time. Stroll. Ha-ha! Well as much strolling that my long legs will allow, they are rather long.

We walked around the Insadong area. Rebecca picked up some ceramic duck chopstick holders for a gift. We also poked in and peaked around some of the little shops.

Rebecca got to try out egg bread too!

I knew I want to let Rebecca try a Korean summer treat. Pat bing su. Rebecca tried egg bread and some other little vendor finds. Eventually after I drug her all over Insadong, we found a quaint second floor tea room serving pat bing su. Rebecca loved it! We both loved getting to sit down, chat, and catch our second wind. God bless her heart! I’m so thankful to have such an amazing bestfriend!

After out Pat bing su we walked around a bit more and decided to continue on to our next destination.

The Next stop was the Gyeongbokgung Palace. We stopped off at a Dunkin Donuts to grab a drink and of course see the crazy koreanized donuts. Take for instance the glutinous rice stick. I know doesn’t sound very appetizing, folks you don’t know what you are missing out on.

At the Palace we took an English guided tour. Again, it never gets old to me. I learn something new each time I revisit a place. We had a great time wondering all over the palace grounds.

We snapped some photos. It’s just incredible how the mountains and trees surround the back of the palace backdrop and the front is tall skyscrapers and the hustle of Seoul city life. It’s truly a place were you can see the old meeting the brand new.

After wondering through the Palace grounds we decided to head towards the subway and mosey home.

Once we arrive home we had to tackle one of the most important questions ever…WHATS FOR DINNER?! HAHA! We had endless amounts of our Korean meal from the night before…or we could go grab a bite elsewhere. We decided to go out. CHICKEN! Grilled Chicken!

Once home we FINALLY remembered to bust out the surprise for Rebecca’s birthday. A nice cool treat from Korean Baskin Robbins!

Goodnight Seoul! Until we meet again tomorrow!

2012_06_18 Rebeccas Day four

2012_06_18 Rebeccas Day fourJun 18, 2012Photos: 74
 

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Day 2 of R&S Invade South Korea

We all woke up around 8ish-9ish this morning. We didn’t have a real plan in place. We wanted to keep the decisions of what to do up to Rebecca and how she was feeling. Mr. B whipped up some south western egg whites and I cut up a nice fresh Korean watermelon for breakfast.

Eventually we formulated a plan to see all the marketplaces in Seoul. We got everything together and were out the door around 11:30 with the GPS set to direct us to Seoul.

Please disregard the worst farmers tan ever that I’m sporting in my photos. Come on folks, I’m trusting you now!

We hit Namdaemun Market, Dongdaemun Market, Myeongdong, Cheonggyecheon Stream, and walked down the center of Seoul as the sun went down outside of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

We spent the afternoon lunching on street vendor food, shopping, exploring a bit, snapping photos, and soaking up the sunlight. The weather was gorgeous, we traipsed our little butts about 8 miles around the city.

As the sun went down, Rebecca said the city started to really take on a different vibe. We agreed, we love Seoul during the day, but really love Seoul light up shining brightly at night too.

Even after being here for over a year, we still get the same feelings of excitement while wondering around Seoul. Needless to say we were all thoroughly enchanted.

We ended our Seoul Backpack Bees tour in Itaewon over a delightful Thai dinner. We never ate at the restaurant, My Thai, it turned out to be rather delicious! We ordered pineapple fried rice, a spicy Thai noodle dish, and pad thai with shrimp.

It was getting late, we still had to drive home, we were all pretty exhausted. An hour and a half later we arrived home at midnight and all decided to retire to bed.

What an amazing day! Can this week not ever end, pretty please?!

2012_06_16-24 Rebecca's Visit

2012_06_16-24 Rebecca's VisitJun 15, 2012Photos: 95
 

Hongdae

2012_05_05 Hongdae

2012_05_05 HongdaeMay 4, 2012Photos: 35
 

I woke up and road the subway for and hour and 30 minutes to a part of Seoul known as Hongdae. Hongdae is where Hongik University is located. Hongik is a private university and is best known for it’s Fine Arts programs. My hair dresser and some other friends suggested that I check the area out sometime because they said it was an area that reminded them a lot of me.

Not sure what an area would be like that was thought of to be like myself, of course I had to check this place out. I asked if a girlfriend of mine would like to join me, eagerly she said yes. We met outside at exit 9 of Line 2’s Hongik University station.

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Almost immediately after reaching the top of the stairs from the exit you see that the area has plenty of clubs, restaurants, little shops, cafes, etc. The more you walk the more and more endless options of these places you will see. (Keep your eyes peeled for crazy restaurant and bar names, check out the pictures above…you will see exactly what I mean).

First we checked out the Free Market. No, this isn’t a lost in translation phrase. This free market is an open-air market where independent artist can sell their work. I made sure I did some research before hand so we knew the location and when the market opened.

It didn’t take long for the marketplace to fill up. The vendors stands ranged from jewelry items, hand crafted trinkets, paintings, and just about everything in between. I loved the vibe of this place. The people who recommended this place to me were absolutely correct. The creativity behind some of the items for sale was rather impressive.

There were a zillion things that I could have purchased. However, there was one thing that I couldn’t pass up for my soon to be baby niece. The cutest little cotton knit cap. I snapped a picture of it, I cannot wait to send it to my sister. The women that makes these knit caps allowed me to take a picture of the various types she offered. Get this, even an adult could purchase one of these caps. HEHEHE… What are the odds I could get Mr. B to wear a monkey cap? realistically, zero to none. Funny thought though.

After our Free Market experience we decided to grab a bite to eat. We stumbled upon a placed called Wistera cafe. The address is 405-8, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. The outside looked pretty enticing… Sure, why not. The inside was very sleek and decorated with a few bold art pieces. I am assuming maybe a purchase from a local artist? There were three that stuck out that I really liked and would have taken home if I could.

At first I had made my mind up that I wanted a nice fresh salad. However my stomach decided on a brunch dish. There was a little salad and soup included, the food was just divine. The dish consisted of two nice sized fluffy pancakes, a side of strawberry jam, half of a sausage, broccoli cream soup, fruit slices, a small salad drizzled with almonds and balsamic dressing, a slice of pumpkin, sliced potato wedges, and mushrooms. Quite a nice little feast we enjoyed among ourselves.

After brunch we located the Ice Cream shop called Fell + Cole. Well…it wasn’t quite as easy as I stated. We walked around in circles a bit trying to locate the place. I read about Fell + Cole online and was instantly attracted because of all the unique organic flavors that were offered. Im talking flavors like honey lavender, burnt caramel with smoked sea salts, pina colada, orange creamsicle, strawberry red wine with szechuan pepper, jesus juice, and so many others.

After trying a few flavors Katya went for the burnt caramel with smoked sea salts, and I chose to go with some jesus juice. Very refreshing! Oh, and I almost forgot! I went there with a purpose and that was to donate some money to a vegan bake sale with proceeds going towards the International Justice Mission, to abolish human trafficking and sex slavery. I picked up some delicious almond butter cookies made by Mipa an awesome blogger located here in South Korea.

Check out Fell + Cole’s website: http://www.fellncole.com/ Also, do yourself a favor and swing in to try a crazy flavor that fits your fancy. I cannot wait to drag my best friend there when she comes to Korea for a visit!

Okay, back to the rest of the day. Well after we had our full bellies we were ready to tackle some shopping. The wonderful part about Hongdae is that there are tons of teeny boutiques with shoes, clothing, and various accessories. We must have walked into a million of these places. However, I didn’t find anything that I just had to have. I enjoyed checking out the stuff and getting ideas. Katya picked up a few little things for herself.

I really have to say that my girlfriend was such a trooper! Our feet walked for hours around the area. At times I think we crossed over our main paths. What a dear! Thank you again Katya!

After shopping we were both pretty tired, almost five and a half hours had went by while we were wondering all through Hongdae. We headed to the subway hugged and parted our ways for home.

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Yikes…looks like we are not the only ones with the idea to head home at this time.

My feet have never been so thankful to be propped up on the ottoman as they are at this very moment.

Good night all!