Tag Archives: 2012

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 5 R&S Invade South Korea

Today we woke up, grabbed a bite for breakfast, Rebecca Skyped a bit, and we were out the door.

We had a Korean cooking class scheduled near Insadong at O’ngo. What was crazy about this place is that, before I moved to Korea I found this company and had plans to take it while living here. I never got around to it and the brochure still hangs on my refrigerator to this very day.

Rebecca was coming up with her itinerary before her visit and found it while notating things to do and places to see.

Rebecca, the worldly traveler she is, took a cooking class in Thailand while on a trip and loved it. So once she found this class she immediately emailed the company for more info, in the meantime asked me what I thought. This is a true story! How in sync are we?! There was no thinking about my response. Yes! Yes, what an outstanding plan!

O’ngo offers many different classes and tours. We decided on a bulgogi and cucumber kimchi course.

We took line one to Anguk station and wondered a bit more around Insadong. In search of cool postcards and food magnets. Ha Ha! Don’t ask…it’s a crazy touristy Korean thing.

We dawdled a bit, grabbed some postcards and realized quickly we were getting much closer in time to our class reservations. Sorry O’ngo! We were 7 minutes late…eek!

We found the O’ngo building location and rushed up to the third floor.

o'ngo

o'ngo

The ladies that greeted us were absolutely fabulous! They immediately offered us tea, coffee, or water. They didn’t mind a bit that we were running behind on time.

We were taken into an connecting room that had a culinary setup. One station was set up for our instructor, the other for Rebecca and myself. We were the only two in the class. Talk about one on one attention! The private atmosphere was awesome! This gave us ample opportunity to take our time and ask any pressing questions that we had.

Welcome to class!

Welcome to class!

Our station

Our station

We started off with watching our instructor prepare cucumber kimchi. I’ve got to tell you folks, I’m so excited to recreate this!

Cucumber kimchi

Cucumber kimchi

Yikes! Look out Rebecca... that's got some spice to it.

Yikes! Look out Rebecca... that's got some spice to it.

Our delightful Instructor

Our delightful Instructor

Start of cucumber kimchi

Start of cucumber kimchi

What we need to make cucumber kimchi today

What we need to make cucumber kimchi today

Perfect!

Perfect!

After watching the cucumber kimchi instructions we were to head back to our station and recreate what we just learned.

Lets begin!

Lets begin!

Rebecca was much more handy with the knife. Although I loved that she was able to show me a few new tricks of the trade. I’m thinking a knife course is in my near future.

After preparing the cucumbers we went back to the instructors station and watched her prepare the bulgogi marinade. The aroma was incredibly delicious!

We loved how the bulgogi marinade ingredients were so simple! Asian pear, garlic, onion, mushroom, soy, sugar, sesame oil, sesame seeds, pepper to taste. We were also delighted to learn that pineapple or kiwi in the place of the Asian pear too.

YUM! Cooking up our meat.

YUM! Cooking up our meat.

Perfect again! It's like she is a pro or something.. .ha ha!

Perfect again! It's like she is a pro or something.. .ha ha!

Final products. YUM! We got to taste too!

Final products. YUM! We got to taste too!

What a wonderful experience! I’m so thankful we had the opportunity to learn this course together! (Thank you grandma Mem!!)

Rebecca and I agreed that we need to continue on with this tradition and when we meet up again in the future. It’s so much fun, you learn something new, and you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor with others!

She is just so cute!

She is just so cute!

Action shot!

Action shot!

Besides the farmers tan we are looking fab in the kitchen!

Besides the farmers tan we are looking fab in the kitchen!

After cooking, we plated our meals and sat down to enjoy.

Check out our hard work.

Check out our hard work.

What a wonderful day!

What a wonderful day!

Bon appetit!

After finishing the meal we didn’t know we were in for a special treat. We had a market tour! What fun! Again, I learned more about the Korean foods and culture. The Guide was very sweet and very patient with us. I loved that Rebecca had the opportunity to chat with an English speaking Korean.

Market Tour

Market Tour

Lotus Root

Lotus Root

White Rice to cook with

White Rice to cook with

White Rice to make rice cakes with

White Rice to make rice cakes with

Korea's red pepper

Korea's red pepper

The owner will grind the red pepper for you too.

The owner will grind the red pepper for you too.

Many different rice cakes

Many different rice cakes

We parted ways with our guide and set out for Lotte Hotel. We started out earlier in the week trying to book a tour to the DMZ but disappointingly due to location and subway times were not able to. Rebecca continued to do some reading in her Seoul City guidebook and was able to find two more companies offering the tour as well. Score!

We arrived at the Lotte Hotel and were instantly blown away at the classiness of the hotel. We made our way to 6th floor. The elevator doors opened and there were travel agencies upon travel agencies. We located the one we needed and were also able to book a tour for Friday! Score! What a relief! I feel much better now, this was something I knew when she visited she should experience if she could.

Seoul Tower near Lotte Hotel

Seoul Tower near Lotte Hotel

After booking the tour we made our way back to the subway and went home.

No rush….

Korea....

Korea....

What an incredible day! I can’t stop smiling when I think of how much fun I had this week, today, and knowing I still have more time and a few days left to share with Rebecca.

2012_06_19 Rebecca day Five

2012_06_19 Rebecca day FiveJun 19, 2012Photos: 56

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

Perfect And Not So Perfect

What is your definition of perfect?Sometimes I follow blogs and think to myself, “wow, that bloggers life comes off as almost perfect”. Think about it…you get to choose what photos make it on your page, your topics, your comments, etc.

Life is made up of so many perfect and imperfect moments. Eventually we realize that each happens for a reason one way or another.

So here’s a run down of the perfect and not so perfect moments of our 5 year anniversary weekend happenings.

First, many people asked, what did you do for your anniversary weekend? How did you celebrate…well we went to the East coast…naturally.

Some of the new dive students said,”Mrs.B, you don’t dive”, “You are okay just hanging out for the weekend?”

The answer is, I enjoy it. Getting to watch Mr. B totally in his element, reading a good book I just downloaded, relaxing, and snapping pictures, chatting with friends, meeting new people. What a perfect gift! Hmmm well… minus the stomach bug that’s been plaguing me for the past 2 1/2 days. If you didn’t already assume, chalk that up to the not so perfect moments.

Saturday morning started off a bit rocky. We wanted to be on the road at 4:30am…however… Father time totally worked against us. Yes, that sounds about right, blaming him! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Aka.. Didn’t hit the snooze button, turned the alarm completely off. Oops….

Still made great timing, no traffic. Everything worked out rather perfectly.

Saturday afternoon the skies sort of matched my stomach. Gray. Luckily the dives were going well for the eager group of 30. Unfortunately on the opposite end of things I was still on the fence, stomach not feeling 100% like itself.

In between dives I made myself get up and take a walk. Convincing myself that the crisp beach air would do me some good. I ended up leaving my camera in the car with final thoughts of it will just be a short walk, no need to carry anything extra.

Aren’t those your famous last words? Ah! I didn’t think I’d walk around as much as I did. I really should have took the camera with me.

Again, convinced myself to go back to the car and then If I felt up to it again I’d go back and snap some photos. Eventually that is exactly what I did.

Yes! In my flips! Did you really think i’d have something different on?Sometimes all you need is a little mind over matter. (EEk! Little did I know I’d pay for that when retiring off to bed).

Anywho, I enjoyed my walk up…

up….

up…

and finally over and down…

a mini mountain that hugged the harbor area the divers were using to practice their skills. It was pretty neat to look down on the ocean below to see if I could spot them.

I stumbled upon an elderly Korean couple singing to one another and taking in the oceanic views. Also on the walk I found a temple, and laughingly watched a Korean family with two children that were being playfully teased by their father for being afraid of the metal grated pathway affixed to the mountainside. I guess you can add to my list throughly enjoyed my people watching too.

Sunday morning the sun poked right out behind the gray skies. It turned out to be an absolute perfect day for the divers. Plus while my stomach continued to remind me I wasn’t going anywhere I had ample opportunity to catch some rays.

Ahhh…What an incredibly peaceful place!

I’m convinced even though the beaches here on the East coast are bare compared to that of one stateside, a beach is a beach, the feelings of calmness, peace, and relaxation still loft in the air. Heaven on earth.

Hope you all had a truly perfect weekend!

Five Years

Today, five years ago, we both made a special promise to each other. A promise to love and respect each other unconditionally into eternity.

Never did I ever imagine that I could continue falling more and more in love with this man each day as much as I do. Wow, But…I do…

And HE makes me feel like the luckiest girl on the planet!

There is no if, and, or but about how marriage is work. Yes, you both have to be willing to put in equal efforts to continue to make it grow stronger and stronger for the future. The good times will help you forge together and navigate the rough times. Once you weather the storm, and the sky clears, your relationship is that much stronger, that much more sweeter. AHH! You come on folks, you know that amazingly complete, whole, fulfilled feeling I’m talking about. A special bond that no one else holds within you.

Marriage and love make you realize quickly that all you want to do is put the needs and wants of your partner before your very own, wanting always to make sure they are cared for, happy, healthy, and feel unconditionally loved, empowered, and safe. You make a commitment to yourself that for the rest of your life, that is your endless goal.

This is my endless goal, I’ll never give up on and throw the towel in.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, Mr. B I’ll be side by side with you no matter where or what the crazy world decides to dish our way.

Bless this man! Happy Anniversary! Cheers to many, many more!

Roses On Friday

There are gorgeous roses blooming right outside the front door of our buildingand It’s Friday!Life truly doesn’t get much better than that.Happy Friday!

Can’t Handle The Heat…

Then stay out of the kitchen, as the old saying goes. Well bloggers I’ve got a confession! Up until very recently the kitchen and anything surrounding the subject of the kitchen, such as cookbooks, utensils, basically anything kitchen related, made my anxiety kick into full gear. It was sort of the unknown and that was frightening to me.

I was the type of girl that enjoyed the idea of cooking. I loved to stroll around the kitchen department thinking how it would be awesome to whip up a little of this and that with a little of that. The idea of things is always so much nicer in your head, right?

I guess I was fairly spoiled growing up. Someone was always around to cook me something…even my little baby sister. He-he-he. Hey! She enjoyed it! REALLY! I swear she did.

Well, these days, with many (oh so many) failed attempts and a few victories under my belt, by gosh I think I’ve finally caught the hang of it! (Or at least tonight, I feel that way)

I’ve been using Skinny Taste by Gina, she hasn’t really lead me down a dark alley yet. The recipes are very easy to follow and they are not only healthy, they are DELISH! You know it’s a good thing when Mr. B says, “I don’t think I could have made that any better myself”. You know my little Chef Ramsay. Oops, i totally forgot Mr. B tends to read and post on our blog. So, mmm scratch that last line and insert my tough, strong, throw a meal together with the bare necessities manly man.

If you like a nice spicy linguini and shrimp fra diavolo, this recipe is for you!

Taken directly from Skinnytaste: (We love the spice, we threw in a lot more crushed reds)

Ingredients:

3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
6-7 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 lbs jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined*
salt and fresh pepper to taste
1/4 cup celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
35 oz crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (or to taste)
1 tbsp capers, drained
8 fresh basil leaves, rolled and sliced thin
12 oz whole wheat pasta

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

While the water is heating up, heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and cook until golden, about one minute. Add the shrimp and cook 2-3 minutes to brown but not cook through; sprinkle with salt to taste.

Transfer the shrimp to a plate, leaving garlic in the pan.

Add pasta to water and cook according to package directions for al dente.

Pour the remaining teaspoon of olive oil and add the celery and onions; cook 2 minutes then add the crushed tomatoes, season with salt and crushed red pepper and bring to a simmer.

Lower the heat and let it simmer about 8-10 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook another minute or two; remove from heat. Add the capers and serve in a large bowl over pasta topped with fresh basil, fresh black pepper and Parmesan cheese on the side.

See, easy peasy! Try it out, throw in a nice glass of wine too! Afterwards show Gina some blog lovin and post your reviews.

Dive On Into Memorial Day

2012_05 Memorial Day Korea Scuba Dive

2012_05 Memorial Day Korea Scuba DiveMay 31, 2012Photos: 150

Memorial Day! The “unofficial” beginning to the summer months! This is the day the pool opens. Gone are the worries that wearing white pants are judged. This weekend kicks off friendly Pennsylvanian neighbor lawn wars too.

Memorial Day weekend has always been one of my favorite long weekends of the year to look forward to. Not only because it gives me time to reflect on our past and current heroes, but because I get to celebrate my very own hero, my husband!

Typically, in the past this weekend meant going to the beach, eating my weight in ice-cream and fresh fruit, sand in my shoes, fireworks, long bike rides, and the smell of bar-b-que in the air.

This weekend always represents the little taste of summer before it really actually begins.

Just because we’re in Korea doesn’t mean we let the Memorial Day weekend festivities go by without getting out and enjoying ourselves.

Saturday we packed up the car and were some of the only crazies on the road at 4AM, bound for the (East Coast) Sacheon beach.

Lots of diving, cooking out, toes in the sand, and laughs all around.

Did you know Monday is also a significant Korean holiday? Yes, it’s Buddha’s birthday.

Traffic…

Traffic…

Oh yeah, LOOK more traffic…

6 hours in the car…Need we say more? Ah well, totally worth it! Wonderful weekend with great friends!

How was your holiday weekend? How do you typically spend it?

Jellyfish Lake

Our fearless SAMs Tours Dive Guide, Kostas, provided us with excellent history and facts about Jelly Fish Lake. Of course we can’t keep this experience all to ourselves!

“Jellyfish Lake is located on Eli Malk island in the Republic of Palau. Twelve thousand years ago jellyfish became trapped in a natural basin on the island when the ocean receded. The jellyfish had no predators amongst them for thousands of years, this caused them to evolve into a new species without the stinging ability. Not having the stinging ability means that these jelly creatures are virtually harmless to humans”

We Bees had been waiting with much anticipation for Jellyfish lake, not knowing exactly what to expect, or how we’d react to the jelly creature experience.

After docking the boat, we hiked up one steep and jagged limestone side of Eli Malk island and back down the other side until we reached the lake. Whew! Not for the faint of heart folks, however completely worth it! At last, at our feet lay the partially saltwater, partially freshwater lake. Word to the wise, flip-flops really don’t cut it on this climb.

We all geared up with our snorkels, masks, fins, and gently plunged into the lake. What an incredible feeling to be swimming among oodles of stingless jellyfish. They were really unfazed by our presence, they continuously pulsate up and down, business as usual. We took pictures, swam with them, gently touched them, but still they just pulsated up and down unaffected.

We learned that scuba Diving is not allowed at the lake. Unfortunately, lethal levels of Hydrogen Sulfide lay about 4 meters below the surface of the lake. Too bad! What an even better experience that would be, right?

A HUGE thank you to our friend Chris who shared his photos from that day at Jelly Fish Lake. More photos from our camera to come…eventually…we swear! HA HA! making the complete transition to…drum roll please… complete MAC!

Palau or Bust!

Tick-tock….

Tick-tock….

Anxiously counting down the minutes until we Bees have our toes deep in the white sandy beaches of Koror, Palau.

Looking forward to relaxing, diving, snorkeling, and taking in the beauty of the islands.

For now we will leave you with a few of our favorite Korean honeymooner couples traveling. Of course Mr. B now wants matching tee’s….hmm…