Tag Archives: America

Views in Ilsan, South Korea

Recently I took my very first public trans bus adventure from Uijeongbu Station to Ilsan to spend the day with a good friend of ours. Thankfully the journey was quite uneventful and I made it there with no hiccup (THANK YOU KATYA AND THE SEOUL BUS APP).

Ilsan is a beautiful city located just northwest of Seoul in Goyang city. I visited Ilsan twice prior when I first got to South Korea. Once was to visit the gigantic convention center called the Kintex, and the other time was to go to Costco before one was built much closer to us. Both trips never really awarded the opportunity to get out and see the city and explore a bit.

When I stepped off the bus I immediately took notice of a beautiful lake surrounded by walking paths and park. I lucked out too because Katya was just as eager to get out for a walk around the park as I was. Katya explained to me that the lake park is a very popular spot in the city and is known as the garden city. There were so many people out being active walking, jogging, spending time with their families, biking, skateboarding, snapping photos for blogs and magazines and yet it didn’t feel crowded one bit. It was a feeling you’ll seldom get to experience in Asia.

It was a wonderful fall day spent strolling around the lake park admiring the views, checking out the local Cafés, mall, restaurants and indulging in some frozen yogurt. I highly recommend a day trip to the area if you ever are looking for a new place to explore while in South Korea.

Thank you for hosting me this weekend Katya you are such a dear friend!

Seoul: Jacoby’s Burger

(A bit delayed on posting this one Ooops…)

This weekend, THIS WEEKEND!! OoOoOhhh, it was soooo good! So so very good. It started off with a meet up with our good friends, making the aquaintance of a new friend visiting from Hong-Kong, taking in those beautifully fall colored leaves, and food…food…and more food (come to think about it, I think I strolled rolled around Seoul).

The weather was PERFECT! Just the right amount of fall crispiness to help cross off this white girls fall to do list. ha-ha! (Come onnn how true is this list??)

Anyways, our good friends recently raved about a burger joint in Seoul that we needed to check out. The reviews were a bit dodgy online, however they were mostly about the staff ignoring them, attitude etc. So what the heck, why not give it a try? We ended up in the area with a hefty appetite after taking in all those beautiful fall leaves.

The restaurant is Jacoby’s Burgers located just north of Noksapyung Station in Seoul. Don’t be fooled by the typical restaurant look from the outside, Jacoby’s has quite a unique menu that serves juicy burgers a la carte, pasta, vegetarian burgers, onion rings, freshly cut french fries, salsa and beer. YUM-YUM-YUMMM! Plus they so kindly held the side of attitude when we went, so the overall experience was pretty freggin fantastically delicious.

Usually I’m the kind of gal that would order a big ‘ol burger, but my friend Mandy told me that Jacoby’s makes a pretty mean veggie burger made with red-beans. It sparked my interest and I decided to give it a whirl. Now I was left with the harder decisions, to add bacon or not? decisions, decisions…. I know all the vegetarians are cringing out there. Sorry.

WOW! The red-bean burger was surprisingly flavorful with a nice little spicy kick. I’d absolutely order it again, but my eye is also on the gut buster burger. Speaking of the gut buster, our table was right up front where we could watch all the burger creations come out of the kitchen. Watching people’s eyes and mouth’s drop open as the gut buster burger landed on their table was priceless! Lordy! Look at that thing!

Across the street from Jacoby’s we giggled as we checked out the Camping Company Restaurant. This is urban camping at its finest! We’ve got to go back just go giggle as we grill…totally worth it!

Eventually we made our way to Insadong that afternoon and we found out that it just so happened to be Makgeolli (Korean rice wine) day. We cheers the occasion and ordered a roadie, the adios mother. Whew! Quickly found out why it was named that…talk about a nice adult beverage concoction.

Another fun-filled adventure in Seoul for the books!

DIRECTIONS: Out Noksapyung Station exit #2, walk straight down to the Kimchi pots. At the pots, take the road up to the left. Jacoby’s Burger is just up the road on your left.

45-6 Yongsan-dong 2-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Style: falling into fall

Old Fall Cozy Edition

I’m such a four seasons type of gal. I look forward to celebrating each new season as it sweeps in to change everything around me. The nights have been getting much cooler and fall is absolutely on its way in, but the days tend to warm up and still reach anywhere from upper 70’s to 80’s. I find myself needing versatile pieces and layers that I can remove as the temperatures fluctuate.

The move has certainly helped me to re-kindle and re-find my old favorites in my closet from last season. I love the chambray shirt that I can roll up the sleeves, the puffer vest that everyone went C-razy over last year, and my two closet staples the pencil skirt and scarf. It feels so good to also organize everything into its new home again too. I thought what a wonderful opportunity to share a few of my picks that I’m looking forward to sporting to remain comfy and cozy into the fall season.

PS: Don’t forget to swing by Starbucks and pick up a pumpkin spice latte (sorry Food Babe, I cannot resist when I am stateside) and check out (5) the brand new his-and-hers Apple watch certainly swoon-worthy.

What are some of your comfy cozy fall favorites?

Backpackbees

Things worth sharing: We moved!

YES! You did read that correctly, we have moved!

Simmer, simmer, we are still in Korea. Actually, we are only a mile or two down the road from our old place. We like to think of this as our new adventure, or chapter to our story. You know, that’s the wonderful thing about adventures… they really don’t need to be limited to some gigantic change in your life. Adventures aren’t one size fits all and can occur in the spur of any life moment.

Speaking of spur of the moment, our lease was coming up and we just started to discuss our options and thoughts of what we might want to do next. It was challenging to think that we’d actually live somewhere else in Korea after being in the same place for over 4 years. We experienced so many memories and really made the place our home. However, with some unfortunate things going on with the management office and our complex, we ultimately decided to start looking at a new place.

Our realtor was incredibly helpful and really eager to assist us with our decision to move. She took us to see two places with different floor plans. We ended up falling for the second place and made the decision to take it. We waited about 12 hours and then heard the great news; you’ve got the place!

Onward to moving… we were able to book a moving company three days after we made our decision to move. Talk about quick! Our realtor and moving company told us do not pack anything, don’t clean, and just relax.

HA-HA! We thought these people are silly! The two words relax and move, in the same sentence? I mean the “to do list” is endless when you think of what needs to be done when you move. To top it all off, you have to clean both places. Nope. Wait, did I really just answer myself with the word nope? Yep, I defiantly did. We found out that it’s actually customary to leave some dust and a bit of dirt for the new tenants as good luck. REALLY?! How awesome is that? However, when you are moving into your new place, keep in mind that the same concept applies. You might have a bit of unexpected work to do when you move into your new place. (Enter me scrubbing down every bit of wood in the place and mopping the floors).

The day the movers showed up, they literally went from room to room and packed up everything into crates and moved them out the window of our 6th floor apartment. Mr. B attempted to move something and was promptly scolded for doing so. OOPS! Guess they meant serious business with the “don’t pack anything” statement.

As quick as the movers arrived, the movers were packed up and gone with all of our home goods on the road and heading to our new place. Another outstanding item worth sharing is that these movers actually unpack all of your packed items into a similar location of the new place, as it was in the old. This can be great, or can be a bit more of a burden depending on the way the situation plays out. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take off work and Mr. B let the movers unpack where they thought the items might go. Word to the wise… they aren’t mind readers. I had to keep reminding myself throughout the day that no one is really going to meet up to my obsessive orderly home standards. Oh yeah, I called myself out on the Internet. It’s okay, I ended up unpacking all of the items afterwards like a wild scavenger hunt. Adventure noted for next time.

Our first night in our new place, we grabbed jajangmyeon for dinner, think of it as the pizza that we Americans consume on a moving day. The concept behind the dish, just like pizza is still the same, you just moved and your kitchen isn’t completely set up for you to use. Like pizza, jajangmyeon is full of that fatty carby goodness you need to keep you going. Unlike pizza, there is no tomato sauce or cheese, mmhmmm the dish features a thick black bean paste sauce, tofu that is diced small into cubes, mushrooms, Chinese noodles, peanuts, and zucchini. Who would have thought, it actually hit the spot!

For the first time in days, I am actually sitting in our new place with my feet up and able to type out a blog post to you all. Whew. What a wild adventure! With that being said, tell me about the adventures you are taking on today.

Backpackbees

Yeouido Hangang Riverside Park 여의도 한강공원

I feel like TOMS and potbingsu pretty much sums up a spring or summertime dream here in Korea.

You know, I’ve been thinking about friendships again lately. With life, friendships come and go. In an expat community this is rather typical and pretty much the norm. One of the best parts about being an expat with a new-found friendship is that you have another connection to a different world. A world that you might not be familiar with and luckily you get to experience that little piece of the world through your friend.

What about you, do you think that each of our friendships with individuals represents a world in us, a world still forming or possibly not even born until they arrive?

This past weekend I met Kelsey at Namdamun Market. Unfortunately it was Sunday and I failed to realize that the buildings where we really wanted to go were closed. Oops… sorry Kelsey.

It wasn’t a total bust, we picked up some kumquat, watermelon and Ya-chae Ho-tteok stuffed full of jap-chae noodles. After walking around the market a bit, we headed to Myeongdong because it was so close to walk to. Kelsey showed me a few little boutiques that she visited the week prior and wanted to share, and then I shared the Artbox store with Kelsey. The Artbox is a cute little store with all sorts of stationary and wacky little gifts. Kelsey was on the hunt for a hot water tea kettle and she was able to pick one up in the Artbox for only 11,000W practically $11US Dollars. Score!

After visiting the markets, Kelsey asked if I wanted to check out a park that she also went to the prior week with a friend. The sun was shining and the day was absolutely gorgeous, so of course we went! We ended up at Yeouido Hangang Riverside Park 여의도 한강공원. Also known as Korea’s Manhattan, or the financial district. A very clean well-groomed part of Seoul. It was very easy to see why this area is so popular with its lush parks and attractive riverfront area.

We grabbed drinks and a potbingsu to go at a local convenience store/cafe. We found a nice quiet spot where we kicked back, slipped of our TOMS, dipped our feet in the cool water, took photos, talked and people watched (prime people watching territory… check out all of the couples wearing matching outfits, or riding tandem bikes!). All ranking high on my top list of things to do! We’ve made plans for a near future picnic too, now all I need is to locate a good picnic basket. Guess you will have to stay tuned in until next time.

Backpackbees

Addresses:

Namdaemun Market
49, Namchang-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Subway Line 4 at Seoul Station → Exit No. 5 in Hoehyeon Station
Closes every Sunday/Open 09:00 ~ 19:00
Namdaemun Market Tourist Information ☎ 02-752-1913
http://www.namdaemunmarket.net/

Myeongdong Market
Transfer to Subway Line 4 at Seoul Station → Exit No. 2 in Myeongdong Station
Myeongdong Tourist Information ☎ 02-774-3238

Yeouido Hangang Park
330, Yeouidong-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 영등포구 여의동로 330 (여의도동)
Yeouinaru Station (Seoul Subway Line 5), Exit 2 or 3.

Sunday Serenity

This morning I awoke to a dusting of white snow on the streets below and hillside just behind our apartment. I also awoke with a terrible sore throat. Perhaps it was that I slept with my mouth open the night before? No, not me… I’d never do such a thing. LOL! Perhaps it was the evening walk the night before with Mr. B in the blustery winds, or perhaps it’s just something I picked up from work that continues to make its rounds. Whatever it was… it isn’t welcomed and needs to go.

Normally I’d sip a spicy peppery remedy that my grandparents would make when i’d be back home staying with them, but this time I remembered that we had some Asian pears and honey. The two ingredients that my Korean co-workers tell me will heal any throat ailments because they are loaded with Vitamin C and K. Today I’ll put them to the test and get some sweet serenity on this Sunday.

Backpackbees

Seoul Favorites

I’ve written about Insadong (인사동) before but I can’t help but continue to go back to the area again and again. It never gets old. I find the most random treasures and eats and treats that instantly become new favorites. I told Kelsey about the area when we first got to meet up with her the other weekend in Seoul. She instantly was intrigued and sent me a text message Friday evening asking if I minded meeting up with her and playing tourist around the area. Of course I couldn’t resist! Plus I jumped at the opportunity for a girls day.

We met at the top of Jonggak Station (Exit 3) staircase. My train arrived about 10 minutes before her’s so I snapped a few photos. Again, I couldn’t help myself! After all, Seoul obliged with the most perfect weather. The sun was out in full force and it felt like it was recharging my own soul and reminding me why I loved this city so much. Pure pre-spring perfection!

Kelsey’s brunette hair finally appeared among the sea of jet black hair climbing the staircase and we set off to Insadong. It had been quite sometime since I last visited the area, I had to re-gather my bearings… it all came back once we walked forward a few blocks. She was such a trooper putting all of her trust in me like that. Thanks Kels!

One of the fun parts about Insadong, or Seoul in general is all of the fun strange street food vendors. The vendors food smells immediately wafted into our noses as we entered the area. It was exactly noon so it was perfect timing to make our way around the area.

I’m sure you are wondering what the above photos are of? They do look quite different don’t they? Well, they are a crispy tube. Think ice cream cone texture, filled with ice-cream. Quite a comical scene to see crowds of all ages carrying these things around. We decided to save ourselves possibly for the end of the trip, or for a tad bit warmer weather.

I took Kelsey to explore my favorite rice cake cafe in the area, Bizeun. This place serves as many as 250 different types of Korean traditional rice cake. The best part was that she loved my favorite rice cake as much as I do! I find that most people sort of turn their noses up at rice cakes because its something so foreign to them at first… especially the squishy one that I love that Kelsey immediately took to. Is this girl my kindred spirit or what?

After leaving Bizeun, we headed up the street towards more of the shops and vendors. On my list I specifically wanted to share the little outdoor vendor that sits on the corner of the center street running through Insadong. It’s all mismatched pottery. Beautiful teapots, tea cups, vases, etc. Each time that I stop at this stand I end up picking something up. Shhhhhh don’t tell Mr. B. Kelsey instantly fell in love with the stand and found an awesome little trinket. She said that she wanted to come back for some future gifts for family members. I was smitten that she loved the place as much as I do.

We jetted down some alleyways and I showed her one of the best steamed dumpling stands that I’ve had since living in Korea. Anytime of the day I have found myself around this alleyway, there’s a line. Always! This place was is so simple but oh so delicious. Good stuff folks!

We shared some poop bread. Yes, you read that correctly. It’s Poop bread ( 똥빵 ). Okay, I’ll digress and let you all in on the joke. Korean youth are obsessed with poop. It’s odd.. you and I know that…but it’s their thing. This bread is filled with delicious Red beans and walnuts inside. It’s actually really delicious and if you’ve had bung’eo (붕어) the fish pastry filled with red bean paste. MMMM… thinking about the warm tasty red bean filling this very second makes me so hungry! I have to stop while I am ahead before I go out and mull a poor street vendor.

When in Insadong you must drink tea! Find a tea shop, visit the tea museum, or  Korea’s famous O’sulloc Tea House. We stopped into O’sulloc, I shared with Kelsey that Jeju Island off the coast of Korea has the tea-plant and tea fields that you can stroll through. Another must do while living or visiting Korea.

After O’sulloc we found ourselves wanting to sit down and enjoy some tea and some sort of sweet. Of course because the sun was shining and I was instantly transitioning into a Springy mood, naturally, I had my mind set on Patbingsu. Once I found out that Kelsey loved red bean paste I knew I had to share Korea’s iconic dessert. Ohhhh sweet summer is near and I cannot wait to slurp this stuff up for dinner. No shame, no shame. We indulged in our patbingsu, sipped our hot citron tea and talked and giggled for hours.

 

Address:

130-4, Insa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul-si 
서울 종로구 인사동 130-4일대

www.insainfo.or.kr (Korean only)

www.visitseoul.net (English, Korean, Japanese).

By Train:

Anguk Station (Seoul Subway Line 3), Exit 6.
Go 100m straight, then turn left.
-OR-
Jonggak Station (Seoul Subway Line 1), Exit 3.
Go straight 300m, and turn left at the 4-way Intersection.
Go straight 100m, and take the left road towards Insadong-gil Road.

Backpackbees

Spaghetti Squash

image

Ahhhhh another Thursday night save by the spaghetti squash.

Isn’t the spaghetti squash is just a gem of a vegetable? Well then again, i haven’t met a squash i didn’t instantly love. If I recall, I discovered it not long after Mr. B and I got married and it has been a staple in our diets ever since. I think I make an effort to pick one up about every other month or so.

So easy! I mean I’m talking reallllyyyyy easy. Slice it in half, remove a few seeds, pop it in the microwave about 5-10 minutes. After it’s heated, take a fork and scrape the insides of the squash as it falls out like spaghetti. The rest is totally up to you. Red sauce, carbonara, olive oil and spices….endless possibilities and all within a flash. Tonight I added organic ground chicken, fresh baby spinach leaves, fresh basil leaves and some Paul Newmans organic marinara, topped with shredded mozzarella cheese.

It gets better…..check out the nutrition vs. regular pasta here. Thank me later!

Have you ever tried spaghetti squash? If not, what’s stopping you?

Backpackbees

Making Friends as an Adult.

I found myself deep in thought, while sipping my coffee, waiting on a dear friend at our local weekend coffee spot. The thoughts deep like the swirls of whipped topping and caramel mixing with my coffee were about making friends as an adult. Let’s go one more step more and add to the complications of that… making friends. as an adult. while living abroad. I feel that in high school or even college for that matter while they are preparing you for the “real world”, they should be instructing on real world issues such as when you take that gigantic leap outside of your safety blanket (your hometown or surrounding area) what you may find yourself feeling.

I know, I know… the world’s tinniest violin is playing for me right this second. I’ll take this second to have a small (but respectful) pity party for myself, then we’ll get to moving on with this post.

2013 proved to be one of the more challenging years for me in my adult life. However during those challenges, I met an acquaintance of a friend that turned into a dear friend, a sister for life. Unfortunately, I know all to well that she is only abroad temporarily and will be moving on in the next few months. I’ll always remember a wise family member saying that quality over quantity will matter when you are an adult. At the time I remember thinking, yeah sure… then gloating about all of the “friends” that I had on my Myspace page (Don’t try to deny it..you know you had a Myspace page too). Now my 20 something self is understanding just how true that family member’s statement was. As a child, my grandparents told me that I could be-friend anyone, anywhere. The public pool, yep had a random swim buddy, the playground, yep had a tag or jungle gym pal, high-school, yep some bad gal pals and good gal pals, college, yep crazy but fun housemates. Truly I have been blessed to have met some amazing friends along the way and share equally amazing memories with each of them too.

However, over the past few years, let’s say the past three, I haven’t had the best of luck making friends since we moved abroad. I blame it on my mostly on my work schedule, and maybe partially on the fact that I have turned a bit anti-social. And introvert-ish. I’ll digress. Some of the first “friends” I made when we moved abroad turned out to be a group of ladies that belonged to a church group. Sound choice, right? Wrong…some of these women made me feel so insecure with myself. Constantly judging my knowledge of religion, my life, masking me with this toxic vibe, etc. Isn’t that comical? Ladies of the church! But at the time I couldn’t see it… Then I snapped out of it and distanced myself. I made the decision that I really longed for quality over quantity. I think that is where the fuel was added to the fire.

Don’t misunderstand my words, Mr. B and I have some great couple friends, most of them with kids too. (Apparently we are freaks for not having one by now). Ooops. Kidding! They are outstanding and we love their kids too!

So how does one make quality friends? Sometimes I wonder if I am sending out the wrong vibe? Hmm.. Really, what is the right vibe to attract quality?

Although…side note…I did take a gigantic leap and branch out last month. Yes, I made random conversation with a woman while she bundled up her baby, about politics outside of the grocery store. We ended up exchanging Facebook names and are “friends”(our generations most acceptable way to socialize, right?) Since that first encounter, almost every time I run into the grocery store to grab something we bump into one another. We talk eggplant, holidays, serious grocery chatter. This most recent encounter we actually took a step forward and decided to make a plan to meet up for coffee soon. Hopefully I do not let her down by not being able to uphold my end of conversation about breastfeeding, the homeschool, private, or public school decision. You know, whatever all of you cool moms talk about over coffee. We will see.

So…. there it is just in time for my coffee dates arrival too. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Backpackbees

Christmas Parties

Hello dear Christmas friends near and far!

We just ended our weekend of work Christmas parties. Very exciting, I know! But really…it was! Here are some photos from my fabulous Christmas party. We didn’t quite make it to Mr. B’s due to the unfortunate luck of Friday night Seoul traffic. But…It actually worked to my favor however, I was feeling quite achy and under the weather. Rest..lots of rest was what was in order.

Now, back to the good stuff, the party! Oh goodness it was a riot! Live entertainment both from the actual paid entertainment and also my co-worker and her husband getting up and dancing. I have to go on record and tell you all what she said, “When I hear the music, I try to control myself, but my hips… they are just uncontrollable and I have to get up and dance.” Too funny! Many belly laughs share by all, exchanging of secret santa gifts, and a boat load of A-mazing food, no pun intended.

Overall I’m pretty much always a fan of nights that involve celebration, holidays, Seoul at night, and dressing to the nines.

How was your weekend? Hopefully you enjoyed just as much merriment! Cheers!

PS: Santa’s on his way!

Address:

85-1, Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul-si
서울특별시 영등포구 여의동로 290 (여의도동)

Yeouido Dock
Yeouinaru Station (Subway Line 5), Exit 3.
Yeouido Dock is 5min from the station.

Dinner buffet cruise:
Weekends: Adults 65,000 won / Children 33,000 won
Weekdays: Adults 60,000 won / Children 30,000 won

Routes & Schedule
Yeouido-Yeouido
Regular: 11:00, 13:00, 14:00, 16:10, 17:20, 22:00
Magic show: 15:00, 18:10
Live concert: 19:30, 20:40
Dinner buffet: 19:30

Backpackbees