Tag Archives: Songtan

Scenes From Saturday

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From top to bottom:
1. We giggled at the korenglish sign…all jokes aside, trash is serious business here!
2.*Refreshing* Very berry smoothie from our favorite charming back alley cafe in Songtan
3. What a stud, that man of mine.
4. Hmmm…well, I suppose this is true?
5. The most delightful peach bread pudding topped with vanilla ice-cream!
6. Miss Bean you are so silly! You just make us smile and laugh everyday πŸ™‚

Give Me 50!

Laps that is.

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Today, for the second time in a row this weekend, I woke up with Mr. B and went to the indoor pool. Yesterday I swam 30 laps, today I pushed myself a bit harder and did 50. Mr. B jokingly said that he needed to buy me a wet-suit for the pool because my lips were turning blue by the time I got out. When he said that, it instantly took me back to childhood memories, the days of swimming until my lips were blue, teeth chattering, convulsing shivering, but not daring to admit it’s time to get out and warm up.

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Those were the days!

I stuck around a bit longer this morning to watch the Scuba students in action. Don’t tell Mr. B that I said this, but he’s such a natural! He loves scuba and it truly shines through when he’s helping to assist the students, or explain something more in detail. It’s just so darling watching him light up.

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(Well, Hello Mr. B!)

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Happy Sunday.

Thirty-Two Sucks…

Or, does it?

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Nevertheless, it never tasted so sweet!

Today is June 9th. June 9th marks a very, very special day of the year for me….

Yes, today I cheers another year of having the sweetest man I’ve ever known to call my own in my life. I know, I know, every wife under the sun says that about her husband. But honestly, for me, he really is.

Mr. B has shown me what real love is in its truest form. From the very first day we met, Mr. B has continually portrayed what a friend, a man, and a partner is. I swear this man has such patience, an incredibly understanding heart, a faithfulness, a forgiveness, and the most genuine love just for me. How blessed am I to have him as my best friend?

Mr. B threw a bit of a wrench into the birthday weekend festivities. He has pool classes all day today and all day tomorrow. However, I don’t think there is another way he would want to spend his birthday, well besides being with his family, naturally.

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I had to do a smidge of improvising with how to celebrate Mr. B’s special day from the hotel location. Did you check out the ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins?!

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Happy Birthday, my dearest Beebs! You’re nothing less than my dream come true. Only you!

Okonomiyaki

I know we have said this before…but in all seriousness… We THINK we have found our favorite place to grab a bite to eat near the Osan Airbase.

Yes, we buzzed south again for the extended weekend so Mr. B could get in more scuba training.

Here are some of our drool worthy pictures from dinner on Sunday night.

The restaurant is called Okonomiyaki. Curious, we googled to see what the word Okonomiyaki stood for. Good old Wikipedia states, “Okonomiyaki (おε₯½γΏη„Όγ o-konomi-yaki?) is a Japanese savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning “what you like” or “what you want”, and yaki meaning “grilled” or “cooked” (cf. yakitori and yakisoba.” (who say’s Wikipidia isn’t a viable source? LOL!)

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2012_01_15 OkonomiyaJan 15, 2012Photos: 28
 

Hope you all have a wonderful day off! Happy Birthday, Mr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!

Headed South

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2011_12_16 Christmas Scuba PartyDec 17, 2011Photos: 12
 

To Songtan that is. We left Friday night after work, loaded up the car, and headed south for the weekend.

One of Mr.B’s scuba friends had a birthday dinner planned. We couldn’t imagine not going as some of these people have become like extended family.

We arrived just in time for dinner. We headed directly to the restaurant called Churrascaria Rio Grill. This place was a Brazil steakhouse and we were eager to try it out as we didn’t have the best experiences with a Dongducheon Brazil Steakhouse.

What a treat! This place we actually pretty good! The meat was great, service great, and dessert….mmm…Perfecto!

We had all sorts of meats. We learned that Churrasco is a style of grilling meat over a fire pit, that originated in southern Brazil. At Rio Grill, various cuts of meat are put on a skewer and slow roasted over hot coals to mouth watering perfection. Tonight we had choices of, picanha steak, alcatra steak, frango chicken leg, linguica sausage, baby beef, and custelao rib.

We were so busy engorged in our food that we completely forgot to snap any good food or restaurant pictures to share. Yes, folks it was that good! Well…I did manage to pry my fork from my fingers and mouth while switching for my spoon to eat dessert and snapped a quick pic with the iPhone.

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Amazing, right?!

It was vanilla ice-cream with like a bananas foster sauce. Trust me, order it!

After dinner we were getting ready to go check into our hotel when I decided I really needed to bite the bullet and purchase my very first pair of long underwear. Yes, you read That statement right. Korea’s winter is no joking matter. The temperature plunges well into the 20’s and the wind just whips against your body. So yes, it was a total necessity to survive this winter without turning into frosty the snowwoman.

With my newly purchased knickers in hand, we went to the hotel and checked in. It was around 11pm and after the drive we decided to relax.

The next morning we woke up, grabbed breakfast, headed out and about to do some errands. We had fun walking to the Ville area where all the shops are located.

Nothing real eventful to report. We ate lunch for the first time at Blue Opera. Overall, a pretty neat atmosphere inside the restaurant. The tables are cozy, all seated with small love seats. The lunch menu was pretty westernized with a nice selection of teas and adult beverages. Food consisted of soups, salads, pastas, rice, etc. the cherry tea caught my eye so of course I had to order a cup.

Hmm… It tasted like they put a few sugar packets into the maraschino cherry juice jar and served it piping hot. it was awesome, at first. Then after commenting how I’ve never met my match where I’ve ate or drank something that I considered to sweet. Well, I spoke much to soon. This drink made me eat my words. I ended up with a slight stomachache because I drank half of the drink and it was just too sweet. Guess I now know the feeling that normal people have towards my candy corn and super sugary icing.

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Cherry Tea

After lunch on the way back we froze out little butts off because the wind was no long at our backs. Brrrrr! Korea you are so cold!

We got back to the hotel, warmed up, and suddenly there was a wrapped gift sitting on the bed. Mr. B told me to open it. He laughed and said quickly it was the book I had been searching for over the past few weeks. I of course did not believe him because we just came from the bookstore together where they did not have my book. What a sneak! Also I have to point out that Mr. B didn’t keep his word. We agreed no gifts because we were going to the Philippines for Christmas and we had agreed that was our gift to each other. Some days I just have no idea how I got so blessed to be married to this sweet man. I love him to the moon and back, even if he is a little sneak ;).

Mr.B was tired and wanted to take a quick nap. I had big plans to finish my book and play with my new gift. We got our act together in time for our next dinner meet up, 6 PM. Mexican at La Casa Del Mexicano! Woot-Woot! We headed back to the Mexican restaurant we snapped pictures of a few weeks ago when we last visited Songtan.

I changed my order up from the last we had been here and was daring enough to order fajitas diablo. A tad bit spicy, guess the two little peppers pictured beside the dish should have been a good indicator. I still loved it! Mr. B ordered the something he had last time. No cilantro for this man. We all had birthday celebration drinks consisting of beers, frozen mango margaritas, and regular margaritas. We topped everything off with a delicious light Korean cake from Paris Baguette. What a fantastically fun dinner. The birthday boys wife gave everyone potted plants with a beautiful hand panted flower (she painted) on the pot. How amazingly sweet are these people?

After dinner was over we grabbed drinks with some new friends at a little Irish Pub called Muddy Murphy’s. This place is small but boast with plenty of comfy character. We enjoyed getting some drinks, laughing, and chatting. Eventually our new friends had to get back on the road and get home. We parted ways but decided we have to meet up again very soon after the holiday madness settled down.

How was your weekend? Anything eventful to recap that makes you smile when reminiscing?

Don’t Knock It Until You Try It – Sunday

Last night we went to dinner with Mr. B’s Scuba instructor and his wife. We wanted to take them out to eat because we couldn’t say thank you enough for helping to find Mr. B’s scuba-cam. They are such a fun couple! I also have to tell you that they introduced us to a Thai restaurant called Sawatdee. Ooooh man, we may have a new favorite!

Sawatdee is a pretty tiny place, but don’t let the size of the restaurant fool you! This place packs some really large portioned flavorful dishes. We all ended up getting drunken noodles. Mr. B had opted for beef while I opted for tofu. It was outstanding! We really liked that you could adjust the spice factor of your dish when you ordered. If you learn anything about us when it comes to food, it’s that we LOVE spice! We both ordered a level (2) it was perfect-o! So yes, you can say we were in food heaven, I swear this dish was laced with crack because we couldn’t stop eating it. Bonus, we got to wash it all down with a Thai-tea. Of all the times I had eaten Thai food, I never had a Thai-tea. Again, I can’t think of any other word to use but outstanding!

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After dinner we were all pretty beat. HA-HA! You know I had a hard day walking around eating and shopping all day. The temperature took a major dip so we were ready to get back to the hotel and get cozy for the night.

Sunday morning came bright and early for Mr. B., 6AM to be exact! What a crazy dedicated man! I however slept until 8AM. I was so happy to see that the sun was out and shining this early.

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I got up, went down to the coffee shop in the hotel, grabbed a bowl of special K with berries and a banana and rushed back to our room. I had a date! A Skype date with one of my best friends from childhood. I always look forward to being able to Skype with my family and friends. It really makes me feel that we are only a few states away instead of 6798 or so miles.

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(Hope she doesn’t kill me!)

After Skyping I headed back to the Songtan Marketplace area. Brrrr!!! When did South Korea get so cold?! I feel like we went from summer straight into winter! My teeth were a bit chattery! Okay, okay, I may be doing a bit of over-exaggerating… but it was still COLD!

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Just looking at this picture makes me feel cold! Brrr!

At this point you should already know that I had totally mapped out where I was going to be grabbing lunch. MmmmHmmmm… Mexican at a restaurant called La Casa Del Mexicano.

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Plus I heard it was actually authentic Mexican! WOOT-WOOT! No Korean fusion. Killing time walking around, Mr. B called me and let me know that his testing was over for the day. He asked me if I had grabbed lunch yet. I hadn’t, however Mr. B really is not a fan of Mexican. I have to let it be known that he wanted to join me and was going to actually eat Mexican! This was a monumental moment, of course I snapped some pictures of our lunch as proof. Lets hope that they hold the cilantro in their dishes.

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We just love us some good salsa and chips!

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Final verdict – We BOTH enjoyed our lunch at La Casa Del Mexicano! Add it to the list of places we would return back to in the area.

After lunch we walked around a bit, stumbled upon a new coffee shop called Camel Expresso. Of course Mr. B couldn’t pass up a nice hot caramel macchiato. I am glad we went in because it gave me an excuse to check the place out. The interior was pretty modern and sleek. The staff was very serious about the product they were selling and offered a nice variety of hot tea and coffee drinks.

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BA-HA-HA! Caught an addict in the act

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Snapped a menu shot for you, sorry about the post being all iphone picture quality.

We finished the rest of our Sunday purchasing some Christmas toys for a local orphanage in Dongducheon. Eventually we got on the road and headed back home for the upcoming work week.

Snapped a picture of us cheese-doodles on our way home! Mr. B with his driving game face : )

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Remember November = Kimchi making month for most Korean families. We were behind this trunk hauling a heaping mound of the record breaking cabbage. Entertainment for at least 5 seconds.

YEY! Almost home again!!

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Ugh! I jinks us! We hit the typical traffic in Uijeongbu. Although it wasn’t terrible and we were still getting home close to dinner time. Dinner?! Eeek! We didn’t even stop to think about what to make for dinner.

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Dinner…yes, hmmm… What to make? What to eat? Well, we decided that we would get home unpack, visit with Miss Bean cat and walk to the new pizza shop that opened up near our place. Secretly this was an item on my Korean list that I wanted to do while living in Korea. I know what you are thinking! Don’t judge me. Take a look at these pictures below! Who wouldn’t be curious about the Korean take on a pizza. Hey, don’t knock it until you try it!

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See the little twisty bread bite crust? It totally fooled us! We thought it was cheese! Wrong, it was filled with sweet potato. Note the yellow specks? Not yellow peppers, it’s corn! Now you know what we mean when we say Korean fusion.

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We have to admit, even with the odd choices of toppings, we really liked the pizza and will order there again. We took our pizza to go because the shop is fairly small and only has two tables inside. The atmosphere reminded us of Papa-Johns or something like that located Stateside. They even wrap the pizza package up with red ribbon for easier carryout back to your place, gosh they are ever so thoughtful here. They tape sprinkle Parmesan cheese and a garlic sauce on top of the box. Oh, and it gets better! They serve little containers with sweet pickles! Who knew pickles went with pizza? Whatever, it works and we loved it!

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Pictures from inside 59 Pizza located in Dongducheon

At 9AM….

I woke up to housekeeping knocking on the door. Yes, we Bee’s spent the night in Songtan. Mr. B has a certification to work on for scuba and I decided to tag along too. Wow, I still cannot believe that I actually slept in until 9AM this morning! I can’t deny that it didn’t feel good, I think sometimes you just need to enjoy a nice sleep-in.

After finally waking up, I grabbed some cinnamon apple tea and a banana and was off for the day.

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Sipping my hot tea looking at the overcast sky and wet ground I figured id need my umbrella to tackle a day like today head on. I was delightfully surprised, the rain held off and I didn’t need my umbrella one time throughout the day. YEY!

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So, I was off with my hot tea in hand! I hoofed it up this hill and quite some ways beyond that until I came to the Songtan marketplace and local shops.

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Mr. B thinks I am CRAZY because I enjoy walking over taking a cab or car everywhere. I have to say that the weather in Korea lately has been very unpredictable. One day its warm and the next it’s freezing and you can see your breath. Even with the overcast sky today it was perfect walking weather. Someone told me today that he heard they were calling for snow tomorrow? Really?! Guess we will just have to see what tomorrow morning brings.

First, I had to stop at Royal Bag for Mr. B. He ordered two bags for his scuba gear. I was really impressed with the final product. While waiting a few minutes for his order to be pulled from the back room I looked around the shop. This place was pretty neat! They could basically monogram anything and did just about anything that was related to a bag. Defiantly worth noting for the future.

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After leaving Royal bag I was on my way to VIP’s. This is the suite shop that we rave about. I had an order from a few weeks back that I needed to pick up. Unfortunately, she wasn’t ready for me and asked if I could come back tomorrow. Luckily, Mr. B still has more to work on for his scuba certification tomorrow and I can swing back in to grab my order. We still highly recommend the quality of this shop!

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Basically those were the only two things I had on my list to get done today. I found myself continuing to wonder through the various alley ways. I enjoy window shopping and just being curious about what the next twist in the alley would bring. Korea truly is the bargain shoppers dream!

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It was after 1:00PM now, my hot tea and banana had completely burned off from the hike. Where to eat? Where to eat? I walked around looking at all the restaurant signs. There is definitely a plethora of places that one can pick from. I tend to be a creature of habit sometimes, not to mention anytime I can get my hands on some sushi or california rolls, you know I am in!

OH YES! I did…I went back to the Japanese place that I had the weekend prior. Once again it was outstanding! This time I had the spicy roll but had tuna instead of salmon. DELISH!

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Oh look! I found our picture on the wall from last week too!

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After eating my delicious lunch I decided to hoof it back to the hotel and relax a bit. I wasn’t totally sure what time Mr. B would be finished with his scuba adventures today. Back down the hill I went.

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Half way back to the hotel look what decided to peak through the clouds! Hello Sun! What a beautiful Saturday afternoon it turned out to be.

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How was your Saturday? Did you do anything fun or exciting where you are?

Fantastic Find, Fabulous Time!

Sitting here recapping my Saturday before going to bed.

Mr. B is scuba diving today, I woke up caught the 7AM bus with some friends and their baby G down to Songtan to do some shopping and eating. No real game plan, totally out of my norm, but it’s nice to have those days every once and awhile.

Fantastic find – Lunch! We ate at a quant little Japanese restaurant called
Izakaya.

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Food was delish! (However, i may just be bias because i could eat sushi or rolls everyday of my life…Yes, I am indeed obsessed!)

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Service was excellent and super friendly!

I was able to share with our friends From In, the coffee shop that Mr.B and I absolutely adore when we visit the area.

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We all enjoyed my favorite vanilla chai. Mmmm! They loved it just as much too πŸ™‚ Ah! I just love sharing good things and small finds with people!

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Look! Now Mrs. P can cross eating bungeoppan off her list (Remember the little fish pastries).

Snapped some pictures of baby G. What a beautiful little guy! He’s such a well behaved and smart little guy. I loved that he was so trusting with me that on the way home he zonked out in my arms. Is there anything more peaceful looking?

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What a fabulous time!

How was your Saturday?