….through the week and half way to vacation!
Our Bean cat lounging..what a life, huh?
The most delightful little ham and fresh mozzarella sandwich with a vanilla macaroon YUM!
Are you looking forward to anything special this week? Hang in there..They say the best things come to those who wait.
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.
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.
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!
…Eating it without letting it touch your tongue.
Those were the last famous words uttered by some friends at dinner the other night. We decided to give a Korean fried chicken place a try here in Dongducheon. Like cafes, Korea definitely has no shortage of their fried chicken and Hof restaurants. Typically Mr. B and I would have most likely passed up this cuisine and opted for something else Korean. However, we were delightfully surprised and welcomed the change. It’s good to change-up your routine, don’t you agree?
The restaurant we went to was Two Two Fried Chicken. The chicken was incredibly moist. The garlic chicken was very, very garlicky. My cajan chicken salad was excellent. Now, I also must warn that the hot was indeed very, very hot! HAHA! Now I don’t have to explain the title and opening remark to this blog post. All and all, the chicken was mighty tasty.
After dinner we went on the hunt for dessert. We had a few things in our minds of what might work. At last we decided to share the traditional Korean summer treat, pot bing su, or shaved ice with red beans. Folks, don’t knock it until you try it!
Wonderful laughs, good food, great company, and fun new memories! A weeknight doesn’t get much better than that!
Wait…isn’t that any oxymoron?
No..no..just done all for the love of vanilla soft serve ice-cream. (Will explain further in a bit)
Today was an absolutely gorgeous day! The sun was out in full force and the temperature was actually in the upper 70’s. Ahh… I knew after church this morning whatever my plan involved, it was going to involve getting out and enjoying the amazing weather.
Fast forward to noonish, ate lunch quickly at home, texted back my friend, and made a plan that we were going to get out and about.
Biking! We decided to take the bike path that runs parallel with the subway and see how far we could go. We started in Dongducheon and road until we were in Nogyang. Needless to say we biked our little butts off. We had a blast though and that’s all that mattered.
So you are most likely scratching your head wondering where the vanilla ice-cream comes into play. Well, we decided if we road our bikes all that way we might as well get a treat for all that hard work. Besides, our bums hurt! We needed something to take the edge off, plus ice-cream makes everything 10x better!
The best part about the bike path is that you can ride as far as you want and not have to worry about riding back. Yes! You heard me right, you simply catch the subway back bike and all.
Cheers to Sunday adventures!
Saturday morning I was out the door before the sun peaked the horizon behind our apartment. I had a train to catch for a hair appointment in Seoul. I could already tell today was going to be a good day. The air was much warmer than most mornings in April.
I couldn’t get over how green everything was from the rain we had over the week. I literally walked around with my head in the flowers. Snapping pictures every few feet. I would have drove Mr. B completely batty. To say I took full advantage of my day alone is an understatement. Days like this are what I live for, why I fell in love with living abroad. I can’t really explain the feeling that comes over me, it’s just a strange comfort. Whatever it is, I hope to always hold on to the feeling within me.
After my appointment I sought out to find the kimchi pot lady and her little shop located near the US Army Yongsan base. I was so proud of myself finding the location on my own, however, the shop was closed! No dice on this plan. You have to know by now that I typically always try to have a plan B in the event of such luck.
Ajoshi, to Insadong! I caught a cab and went to Insadong. Stumbled upon homemade vanilla bean soft serve ice-cream. Found the little somethings that I was looking for and a summer scarf! Mission accomplished.
On my way to locate subway line 1, I found a vegetarian restaurant. I saved the menu you to share with you all. Again, totally taking full advantage of my alone with me time, of course I ate there.
As you can see the restaurant is called Maoz, and I must tell you this was my very first experience with trying a falafel. what’s the verdict? Pretty tasty! For those of you unfamiliar with what a falafel, it’s a deep-fried ball made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. Usually served in a pita bread, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa. Maoz served their falafel balls in a nice fresh pita. The best part is after they fry and stuff your pita with the falafel, you head to to the topping bar and create the rest your way. You top with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. MMmmmm!
The only disappointing and confusing part to me is that the menu serves kimchi and bulgogi. I’m not certain but the last time I checked these two foods were not vegetarian friendly? Also, the toppings bar didn’t include a typical eggplant or tahini option. Otherwise, loved it!
After my late lunch I decided it was time to catch the subway back home.
When I got home I decided to check on our patio garden I believe we mentioned it few postings back. It had taken me a little time to find a long window box to grow all our veggies. Finally, after endless searching I gave up, did some improvising, used Mr. b’s handy work, and atlas I had something to work with. I was delighted to see that We now how little sprots poking up. I’ll keep you all posted as our garden continues to grow.
Happy weekending!
Sorry, I’ve been MIA a few days… I’ve been a bit under the weather. Oh! speaking of weather…
