Joining Brian’s dad and Yvonne on a leg of their around the world trip, the four of us flew to Seoul, South Korea for a quick trip. One of our favorite places to visit, this trip to Seoul was a mix of new and old activities for us. Our first evening in town we wandered around a bit in the Bukchon village area (old style Korean homes), and then after a pleasant walk through a new park along the Han river, we had dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant near the Banpo bridge. The next morning we visited the National Museum of Korea, which we had not been to before and were roundly impressed by. It was so large that we had to pick and choose what we saw, so we focused on the Goryeo dynasty (Mongol invasions) and the Sinan Shipwreck which sank in 1323 on a voyage from China to Japan and was rediscovered by a fisherman in 1975 when his nets brought up a porcelain vase. We highly recommend the museum if you ever find yourself in Seoul.

The pond in front of the museum.

At the museum. Between our heads you can see N Seoul Tower which we visited next.

After a delicious meal at the museum food court (food courts in Asia are not to be confused with greasy low quality American mall food courts) we hopped back on the subway and then onto a cable car that got us to the N Seoul Tower. We were fortunate to catch a free cultural at the base of the tower before heading to the top. The views were much better than the last time we visited when it was snowing! The best part, though, had to be the ice cream sandwiches made with macaroons. Delicious!

Sword play.

Brian and his Dad thinking of Mongolia.

Even the bathroom views were amazing.

That evening we had one final dinner together and then said our goodbyes, as Brian and I were heading out early the next morning to Fukuoka, Japan and Phil and Yvonne were continuing onto Hawaii. Lucky ducks!