Fergusons in Busan.

The last stop of the trip was beautiful Busan.  Busan is the second largest city in South Korea, but has a very different vibe from Seoul.  It is spread out along the coast, so for some reason it doesn't seem so big, and it also has a very beachy vibe.  Doug and I had been once before, but it was during the winter.  So, we were excited to experience it during summer and see the busy beaches.

We arrived late on the first night after a very long bus ride from Boseong.  We checked into our hotels and dropped off our bags.  We were starving by that point, since it was past nine o'clock, so we walked down to the beach to check out the restaurants.  We found a great little Italian bistro on the waterfront that, luckily, was still taking in new customers even though it was approaching ten at that point.  The food was delicious, maybe one of the best places I have eaten in Busan.

The second day was when we did most of our sightseeing.  We went Busan Tower first and looked over the different districts and ports of Busan.  Once we got to the top, Doug and I searched for our "love lock" that we put up there when we were visiting in January.  We looked for awhile with the help of Doug's parents, but couldn't find it.  In hindsight maybe we should have made our lock really unique looking to stand out.

After the tower, we shopped, ate lunch, and then stopped at Jalgachi Fish Market.  You can actually see the market in the picture of the city, above.  It is the longer building with the funny curved roof.  It is towards the right side of the picture and is along the water.  The market is always a cool thing to see.  They've got every type of seafood that you could imagine.  

The outdoor market.

The indoor market.

The last day we went down to the beach by our hotel to dip our feet in the water before we had to get on our train back to Cheonan.  When you go the the beach in Korea, you can rent an umbrella space rather than bringing your own.  So all the spaces are uniformly distributed along the beach with red umbrellas.

When we were walking back to the hotel to get our bags and go to the train station, we ran into a local with two beautiful Jindo dogs.  The owner spoke impeccable English, so it was so fun talking to her about her dogs.  Jindos are often kept her as a guard dog, chained up outside for their entire life - never let off their chain.  Or they are raised for dog meat occasionally.  Rarely do we see them as actually pets.  This girl's Jindos were so incredibly sweet.  The one that is not pictured would just plow her head right into you and try to snuggle on your lap when you crouched down to pet her.  It was so endearing! Now, Doug is totally sold on getting a Jindo someday.  

Boseong.

After Cheonan, we did something that I have been wanting to do probably since after we arrived in Korea.  We went down south to a quaint town called Boseong.  Boseong is a popular place to visit  because there are many picturesque green tea plantations on the mountains there.  We were actually going to go the the green tea plantations on our anniversary, but ran out of town since the bus to get to Boseong is long and doesn't run many times during the day.  I was very glad that we waited though and were able to go with Doug's parents, since every other place we took them featured Korea's urban side.  The countryside is still such an important aspect to most Koreans, since South Korea developed so rapidly these past fifty years. So, experiencing the beauty and tranquility of rural Korea is a must. Hey, they don't call it the "land of the morning calm" for nothing, right?

So we got to Boseong around lunch time and stopped at the cafe there before entering the fields.  The cafe featured green tea bibimbap, green tea noodles, and a green tea breaded pork cutlet.  It was simple food but delicious and really satisfying.  After eating we made our way to the fields. You pass all of the gift shops and cafes and see a really steep staircase.  When you reach the top of the staircase, you immediately see rows upon rows of vibrant green and perfectly manicured green tea bushes.  To say it is breathtaking would be an understatement.  It's something that Doug and I like to call "that's so Korea".

Doug and I also hiked to the top of the mountain that the fields were on.  From the top you can see the ocean, small islands out in the distance, and plots of green tea fields spotted along the mountains all around you.  It was so peaceful, I could have stayed there for hours if it wasn't for the green tea ice cream at the bottom of the mountain calling my name.  And normally I'm not a huge fan of green tea ice cream, but this stuff was the bomb.  I had to refrain myself from going back for seconds!

After taking lots of pictures at the bottom of the field, we started making the steep ascent to the top.  The above picture was taken when we were halfway to the top.

Finally, we can see the ocean!  If you look close enough, there is an island to the very top right of the picture.

After our short but steep climb, we rested our feet in a small stream.  It seemed like the popular thing to do since chairs we ligned up and down the whole stream with visitors quietly soaking their feet.

Take me back to that ice cream.  Seriously.  It was that good.

And finally, the family waiting at the little country bus station for our bus to Busan.

Fergusons in Cheonan.

After spending three hot busy days in bustling Seoul, we headed to Cheonan, which Koreans say is the "slow life".  Even though it still is a good sized city, it does not even come close to jam-packed Seoul that attracts tourists from all over the world.  One thing that Doug and I really wanted to show them was the Big Buddha statue on Mt. Taejosan, which is the mountain that we can see from the view in our apartment.  The area around the statue and temple is so peaceful and serene.  It is definitely a must see when you are in Cheonan. Plus, we could bring Pippa along on this outing, which is always a bonus :)

 Tons of steps to the top didn't stop this pup.

Pippa chilling with Buddha.

 Doug got some great photos of the temple's intricate artwork.  And, of course, he took a picture of a dragon.

Fergusons in Seoul.

Doug and I were so lucky to be visited by his parents last week.  It was a very busy week - we were able travel all the way south and back again with them - but it was so much fun.  We first met  them in Seoul and stayed there three nights.  Here are some highlights from Seoul:

First we visited Gyeongbokgung Palace, the largest palace in Seoul.  It was a hot hot day, but the skies were so beautiful and blue.

We also visited a secret garden that the royal families used at Changdeokgung Palace.

One night, we took the tram up Namsan mountain to visit Namsan Tower.  This tower overlooks all of Seoul and lovers come to put their locks around the tower with love notes written on them.  Namsan tower also has three restaurants located in it.  We ate at the Italian restaurant and watched the sun slowly set.  It was amazing to watch the cities lights gradually turn on until the whole city was lit up.

Five things.

Only eleven and a half more weeks to go!!  I'm officially starting to make sure we do and see everything that we wanted to while we are here in Korea. It is going to be so weird being back home.  Living here, you get so used to being an outsider...in every sense of the word.  Korean culture is so tight knit, that, when you are a foreigner, you stick out like a sore thumb--which can have its upsides and downsides.  Here are five things that I am definitely missing about home right now...

1. Food.

I'm sorry, but Korean food just doesn't cut it for me.  Some people love it, but unfortunately I am not one of them.  In Cheonan, the "western" food options are so limited that if you don't love Korean food, your only option is to cook at home.  And, even that is limited.  A lot of ingredients and spices that are staples back home are extremely hard to find here.  So, our cooking options our limited.  What do I especially miss, you ask?  Avocados....  Guacamole.... September 3rd can't come fast enough.

2. Space.

I think Koreans have done a really good job of optimizing their space and resources.  Living here has made me really realize how we Americans feel so entitled to a lot of personal space.  Well, I know where I belong because I cannot wait to have backyards to hang out in, privacy, and to be back in our families' spacious homes.  Let's have lots of barbecues this summer, ok?

3. A bathtub.  Wait...an actual shower for that matter.

 

Here is our bathroom.  Yes, that is the shower nozzle connected to the sink.  We just pull up the stopper to turn our sink into a shower.  And, yes, that is our washing machine behind the sink.  See what I mean when I say I miss having space?

4. Understanding the language.

To be honest, sometimes it is really nice not being able to speak Korean.  It's pretty common for random people to come up to you and try to have a conversation with you about something.  Well, the nice thing here is you can use the "I don't know what you are saying" line and go on with your day without having to answer a million questions about how you like Korea, where you are from, and on and on.  But...it will be so nice to be home where I understand the language and the culture.  Even when people do speak English sometimes I just don't understand what is going on because our cultures are so different.  To sum up how it feels not understanding a word around you, check out this link: http://kikinitinkorea.tumblr.com/page/3

And last but certainly not least,

5.  These sweet faces:

I can't wait to give the biggest hugs to my sweet nephews and see how much they have grown in a year.  I can't wait to finally talk to Jaxson!  And of course, I can't wait to rub Megan's growing belly and countdown the days till my next little nephew or niece arrives.