Anniversary Weekend: Gwangju.

For the second part of our anniversary weekend, Doug and I stayed in Gwangju, a city in the South West of Korea.  We were lucky that there was no rain during the weekend, but it was sweltering hot.  Because of the heat, we tried to stay cool as much as possible by enjoying our meals slowly and stopping for lots of coffee breaks.  Doug found a really nice Italian restaurant called Bottle.  The flavors in the pasta were so fresh and delicious.  We loved it so much that we ate there twice in two days!

Night 1: The food was so good that we didn't even think to take pictures until after we were finished.  The food was great, the drinks were refreshing, and the atmosphere was so relaxing.  I think I'm glad this place isn't in Cheonan or I would be wanting to eat there all the time!

Day 2: We ate there for lunch before heading back to Cheonan.  Doug couldn't stop thinking about the burger after he saw it on the menu the night before.  See how there are only two fries on his plate?  They've really got portion control down here!  I got seafood pasta with a tomato sauce (yes, I ate seafood - it was too good to pass up!). 

After lunch we had some time to kill before catching our train but didn't want to walk around in the heat.  Also, I wore black skinny jeans that day which was the worst decision of my life.  We noticed a dog cafe across the street from Bottle and I convinced Doug to go with me. This cafe was a lot cleaner than the  one we went to in Cheonan, but the dogs weren't that interested in being around you.  From the photos you can get a glimpse of how to accessorize your dog in Korea.

Anniversary weekend: Wolchulsan.

Last weekend, Doug planned a trip for our anniversary and wouldn't tell me a word about it.  He has been planning this trip for weeks and I have been so anxious to find out where we would be going. He even typed up an itinerary for different options of activities so we could chose depending on the weather and what we felt like doing.  He is the best :)

Saturday morning we decided to hike Wolchulsan.  It is super hot and humid in Korea right now, but we really wanted to see the cloud bridge, which spans two peaks of the mountain and connects the trail together.  So we set out at around eight in the morning trying to beat the heat.  

Here I am at the trail head.  About two minutes after this I was already drenched in sweat.  

The beginning of the hike had bamboo trees lining the trail and tons of birds singing.  I know this sounds stupid, but it reminded me of Disneyland with the bamboo, birds, and misty humidity.

Here is where the trail split.  We followed the lanterns, which led to a temple and eventually the bridge.

Notice all that sweat?  Honestly, I don't think have ever sweated like that before and I hope I never do again.  The hike wasn't that long but was really steep.  Here we took a water break and rested on some rocks.

Finally at the end!

I love that Korea always has little pagoda things for shade when you reach the end of a trail.

The cloud bridge.  Totally worth it.

The above and below pictures are looking down while on the bridge.

On our way back down with the bridge over top of us.

After, we stopped at a little restaurant and I got some ramen and Doug got a fried pork cutlet, called donkatsu.  The ramen was doctored up with fresh vegetables and seasoning.  Delish after a hike.

On our way back into town we saw a group of hikers about to set out.  Notice how all the other hikers in the previous pictures are covered from head to toe? Notice how we are not?  I thought they just didn't want to get tan since Koreans like having light skin.  Well, I'm pretty sure it has to do with the mosquitoes since my legs are still covered with huge itchy bites.  But even with the mosquitoes, it was a breathtaking hike and something so unique to Korea.  I loved having this experience with Doug.