In Pursuit of Some Frenchness

So my friends and I have this kind of nebulous goal every weekend to check one more thing off the Seoul to-do list that's in the inestimable guidebook "100 Best Things to Do In Seoul." Actually there aren't any touristy things that I've done in Seoul that haven't come out of this book. But anyway, being the Europhile that I am I saw this French quarter in the book and decided to check it out. It wasn't really a quarter, a corner is more apt, but anyway we got lost on the way and stumbled upon some really beautiful things. There was this kind of river with a park along it that we wandered along. The fall here is gorgeous, there's a slight nip to the air but it's warm enough to enjoy and the leaves have been amazing. Anyway I love finding nature spots in the city like this:

You can see my friend Sean here with a book on his head. I told him to bring it in case we did some reading at a French cafe, but all it ended up doing was helping him with his posture.

I always have to get close to the water, so this is me being very happy.

A couple of pictures of my friend Dane looking dreamy near foliage. Incidentally, that sweater he's wearing is like the softest thing I've ever touched, which basically means that I was cuddling him constantly.

The French quarter whatever wasn't extremely French except for the French people walking around, but there were a couple of things that were really hilarious French-Korean combinations, like this bakery:

And also we went to a burger place while we were there, where I got this delicioso tofu burger (first in Korea!) and where they had these highly pixelated photos of France to French the place up a bit:

And finally, at this bar in Abgujeong last night the bartender gave me this drink which was beautiful and also tasty. A good example of advantages you get in Korea just for being white haha. This guy kept kind of staring at me, then told my friend that I was very beautiful before he very sheepishly walked away quickly. Then he gave me this drink and Pepero! (Korean cookie that celebrates 11/11/11)

All in all another amazing day in Seoul!

Korean Coffee

So one of the things I love the most about Korea I've decided are the coffee shops. Koreans aren't so much into brewing their own coffee*, so they have made up for it by having tons of super cute coffee shops all over the place. Behind my house there are at least five (photos to come), but here is a place near my subway stop that we went to for my friend Jae's birthday. My friend Katie was ecstatic because they have china, and while I am not a china aficionado per se, I do love a good tea set (hence the photo of the cup). 

Bahhhhhhhhhhh cute cup!! The saucer came as the lid. So preeeetty.

Some friends and I enjoying tea/coffee (you get your very own little teapot here, which I love). (love the painting in the background as well!! The decor here was amazing)

My other favorite place about the coffee shops around my place is the clientele. Usually my friends and I go midday before we have to go to work, so the other people there are a bunch of ajumas (korean middle-aged women famed for upholding social propriety and giving you tons of clementines (yes both of these are personal experience)). I know they don't appreciate me as much as I do them because I laugh very . . . very loudly and get a lot of stares. However, I like to see middle-aged ladies sitting around enjoying their coffee because it gives me hope for the future. Or the present, if you would believe my students.

*My friend Katie and I went on a mission on one of our first weeks here to a Korean supermarket to get coffee for her. So after an entire aisle devoted to instant coffee we finally find a tiny corner of grounds. I, being the college-educated coffee snob that I am, of course recommend to her that she should get whole beans and grind it there (they did in fact have a grinder). However, it takes us literally twenty minutes of teeth-gnawing to break into the plastic/military-enforced container of this coffee package, which then promptly splits, spilling beans everywhere. The opening is jagged, so attempts to pour the ground coffee into the bag result in a small powdered puddle all over our immediate vicinity and leading, Hansel- and Gretel-like, back home with us. She now goes to Starbucks for her coffee.

Arriving in Korea

Yes, I arrived in Korea a while ago, but I lost my camera the first weekend so I couldn't take any photos until now. These are from a week ago, when my friends Kate and Dane and I took a trip to Andong, where they have a mask festival every year. We also visited the traditional village close by to see some beautiful houses and countryside: 

We also visited a Buddhist temple, where some of the oldest standing wooden buildings in Korea are. The land around there was gorgeous, it was on a mountain covered in forest and we wandered for a while in the greenery feeling very zen.

The cutest little bathroom in the middle of the woods!

And finally, to Busan, a seaside town where we met up with some friends and smoked a lot of cigarettes apparently. I think we look very arty: