Great day out in Seoul

Mike and I decided to spend today exploring some areas of Seoul that interested us. We took the train in, and negotiated the subway for several trips around the city to find the places we wanted to see.Getting around has been relatively easy, after having been taken to Seoul by our Korean language and culture teacher, and pointed in the right direction for catching buses and subways. The first place we visited was 'Itaewon' - a shopping area with quite a strong 'western' feel to it, with many embassies nearby. We enjoyed browsing, and ate lunch there, but didn't buy anything. Next stop - after negotiating 2 subway rides, was Gyeongbokbung Palace - built in 1394, it was an interesting and very delightful place to visit - lots to see there, really picturesque, and right in the heart of the city. In fact, some shots will show the contrast from the old to the new, with the city street right outside the gates, and large screens on the buildings. We then explored 'Insadon' - an area that appealed to me greatly - lots of character! Older buildings with lots of restaurants that look authentically Korean, as well as art and craft shops and lots of interesting street vendors selling jewellery, crafts, and so on. A great place to find gifts! I think I'll be going back there again...

Our 28th wedding anniversay

Today we celebrated 28 years of married life together. We are constantly telling each other how much we love each other, and appreciate the fact that we have been together a long time now and actually still LIKE each other!! I am sure this is different from love - and today we spent the day having another adventure together. White water rafting on the Donggang river in South Korea!

We are so fortunate to have these opportunities to explore our area, and we are taking the opportunities that get presented to us whenever we can. We have the luxury of having a person on the staff whose job it is to organise social events!! So, today we hopped on the school bus, travelled for about 4 hours up into the mountains to a beautiful area to enjoy the white water rafting trip.

The rafting itself was pretty tame, but the company and the water fights made up for that!! The next adventure will be in Chusok week - the Korean 'thanksgiving' holiday, when we go with a group from GSIS again but this time to stay at Taejon Beach.

Work is full-on - but play time is too!!