Browns and Bulgogi

Tim is going to update you on our sightseeing excursion yesterday (because it involves sites of historical significance), but he is sleeping right now. Unlike Tim, my body finds it necessary to wake me up at 5am each morning. Oh I would love to be tired right now! Regardless of the strange hours, we are really doing pretty well with the time difference. I think it helped for us to get in so late on Monday and go right to bed. We called home and talked to Adam last night, which was wonderful. He is having a nice time on his vacation at Grandmas.

So, after meeting Alex yesterday we met two other Holt families for dinner. One couple is from Little Rock, AR and another couple (and their adorable 2 year old son) is from Baltimore, MD. We are all staying at the same hotel and spent time sightseeing with them earlier in the day. We went to a restaurant near our hotel called Bulgogi Brothers. We had some wonderful beef and I got to have a fountain Diet Coke (technically, its Coca Cola Light). The Korean food we've had so far has been wonderful. I even ate some Octopus yesterday for lunch! Its all shared with the table, so everyone tries a little of everything. They serve many side dishes with the meal, including mushrooms, kimchee, salad, etc.

After dinner, we went to an area of town right behind our hotel called Hongdae. It is located near a University and the area is quite young and hip (so you can imagine that we fit in quite well! ha). Lots of live music, bars, restaurants and shopping. The place really starts hopping around 9pm and from what we hear, goes all night long. The streets are narrow and there people and vendors everywhere.

There are quite a few bikes in Seoul. We even found a bike shop in between Holt and our hotel. Many of them have these tiny little wheels. We are not sure why. Tim is determined to get to the bottom of this, however, the man at the bike shop did not speak english so his quest for information may prove difficult!

Just a sample of the street scene. We were the only Americans wandering around in this sea of Korean hipsters and it didn't seem to matter - the people here don't seem to notice and neither do we. Everyone is so kind, and most people here speak enough english so that we can order food or communicate what we need to. The Korean people we've encountered have been very patient and welcoming.

Today after Tim wakes up (still sleeping...) we will hop on the subway and do some shopping at a market and see where the day takes us from there! The weather has been hot and humid, but its not unbearable. Its quite nice in the shade and cools down at night.