I miraculously woke up before noon this Saturday, so Devon and I decided to meet up for brunch. Marina called while I was on the way to the subway because she was in the area so she joined us as well. It was lovely!
We went to Amigos in Itaewon and they had reasonably authentic Mexican food--including horchata! I had a veggie chimichanga and was really happy with the choice. I feel like I'm a bit starved for vegetables in Korea.
My food and beverages. Dr. Pepper is also a rarity here so I was pretty excited.
Step Two: Tourist attractions in Insadong.
Insadong is a cute, traditional neighborhood in Seoul filled with souvenirs, traditional architecture and teashops.
On our walk from the subway we stumbled upon this pagoda park featuring an ancient pagoda encased in glass. I've been meaning to see it for a while since it is in all of the tour guide books but had heard it was underwhelming so I didn't want to go out of my way to do it.
I thought it was pretty cool.
A pagoda-esque building in traditional Korean style.
This big tile mural is of the picture on the folding backdrops that Korean kings always sat in front of.
Teashop!
Marina and I both ordered cinnamon tea and it was delicious and spicy and so much warmer than being outside!
Then we shopped for souvenirs at Ssamzie-gil, this cutesy 4-story semi-outdoor shopping mall, and stopped to take some kitschy photos in front of the public art placed there specifically for that purpose.
Then we went to the jjimjilbang but clearly you can't take photos inside public baths.
After we had thoroughly warmed up, we met with Ji Young and Nicole and went for some traditional Korean food.
We ended our evening at a strange coffee shop where the workers were dressed in Alice in Wonderland-esque attire and you could drink all of the tea you wanted out of paper cups. It was a very strange experience, really.
