The 63rd Building

We took Kid and a friend, S from school, to the 63rd Building over the long weekend. It was the tallest building in Asia when it was first built. It has a decent Sea World Aquarium inside, and a really cool observatory from the top, with one of those elevators that makes your ears pop. It was a lot of fun, and I think the girls had a blast. Plus, a monk smiled at me while we were eating gelato, so it was a good day.



Kid is getting to be an Ol' Pro at the Seoul Subway. She even has her own T-Card now, and likes to stop at the 7-11 at the stations to get her favorite drink for the ride.

The 63rd Building on Yeouido. Very shiny.




The girls in the only place where their giddiness can be contained. A giant bubble under water.


A view from the top of the building. If you squint really hard you can see our ville. Just kidding!


More of Seoul.


I thought this was really fun...someone enlarged a print of a Monet and replicated the bridge so that kids could have their picture taken on it.

Some Random Photos!

Yikes! I didn't realize it had been so long! Things were crazy for us this summer. First I spent nearly a month in the States (or in travel to them), complete w/ a much overdue trip to North Carolina to visit a great friend. We've been friends for a few years now, but had never met in person. When I wound up in the Carolinas around 4th of July (with no AMC flights due to the holidays) I was graciously invited to visit and crash for a few days. I was treated to some awesome Southern Hospitality (tm), including an introduction to Bojangles, and this:



A good ol' Crawfish boil. It was AWESOME! I have before had the pleasure, and it was so worth it. The only regret I have is that The Guy and The Kid weren't there to enjoy it. :(




This doesn't even scratch the surface of the carnage she caused. (Love ya, girl!)

It was a completely rad time. I also was treated to fireworks by the waterfront. Just like when I was a kid...



Someday I will have a kick ass camera that can take quality pictures at all times of day. I vow it.

It also included the worst. sparklers. evah.



But it was a great time, all the same. We will definitely have to do it again before another three years lapses.

When I finally made it home we had a houseguest from Iowa for most of four weeks. Just like when we lived in Hawai'i it took someone coming to visit to go see some of the best things out there. We observed John running amok w/ some great results...


And also some failures. The stinkin (no pun intended) Kimchi Field Museum was closed the day we showed up! Boo!


We found the best Brunch and Waffles in town. W/ the tiniest syrup pitcher in all the world...



We made time for a trip to the DMZ, and the Third Tunnel of Aggression, which I knew was going to be exhausting, but I am glad I went all the same. To say it was an odd experience is an understatement.


After the hike, Me, The Guy, and John.



Actual sign at the actual DMZ. I wrote more about the trip here.

And, of course, lots of great street food. NOM!



After John flew home (but not until unlocking Pyro!), we packed our gear and headed out for the States again. In the name of keeping these posts from being too insanely long (I need to figure out the html coding for adding a jump) I will break that into another post.

Your friendly neighborhood Moderatrix, OUT!

The Three Hour Tour

Some Random Photos!

Alaska.

Our first glimpse out of the plane.

Rise and shine, beautiful!

Enjoying a Little House moment.

Teh Tired starts to catch up w/ the kids...

Fortunately you can't keep them down long...

I don't think that Sled Dog is gonna be pulling any sleds anytime soon...but it sure was cute!

There was salmon everything available at the Weekend Market. Salmon Quesadillas? Hrm...

Looking for salmon...

...and looking...

...and still looking...

After saving bits of their lunch to "distract the salmon" the girls were determined to catch one. "It's the freshest salmon you'll ever eat" they said (quoting Bear Gryls).

Finally we saw two (click to embiggen and you might see them as well!). The girls said they saw "millions", so I am guessing their eyesight is far superior to my own. LOL.

We took a trolley ride through Anchorage.

The trolley took us to the Anchorage Visitors' Center.

The Kid kept hitting her head on the sign while trying to have her picture taken under it. I think she really is my child. ;)

Inside they had money from all over the world. They didn't have any SK Won that wasn't a coin, so we donated. If you go there and see the Cheon Won hanging there, you will know where it is from!

I took this picture at about 0230. This is the darkest it ever was, and the same came up again promptly at 0430 just as we were ready to board our plane. The lack of darkness did nothing to help our jet lag, which was already bad because we left Okinawa on Sunday afternoon, landed in Alaska bright and early Sunday morning, and had to get back on the plane only 20-some hours later. It was beautiful, though.

That's all for now!

Some Random Photos

7th Birthday Edition!

(click to embiggen)

Everything Chocolate cupcake w/ chocolate ganache and Neapolitan ice cream!

Very Berry cupcake.

Let's see how much ice cream we can cram in our mouth at one time!

Then, for added fun, let's scream about the pursuant ice cream headache.  LOL!

That's our little punk of a Star Wars fanatic!  I wonder where she gets that stuff.  ;)

Happy Birthday, Kid.

Some Random Photos

An afternoon stroll:

We had to take a few things back to the PX (they were too small!), so we started out w/ a little fuel for the day (don't panic!  Kid's is only a chocolate creme!  No coffee!  Not even I am that nuts!).

We took a walk through Itaewon to do some "street shopping", checking out the countless vendors.  I got a great deal on something that will be mailed out as a gift, and even got to see my super smarty hubby show off his mad haggling skills.  It is pretty much expected that you will haggle w/ people in Itaewon, if not in most places here.

There are so many shops crammed into the charming and crowded streets, including this one that we drive past every day:

B/c South Korea (and I'd imagine much of the North, as well, even though I haven't seen it) is so mountainous it isn't uncommon for the streets to be "layered" for lack of a better term, meaning that you can turn off of one street and walk up a hill to another, and you can find some great things in these little "alleys".  Like the world's cutest cupcake bakery:

It's called "Life is a Cup of Cake", and I am embarrassed to say that I didn't get it at first read.  LOL!

Here are some stairs that lead b/t street levels:

(I also just liked the angle through the viewfinder in my camera).

This one I couldn't resist snapping:

I love that the streets are so quiet that you can just walk down them (also, there are no sidewalks on the inner streets).

And then here is the little hitch hiker that The Guy found on the back of my shirt:

I have a few more that I took today, but I haven't yet finished my collection of photos of Embassies and other Important People's buildings w/in walking distance from our house.  It is not a small number, so it will take a while!

Hope you enjoyed the photos!

And Happy Easter!

Some Random Photos

Our friend Brandon helped us out a huge heap by distracting The Kid so we could proceed w/ some clandestine operations, AKA, do some Birthday Shopping for a certain someone.  She things we were doing some boring PX shopping for household supplies, and she was more than happy to go to the parks and burn off some steam instead of coming w/ us.  Brandon, loving his awesome camera of awesomeness was happy to share the pictures he took today.

And now I am sharing them w/ you.  (Click to embiggen!)

Whirling on the tire swing, her favorite thing at the playground right now.

I like these last two, b/c it looks like she has first picked the dragon's nose...

...and is then disguted w/ what she finds.  LOL!  (OK, Brandon thought so too!  HA!)

We got all of our Birthday shopping finished, and it looks like she had a great time too!

(Thanks, Brandon!)