We went to Gyeongbokgung station on the 3 line to check out all the area has to offer. I had been there before to go to the American Embassy, and I was intrigued by all the sights around that area, so we were happy to check it out. We wandered around the gallery-filled streets (by Samcheongdong-il) in the neighborhood next to the Blue House, where the Korean President lives. We had a little lunch - traditional Korean rice and chicken dumpling soup and a dish of cold buckwheat noodles in a spicy red sauce with kimchi and cucumber. It was a good meal.
After lunch we headed to the Gyeongbokgung Palace grounds. We saw many beautiful totems and stone statues from the Joseon Dynasty. The statues were of military officials and royal members. The statues were carved for their tombstones. The National Folk Museum and the National Palace Museum are both located on the palace grounds, and the statues were moved there from the burial grounds. There were also ancient stone mounds and a giant temple. We unfortunately weren't allowed to climb to the top, but it was a stunning sight with the mountains in the background.
We finally walked up to the palace itself, and were very pleased to see traditional guards manning the entrance. The guards were outfitted with swords, bows and arrows, and lances that had large curved blades on top. Nice. They also were not allowed to move and you were allowed to stand next to them to take pictures. This made me think about the guards at Buckingham Palace...needless to say, Nick had a good time making faces and posing next to the unwavering guards. Several Korean tourists laughed and told Nick he was very funny.
After checking out the palace and the guards we walked down Sejongno Boulevard towards City Hall. We passed by many of the embassies and also the National Theater. We weren't really looking at the buildings around us however. There is a 110 foot wide flower garden and plaza that lies in between the streets on this gigantic boulevard and we were highly enamored with the brightly colored and beautiful flowers that were spread out in the most whimsical and delightful designs. We took many pictures and enjoyed the late afternoon sun as it lit up the flowers. We also passed by a huge festival (the "nice festival" some kind Korean tried to explain to us in broken English) where live music was playing in the plaza.
After we reached City Hall we returned home and I made honey mustard salmon for dinner - one of Nick's favorite meals :)
No comments:
Post a Comment