Our Week in Seoul

We had a busy week exploring the colors and chaos of Seoul, Korea - including temple and museum visits, several great hikes, and lots of long walks and subway rides to explore neighborhoods around the city. Our favorites areas included Insadong, Jongno, and Namsan, as well as the Cheonggyecheon Stream, an 11km urban walkway pictured below that runs through the city.

Here are some WATER FEATURE PHOTOS. Savit Island, pictured below is a great spot along the Han River to watch the nightly Banpo Rainbow Bridge fountain shows. Cheonggyecheon Stream's fountains and waterfalls also dance at night. 

Here are NAMSAN TOWER PHOTOS. Namsan Tower is the 2nd highest point in Seoul and sits at the geographic center of the city, offering great views in all directions and lovely forested trails on the way up.  At the top, all the railings are covered with love locks. 

Click here for HIKING PHOTOS. The hiking options around Seoul and related amenities were impressive - well kept trails and stairways, often carpeted with jute rugs; blowers at the end of trails if you want to dust off; safety resources for potential fires or medical emergencies; and great access to trailheads and urban green spaces via public transportation. Pictured below is a section of the hike along Seoul's City Wall. Constructed in the1300s and spanning 18km, the wall used to encircle the central city, and many sections remain intact. While hiking the wall, we stumbled across Iowa Mural Village. We also enjoyed seeing Seoul's impressive Outdoor Library, during one of our walks. 

We took lots of ART/ARCHITECTURE PHOTOS while visiting different neighborhoods and museums across Seoul and learned a few things along the way about the processes used by Korean artists to create elaborate lacquer boxes, like the one pictured below. One of the most impressive modern building we saw was the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. 

There was a dramatic mix of old and new across the city... and so many colorful lanterns everywhere! Here are TEMPLE PHOTOS to illustrate this point. We happened to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace on a free admission cultural day, so in addition to seeing a changing of the guard ceremony, we saw lots of locals (and tourists) dressed in traditional hanbok attire. 

Finally, here are DINING PHOTOS from a few street markets, restaurant rows and tea houses we visited, and of course, Korean BBQ. There were eating and shopping options literally around every corner, above and below ground. 

CLICK HERE for a comprehensive album with all the photos from our trip. 

Easter in the Mountains

We're just back from an Easter Weekend visit to see Jake and Elli in Holden Village. Click here for photos. There's still quite a bit of snow in the North Cascades, plenty for skiing, sledding and snowball fights... not to mention some wine tasting in Chelan on our way up; ceramic mobile-making in Holden's craft cave; an Easter bonfire; and lots of time getting to know the great people Jake and Elli live and work with in the mountains. 

There was a small mishap with the bonfire, but thank goodness for metal roofs and the quick response of Jake and others to make sure all was well.

 

Hopscotch and Hiking

We stopped by Hopscotch, Portland's new immersive art gallery, while Jake was in town for a visit. Click here for photos.

Next was a hike along Coyote Wall in The Dalles where we managed to find a little sun and great views of the Columbia Gorge. 

And speaking of animals, click here for photos from our stroll through the Oregon Zoo. 

Portland Winter Lights

It was a fun and fiery night downtown during the annual Portland Winter Lights Festival. Click here for photos. Most of the exhibits were new this year, but last year's photo booth was back for a reprise. Below are photos from 2024 and 2023. 

While tonight was full of light, lots of Portland neighborhoods were without power for nearly a week in January, thanks to a crazy winter storm that downed trees like we've never seen. Click here for photos from the storm; Drew and Grace skiing in Bend; and Emily and Coleman in the midst of an epic yard-mulching project.  

Meanwhile up north...Jake, Elli and friends constructed an igloo that according to Jake, seats 8! 

Brrrr...

Click here for photos from Holden Village where Jake and Elli will be living and working during 2024.  The Village, located in Washington State's North Cascades Mountain Range always gets a lot of snow, but the new year has gotten off to an especially snowy start.  Drew braved the elements to go visit them this weekend.  

Happy New Year.