Sunday was a day full of great sights, food, and friends. Max (Yoon-Soo) and Anes took us to Deoksugung Palace (pic), an amazing palace (mid-1400s) and forested grounds in the middle of downtown Seoul. The Koreans are known for the “harmony of the old and new,” and we witnessed this phenomenon many times in Seoul. We then took the subway (very clean, fast, and cheap) south to Chongmuro area for a traditional Korean lunch (pic). We ate a stew of boiled mackarel and another specialty dish consisted of long-dried and salted mackarel that was then fried. The side dishes, especially kim-chi and a “healthy” broth with algae, were wonderful. We ate so much that we rested at the restaurant some time before walking through Korea House, a place that many tour groups visit and where some traditional weddings are held; the photo shows a group of women preparing for a ceremony, which we did not witness.

Afterwards, we took a cab to Namdeamun Market where Anes and Max purchased a traditional Korean dress for Maya’s first birthday. This market is famous for just about every kind of ware and negotiating that occurs there. We took another cab to the base of Namsan Mountain, which was packed with mostly Koreans out for exercise. Since the cable car line was ~1-1/2 hour long, we walked up the road (pic) and various stone stairs to the top of the mountain where the N Seoul Tower rises 360 m above the region. We could see most of Seoul from the tower’s observation deck.

We took the bus down the mountain into Seoul and walked north to a traditional Korean restaurant. Max ordered Pam curdled bean (tofu) soup with bibimbab and me bulgogi. It was another wonderful meal with our friends. Oh, we also had soju, a traditional Korean liquor made from potatoes, with dinner; the drink was light, strong, and “refreshing,” but I’m not sure that Pam would agree about the refreshing part!

Overall, we had a great day with friends who have become Maya’s surrogate grandparents in Korea, and we didn’t take long to fall asleep last night! Our sleeping schedule is getting better; we got up at ~5:30 today… in anticipation of meeting Maya today!!!!!!