Seoul recap, what we did, and what we ate

Sharing a recap of what we did in Seoul, the place we stayed, and my ideas on the entire expertise. The nutshell model: I CAN’T WAIT to return.

Hello buddies! How are you? I hope you had an incredible weekend! We simply caught up with home stuff right here, lastly recovered from jet lag (I used to be barely jet lagged after we acquired there, however ended up using the battle bus after we got here house), and met up with some buddies.

I’m so excited to share some recap posts on our journeys with you!

Right here’s an inventory of what I’ve deliberate in order that after they go reside, I can add the hyperlinks to this publish.

Seoul recap, what we did and what we ate (this publish)

Tokyo and Kyoto itinerary and ideas for journey

What we ate in Japan

My Korean Head Spa expertise

Seoul recap, what we did, and what we ate

Earlier than I get began, I wished to start with an apology.

To my buddies in South Korea and Japan, I used to be ignorant, and now I do know. I had NO CLUE how a lot I’d been lacking out. The women picked the places for this journey, and I figured it will be one thing that I loved, however it wasn’t my first alternative for a trip. (I’d be joyful repeating least 12 months’s 5+ weeks in Spain journey.) I didn’t anticipate to fall in love with these locations, however I completely did. This journey completely modified my life. I’ll share extra in my Japan publish, however these locations didn’t really feel like completely different nations… they felt like completely different worlds.

The folks in Seoul had been SO form and wonderful. The meals was unimaginable. It felt so very secure, and there was a lot to do. We might have doubled our time there and been joyful. The humorous factor is that we had the chance to be stationed in Korea a number of instances throughout Tom’s army profession. All of our buddies who lived there liked it, and now I perceive why.

We flew from Phoenix to San Francisco, after which direct from SFO to Seoul. The flight was lengthy – about 12 1/2 hours – however I managed to nap on and off (the ladies stayed wakeful the entire time) and we landed at about 3pm. I feel that is the right time to land in a brand new nation as a result of your resort room is prepared, so when you’re completely wrecked and want a nap, you possibly can. You don’t need to wander round and wait till your room is prepared.

We knew that it will be a low-key day, so we checked into the resort and got down to discover. We stayed on the RYSE Autograph Assortment resort and I might 100% advocate it for the wonderful location, facilities, and eating choices. (I booked all the things utilizing our Amex platinum. My referral link is here!)

It was surrounded by nice eating places and retailers, and straightforward to get round.

I didn’t take a pic however the rest room had an infinite waterfall bathe with nice water strain.

We had been shocked to see whole streets full of little kiosks and cute retailers only a block away from the resort.

We explored and met our new skincare bestie at TONYMOLY and P was exhausted, to we went again to the resort whereas Tom and Liv grabbed dinner. All of us slept by means of the night time and had been totally set the following day!

We did loads whereas we had been in Seoul, however listed here are a number of the highlights.

Lotte World

Lotte World is a gigantic indoor and outside theme park. Liv instructed this one – she added her concepts to our journey planning spreadsheet – and we had a blast. We joked that it was like a speakeasy. It’s many ranges and fairly just a few sights appear to be hidden, however there was a lot to do. It additionally blew my thoughts that acquired 4 tickets with 3 skip the road passes for every of us and the whole was $200. (I used Journey.com to ebook.)

I didn’t take a pic of the surface however image a citadel, numerous curler coasters, a drop trip, and many retailers and meals stands.

We did all the greatest rides – they’ve a mixture of rides for youthful kiddos and extra thrilling rides and coasters for older children and adults – and spent all the day there. Journey to Atlantis was AMAZING; positively one in all my prime theme park rides.

Baseball sport and Korean BBQ

We spent a complete day buying and exploring, and that night, we went on a tour with an English talking information to Korean BBQ

and a Dusan Bears baseball sport.

Baseball is HUGE in Seoul and a real cultural expertise. Every hitter has their very own chant and cheer, and all the enviornment is dancing and cheering. The baseball meals is subsequent stage, too. They offered beers with an the wrong way up baseball cap that was full of shrimp – it appeared SO good- along with tteokbokki, cheese and meat skewers, tons of actual meals choices. You can too usher in your personal meals and drinks; so completely different from the States the place they pressure to you go inside to purchase $8 bottles of water.

Head spa and petting zoo

The top spa might be receiving its personal publish, however it was a spotlight of the journey! Whereas I used to be having the most effective spa experiences of my life, the Pilot and the kiddos went to a petting zoo the place they had been capable of maintain raccoons and pet meerkats.

Dwelling the dream:

Purchasing at Olive Younger

When you go to Seoul, buying at Olive Younger is a should. You may top off on all the greatest Ok magnificence merchandise at superb costs. It’s like an infinite Sephora with rows of skincare and cosmetics… all one of the best stuff. I used to be frightened we wouldn’t discover an Olive Younger or it will be arduous to get to, however they’re in all places. We had three places proper by our resort.

Gluten-free eating in Seoul

On this journey, I attempted my greatest to eat gluten-free as carefully as potential, however understood that it may be very troublesome – not all the things is labeled – and accepted that there can be some wheat in sauces and condiments. Additionally as a result of I don’t communicate the language, I didn’t need to be troublesome to attempt to modify the meals.

I’ve been strict gluten-free for 3 years for the autoimmune stuff and it’s made an amazing distinction for me, and P has been gluten-free for the previous 12 months. (She was purple on her IgG take a look at and she or he used to have unhealthy abdomen ache and joint ache, which has resolved since we reduce it out.) I advised her we’d simply do our greatest as a result of fortunately we’re not allergic to gluten, however we’d in all probability have some in sauces, and so forth.

We had been capable of eat at two 100% gluten-free eating places in Seoul: Sunnyhouse and Monli2. Each had been A+ experiences.. higher than any of the gluten-free choices I’ve had in Tucson.

Sunnyhouse gluten-free restaurant in Seoul, Korea

Sunnyhouse has breakfast all day, sandwiches, platters and desserts. It’s form of a hidden location however is extraordinarily cute inside.

P had a fluffy nutella waffle, a grilled cheese,

and I had the Mediterranean plate. I might eat this on daily basis. The bread was SO comfortable and fluffy. Why do US eating places have such a tough time making good gluten-free bread???

Monli2 gluten-free restaurant in Seoul, Korea

Monli2 has CHURROS, pizza, sandwiches, and baked goodies. I ordered a pesto pizza and it significantly the most effective gf pizzas I’ve had in my life (#1 is Italy, #2 is that this one, and #3 is NYC).

I knew that I might eat completely different meals whereas we had been in Korea and Japan and all the time we had been gone, I felt superb. My vitality was nice, I didn’t get a abdomen ache from something, and the meals had been all so extremely recent and scrumptious.

Our resort had an enormous breakfast buffet every day and you could possibly get American breakfast staples (like fruits, pastries, eggs, potatoes, bacon and juice) in addition to custom Korean objects, like kimchi, beef bulgogi, fried rice, pickled veggies, and so forth.

Suggestions for visiting and issues we observed:

– Positively study a handful of phrases however Google translate could be a useful gizmo. I used to be shocked to search out that fairly just a few folks spoke English, and when ordering at kiosks, it’s simple to change the language to English. The women know so many Korean phrases in order that they had been capable of assist us out.

– The bus and subways are very clear and environment friendly, however we ended up utilizing Uber to get round. It was far inexpensive to get round than it’s within the states. We appreciated Uber as a substitute of conventional taxis as a result of you possibly can enter the situation – no language obstacles this fashion – and you may see the precise fare.

You can too get a Local weather Card or T Cash card for limitless passes for transportation when you determine to make use of public transport.

– Carry just a little trash bag with you. Public trash cans should not in all places, so you’ll have to hold trash with you till you could find a trash can. Don’t assume that each one trash cans are public; it could be owned by a retailer.

– Don’t stroll and eat. It’s unhealthy manners, so when you get a meal or snack, simply cease and revel in it earlier than persevering with on. I payment like it is a higher method to eat anyway! In case your nervous system is calm, you’ll have a greater time digesting your meals.

– Google maps doesn’t work. We used Naver as a substitute to get round. Google transit points earlier than utilizing Naver for public transportation. You must get these on public alerts when you’re there, however it’s good to confirm earlier than hopping on public transit.

– Tipping will not be a factor in Seoul, however you possibly can add compliments in Uber.

– Name your telephone supplier earlier than leaving to arrange a world plan. We often do that earlier than we journey in order that we are able to have voice and knowledge. We use AT&T and it mechanically prompts as soon as it detects that we’re in a distinct nation and so they provide offers; Liv’s telephone was half off whereas we had been there.

– Korean Air! That is what we used to get to Tokyo, and it was an elite expertise. Ticket costs had been very affordable,

– Take your sneakers off in your resort room. Often they’ll have little slides by the door which you could put on.

– Go away your shampoo and conditioner at house. Pack LIGHTLY on the toiletries as a result of you’ll discover higher stuff there and the shampoo and conditioner within the resort might be superb high quality.

– Korea makes use of European retailers. I’ve had these converters for years and introduced them on this journey. They work for laptops and telephones however don’t plug your hair dryer or styling device into these! The most effective guess is to purchase a hair device there, go to go spa or get a blow out someplace (!), or let it air dry and do some sock curls.

– You may’t deliver CBD to Korea. I’m glad I researched this beforehand and left my beloved gummies at house. I introduced melatonin however didn’t find yourself needing it. There are additionally some drugs which are prescribed right here that aren’t allowed in Korea, so verify the laws earlier than you go.

When you’re headed to Seoul anytime quickly, you’re in for a deal with 🙂 I’m right here if I may help with any questions and I’ll be again with my head spa recap tomorrow!
xo

Gina