LIVIN' THE DREAM...: South Korea 2017 Day 1 & 2

We started our 2017 summer break early. We took the kids out of school a couple of days before it ended and headed to the airport to catch our first of 4 flights on our trip. First stop….Korea!!!

We packed light for our 2 week adventure. Just carry-ons!

Airport employee’s and their cute outfits and hats.

And we’re off! Why didn’t anybody tell me I had food in my teeth?

It was such a turbulent flight that my cup of noodles almost tipped right over a couple of times. We did make it, safe and sound. As we got off the plane and entered the Incheon Airport, I can’t even describe the joy I felt to be there. One of my favorite companions on my mission was Sister Yu from Incheon South Korea. I listened to her introduce herself and state the name of her city several times a day during the 6 weeks we were together. I loved my time with her and I fell completely in love with the Korean culture and people as I spent time with my companion contacting and teaching Korean visitors to Temple Square. I never dreamed that one day I would actually be in Incheon South Korea! My heart was filled with pure joy! To top off the incredible way I was feeling, I caught Aidan and Arabella holding hands while riding on the escalator!

A few airport pics…funky bathroom!

There was a Krispy Kreme in the airport. First Krispy Kreme donut in 2 years! It’s the little things.

We had our first real Korean bulgogi and it was awesome!

We took a military shuttle to the base and settled into our room at the Dragon Hill Lodge in Seoul.

Things we noticed immediately about Korea: They drive on the right side of the road like they do in the states…opposite of Japan. They have big cars like they do in the states…opposite of Japan. They have trashcans everywhere like they do in the states…opposite of Japan. Also, they seemed a lot more technologically advanced than even Japan! Right off the bat we were really loving Korea. Something Korea has in common with Japan? The instructions of how to properly use a western toilet.

Next day, we got right to being tourists and hopped a train to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Half the adventure on our trips is figuring out how to get where we want to go.

This was our first train experience in Korea and it was the best introduction to the Korean people. They LOVE kids! Everywhere we went they counted our kids, smiled at them, tried to talk to them and so many times they told us how blessed we are. This lady on our first train was so sweet. She kept talking to Aidan and rubbing his arm.

She loved on Eva too.

She was the sweetest!

We arrived at Gyeongbokgung.

It was beautiful and fun to see all of the people in traditional Korean dress, taking pictures.

The details on this temple were amazing!

Once we were done admiring this palace, we made our way to a traditional village called Bukchon Hanok Village. I loved seeing the traditional villages on Mainland Japan and this Korean village was just as awesome! Of course, the path to get there led us through a very touristy street which was so much fun!

We stopped and tried these liquid nitrogen balls. We were cracking up!

Yeah, that was a great moment. So, then we started walking through this beautiful village…

About 5 minutes in to our exploration, Eva urgently needed to go potty because, real life. Of course, there is no bathroom anywhere because we are in the middle of a residential area so we had to cut our exploring way short and find a way out of there and to a bathroom. I tried my best to get pictures as we frantically found our way back to tourist-ville.

Yes, I made them stop for one last picture while praying Eva could hold it for another minute. Once in a lifetime opportunity, people!

We made it out and Eva made it to the bathroom(hallelujah!)

On to our next adventure of day one. It was a busy day! We went to Seoul Tower.

They do this thing there called “Locks of Love” where you go with those you love, write a message on a lock and then lock it onto a fence. It was a sight to see!