Seoul Food

Happy Thursday everyone! :)

Going back a bit because I wanted to share some of the foods that my friends and I ate while exploring around Seoul.

Bingsoo--a popular summer snack in Korea that comes in a variety of flavors and styles. Not going to lie, but we had some type of bingsoo every day that we were in Seoul :)

Kinako bingsoo

For only 2,000 won in Hongdae

Fancy bingsoo at a cute cafe in Insadong

Crispy and thin outside with ice cream and chocolate syrup inside :) I didn't see this snack a lot, but it was located on one of the side streets in Hyewa

Fruit smoothies in a cute little cafe! They even let you write down song requests and played them ^^

Make-your-own ice cream at Ma Creme in Hongdae

Because a visit to Korea wouldn't be complete without eating bibimbap. Multiple times :)

Mul-naengmyeon (cold noodles in a chilled broth). Perfect to combat against the heat, although the spicy sauce was a lot more than hot and spicy!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week :)

Hyewa Mural Village: Color Rehab

Happy Friday everyone :)

Another post from my trip to Korea! While looking up various places in Seoul, I stumbled upon a suggestion to visit Hyewa Mural Village. Turns out that this small village was only a twenty minute walk from our hostel! The various murals that locals and visitors see are the finished (and ongoing) products from local artists who participated in a project to revitalize the quaint neighborhood area. This village has since become a more popular tourist attraction and because of this, I decided to go back again the next day before anyone else came :D In addition to seeing the murals alone, I also ventured up to Seoul City Wall. The further you walk in, the less outside noise you hear as you lose yourself in the many paintings that line the streets or peek out from corners...

We started our way up the stairs and were already impressed by the mural that lined the entire wall.

An ongoing project? 

If these two cuties and the pink bike don't brighten up your day as you walk past, I don't know what will.

Invisible chair! :) 

I thought this was a wonderful idea. While most of the writings were in hangul, there were still quite a handful written in English. 

Flower tile mosaic. I've always wondered how people make these when you take angles and the height of the stairs into consideration..

Many photographs depicting this newly revitalized area were hung around the village as a sort of portfolio and I couldn't resist snapping a few ^^

This was one of the most popular murals since people can stand right in front  of the angel wings to get their picture taken :)

Continued to walk past the village and followed the road and the Seoul City Wall that was built around Seoul at the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty.

Didn't walk down this path, but it looked so peaceful ^^

When I got to the top, I was rewarded with a panoramic view of Seoul :)

Thank you so much for reading! ^^ I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Soft Lights: Dusk in Hongdae

Happy Monday everyone! :)

Hongdae is always lively and nonstop, but when the sun is setting and a soft glow is cast over the streets and buildings, it sets the tone for a different atmosphere.

Lit stores always remind me of Christmas lights :) Maybe that's why I love seeing them during dusk...

Mobile bar? Yep, they have everything.

Dinner! We ate at a nice restaurant on one of the side streets and had the entire second floor to ourselves ^^

Breakfast panini with eggs, cheese and bacon. Breakfast is good at any time of the day in my book :)

Stopped at an ice cream store called Ma Creme where we could create our own ice cream bar! We choose from an assortment of toppings, chocolate flavors and watched as the guys put it together for us ^^

Vanilla ice cream bar dipped in dark chocolate with a white chocolate drizzle, shredded coconut, orange and cacao bits. Totally worth the 5,000 won (about five dollars) :D

Thank you so much for reading ^^ I hope you have a wonderful week!

Bukchon Hanok Village: A Walk into the Past

Happy Friday everyone! :)

Just wanted to share our day from Bukchon Hanok Village ^^ I love exploring around traditional neighborhoods (Gion will always be one of my favorite places in Kyoto) and this village located between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace is no exception. Various alleys of these traditional houses provide visitors with an abundance of options to walk through. During the Joseon Dynasty, many noblemen and royal family members lived in here and it has since become a popular filming location for TV dramas and movies due to its traditional appearance.

The entrance to Seoul's famous traditional neighborhood

Don't see these types of doorknobs on a daily basis so it was a good photo opportunity.

We offered to take a photo for a family so in return, the father offered to take a picture of us :)

Quick mini break before walking up the remainder of the hill.

We were lucky enough to be able to go inside one of the houses which had been converted into a small museum for visitors.

I don't know what those poles are called for taking selfies, but they were EXTREMELY popular with locals and tourists. 

I managed to snap a quick photo of one of the houses before the doors were closed.

The view of the city was stunning--it was a shame that we weren't able to make it there before the crowds!

Recently, homeowners have been complaining about the noise level from visitors so in response to that, we saw a lot of these signs.

Not going to lie, those stairs were pretty steep...

View of part of the neighborhood from--yes, you probably already guessed it--another cafe.

Do you know of any traditional neighborhoods in your home countries? I would love to hear! :) Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!