Saturday, November 3, 2007

Changdeokgung Palace

So today was loads of fun. Like I said yesterday I made plans with the Burtons to have lunch and go to a palace. Sister Burton called me this morning and planned on going to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Well plans changed and we decided to go to Changdeokgung Palace because it was the Palace with the Secret Gardens. President Burton joined us today, and he found a friend on the subway. It was funny because he was fascinated by Brinn, always took pictures of us, and kept trying to give us directions. Most of the time in the wrong way, but Sister Burton knew where she was going, and corrected him if he was wrong. She did let him guide some though. It was funny. He was President Burtons best friend all day. The Palace was amazing! It makes anything structure in America just look simple minded. There was court yards, King and Queen headquarters, palaces for the King's "Loving Concubines" (I loved the wording it was like it almost made it okay), gardens everywhere, and much more! The detail on the buildings where amazing! I swear that the people who used to live in those palaces had to be completely toned because the steps were huge! I don't know why, but since arriving here I have had this fascination with tree's and anything grassy. Probably because no one has yards here, but the tour was full of tree's, and plants, etc. So I was fixated on the scenery. I know weird. Anyways our tour was in English. I swear I have never seen that many people who speak English the whole time I have been here, and neither have the Burtons. It was funny to listen to what they were saying just because I could understand. Oh how I missed understanding people, and the joys of eavesdropping. I just liked listening to English I think. Well the tour was kinda lengthy in some parts, but for the most part it was really cool. Sister Burton took pictures every chance she got, and it made me laugh. She is so funny, and she did get some pretty good shots, and made sure that I got pictures too. I loved the secret garden. It was soo gorgeous. It was hilarious when Sister Burton saw the pond she was all "ooow water" Brinn kind of gave her a hard time because she acted like she had never seen water before. It really was "ooow" though. It was amazing to see. It was very picturesque. Something that you would see on a post card. Well after the tour we went to Insadong, and departed from our friend. Heejung had told me to go to Insadong because it was a major part of Seoul, and it was way fun. Basically its like a big street fair, but 24/7. There are tons of shops, and restaurants, and people everywhere. The shops were crazy, and fun. I love the randomness of the shops here. You can go from scarfs to key chains to antiques in seconds. We had dinner at a restaurant there. We had Bulgogi. It was tasty. Once again took me forever to eat with the chopstick though. Its okay I am going to be a master. I had tons of fun with the Burtons, and Brinn. Brinn & I both agreed that it was fun to have a friend to share stuff like this with. I also said that I would really like to see the World Cup Stadium. I thought that I was the only nerd who wanted to see it, but I guess Brinn wants to see it too. Yes! We all went home after dinner. I didn't think I was tired, but the second I got home I crashed. Now it's 11 pm and I am wired. I don't know what I am going to do with myself now. Well here are some pictures. In a crazy random order. Enjoy!
Me & our Guide
(I don't think she knew I wanted a picture with her)
Me & Brinn peacen it up

a court yard
some stairs
The Palace
Me, Brinn, Sis. Burton
Yours Truly
I wanna get in.
Me on the Steps
A Palace view
That's
The Secret Garden Me at Secret Garden
Streets of Insadong In Insadong Okay now I am tired that was exhausting!

1 comment:

BrittanyB said...

ya for all the pictures! looks like a neat place ;)