Friday

June 13, 2025

I'm writing this at about 5:30 on Friday afternoon. We just made it back to our Airbnb which means we lasted longer today than we did yesterday! Jordan was struggling. Jet lag hit him much harder than he was expecting. And poor Luke was working from about midnight to 4 last night. All his clients are awake while we are sleeping, so he just powered through. Not sure how long that will last!

Today we went to Myeondong Street Market. It was recommended by some Americans we met yesterday and was mentioned on several travel websites I read. I'll be honest. I didn't love it. There were hundreds of shops and the streets were pulsing with energy. But that meant the streets were also jam packed with people (with cars still trying to drive through!!) and I had sensory overload. I was hoping to try some street food, but we never even made it that far.

We stopped for lunch at a tiny little Korean barbecue restaurant. I tried to request a couple things in Korean, but the waiter looked at me like I had lost my mind. Aiden said that my Korean must be way too broken for him to understand. He's probably right. Aiden and I both ordered meats that had to be grilled right at the table. We also had to use chopsticks which Aiden and I aren't used to doing. But we did it! Jordan looked at us and laughed as we clumsily tried picking up our food with the chopsticks. I think the whole family agrees that Luke and Jordan are the most Korean in the group. I might know some of the language, but Luke and Jordan love the food, adore the country, and both would stay here forever if they could. Aiden and I are more American (well, obviously I am!) as we prefer American food and are going through a little bit of culture shock.

After lunch we went to a cat cafe. What an experience that was! We were surprised when we had to pay an entry fee. It wasn't outrageously expensive, but was more than we expected. The entry fee granted us unlimited specialty drinks and access to a couple of large rooms filled with about 40-50 cats. At 1:30 a gong was rung and all the cats came running. They each sat in a little cubby inside "The Delicious Hotel" and they were fed. It was adorable. We were each assigned a little locker to put our stuff and to store our shoes. We had to change into slippers. When I went to the bathroom I discovered that I had to take off my cat room slippers and change into bathroom slippers. The whole experience was just delightful and made me want to have another cat. Jordan- if you are reading this, don't get your hopes up! It would take a lot for me to get another pet!

After the cat cafe we got back on the subway and then on a bus to go up Nasam mountain to see the Seoul Tower. It was cloudy so the pictures didn't turn out great, but the views were outstanding. Seoul is massive. Evidently Seoul Tower is a common scene in Korean dramas which has made it become a romantic destination. There were little private seating areas that couples could rent for an hour. How cute is that?

After about 8 hours of adventures, we wearily made it back to our little apartment. It's raining outside now, so we made it back just in time. The pictures are in all mixed up order. I was trying to rearrange them, but my brain is just too tired. Enjoy the pictures!