Hwaseong Fortress

This blog should have been posted in January, but here it is now! :)


A few weeks ago we went to check out The Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon. It is about a 45 minute drive from where we live and we brought Pip along for the hike! The interesting thing about this Fortress is that it contains a city on the inside, instead of protecting the land like I have seen with many other ancient landmarks. Korea sure knows how to utilize their space. 


The Hwaseong Fortress was built in the late 18th century by King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty to honour and house the remains of his father Prince Sado, who had been murdered by being locked alive inside a rice chest by his own father King Yeongjo having failed to obey his command to commit suicide. (wikipedia)


And now for the photos:

 We had to take our shoes off through parts of the Fortress that they are trying to preserve:

A peephole to Korea! This is looking at the city surrounding the Fortress:

Zak and Pip getting snowed on!

 I don't know how many stairs we climbed this day, but it was definitely a lot to reach the top!

We all three got to ring the bell at the same time, you ring it three times, once for your parent's health, once for your family's good fortune, and once for yourself. It was pretty loud and Pip did not enjoy it as much as we did!

And finally King Jeongjo:

And something else interesting we saw as we were passing through the inner city was a car being steam washed! It gets so cold here that you don't get your car washed with water, but with steam instead. 

Thanks for reading xxx

Times Square in Korea

This past weekend Zak, Joe, and myself visited the Times Square in Yeongdeungpo. It is just south of the river in Seoul, and one train stop before Seoul Station. We haven't had the chance to visit "Times Square" yet (which ironically is not a square at all.. more like a group of 8 story buildings... but here in Korea you build UP not OUT!) and since we wanted to see the new movie "The Green Hornet" I knew that Yeongduengpo had a 4D theater to see it in. Probably the coolest thing about seeing movies in Korea is being able to see them in 4D. You have the water, wind, lazers, random punches in the back, etc. IT IS AWESOME. :)

When we got off the train in Yeongduengpo we had to walk a few blocks to get to Times Square, it was frigid cold and I didn't think about bringing an extra jacket layer over my thick sweater (silly me thinking I am in Florida). But when we entered the main building I discovered that apparently Times Square is the place to be on a Sunday afternoon...

I title this... how many people can you fit on an escalator? (Actually I need to photograph how many people can fit in an elevator.. you would be surprised!.. I have been in an elevator that wouldn't move due to having too much weight in it.)

Zak waiting in line at Smoothie King, it was so busy that you needed a pager.

OMG!! Auntie Anne's!!!!!! In Korea! This is the #1 thing I said that I missed from the states, a yummy soft pretzel from Auntie Anne's. Unfortunately I didn't eat one because I just had lunch, but I am totally going back to get one!!!!

Zak heading into the 4D theater!

After the movie we were heading out for some dinner and saw this neat statue..

And me walking to dinner (freezing my arse off)

And finally, here is our dinner (Joe I forgot what this was called please chime in in the comments and let me know the proper name!) It was pressure cooked chicken with noodles and vegetables, sooooo good:

Thanks for reading, we just visited the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, a blog to follow soon!!

xxxx

January in Korea = COLD.

Every time I have heard someone describe the winters in Korea they would always say that I have to experience it to know what they mean by "bone chilling cold". It is the type of cold that will creep into any layer of clothing and attach itself to your body no matter how hard you try to keep it out! Which is why today I am sitting happily inside our warm apartment typing this blog :)

Over this past weekend I have learned that water which is spraying from a faucet in the laundry room in every direction can in fact freeze in less than an hour. I spent all yesterday listening to icicles falling from the ceiling in our defrosting laundry room because somehow our Korean rigged washing machine hose decided to break loose. It was such a lovely thing to wake up to, especially because we just thought the noise was our neighbors taking a loud shower. :X

Luckily we had a friend of Zak's over this weekend who is Korean and he helped us accomplish all the things we have had trouble doing due to the language barrier. We managed to fix our washer in the right way this time, so hopefully we wont have any more water explosions. Joe (aka Zak's friend) also helped Zak get his Korean Immigration card which allows us to buy things online, since most Korean websites request a foreign ID number to purchase items like movie tickets, train tickets, pizza, etc. Joe also informed us of the great "bundle" deals Korea has for internet/cable/phone but we needed a Korean bank account to take advantage of the deal since they need direct deposit, so we signed up with the bank right downstairs in our building (how convenient!) So now we have digital cable with movie packages, high speed internet, and an internet phone all for a whopping 45,000KRW (about $40) woo hoo! 

Here is a photo of Joe, Zak and Pip when we were out looking for parts to hook up the washing machine:

Last night a bunch of friends and Zak's co-workers headed up to Seoul to enjoy some great Mexican food at On the Border. It was definitely worth the trip and the margaritas were aweeeeesome!

Here is one of me all bundled up in the negative degree weather outside of Seoul Station:

And the night ended with a yummy Soju Bowl:

So all is great in Korea-land, we are enjoying the fact that we don't have to move anytime soon.. considering we have moved every 6 months for the past 3 years. But I am definitely ready for it to warm up around here!!!

I will leave you with some awesome cell phone pictures that I uploaded that have been taken at various moments in the past 6 months:

Trying on some native wear at the Korean/American Friendship Festival

Some more shots of the Korean/American Friendship Festival

Crazy Crepes! I think this had tiramisu and ice cream in it

I was taking advantage of Zak while he was still recovering from his surgeries he he

This was some sort of Korean American Idol contest at the I'Park Mall in Seoul

Thanks for reading!!! xxx

Ringing in 2011!!

It is already the new year here in South Korea, and as I sit here watching the Times Square NYE bash I figured I would share some photos from our New Years Eve!! This year Zak and I decided to make a hat and jacket with EL (electroluminescent) wire and go out with our friends to celebrate! This wire is similar to the wire used in the outfits of the new movie "Tron". Its pretty neat, and lasts quite a long time. We got a lot of "DUDE YOUR JACKET IS AWESOME!!!!1111" and "ITS TRON" by people who were enjoying their NYE as well ;) The Korean women were the most interested in what we were wearing though and thought it was so neat!

Hold please- Times Square countdown...

And Happy New Year to the East Coast!

Ok on to the pictures:

Myself and some friends.. doing what everyone does best here in Korea-land... drinking!

Zak's NYE Jacket! It flashed between blue and red!

And a NYE Kiss!!! <3

******** HAPPY 2011 TO EVERYONE ACROSS THE WORLD! *********

Happy Holidays from the Moreland's!

So this past week Zak and I decided to embark on a mission... it was tough.. ups and downs.. cracks and crashes, hot moments, sticky moments.. you name it we went through it.

The mission sounded easy, but let me tell you.. making a ginger bread house from scratch is far from it. LOL

So here it is,

MISSION: GINGER BREAD HOUSE

There you have it, the 2010 Moreland Gingerbread house!!

And a picture of our festive living room...

Happy Holidays!! Thanks for reading xxx

Birthday Shenanigans!

So another birthday has passed for myself, now that I am 22 (or the deuce deuce as Zak calls it) and have successfully had a hang over on most weekends while 21.. it has dawned on me that well... I am 22 now. What do 22 year olds do? Must I sophisticate my wine palette? No more tequila shots?!

This is the first birthday that I have had that didn't include a countdown.. it just kind of came and went. Does this mean that I am getting *gasp* OLD? But no matter how old I get I can count on one thing, and that is being able to spend it with my husband.. whether he is in the same country as me or not, he always makes my birthday's memorable.

On my birthday weekend this year we decided to use some of our million billion gazillion Hilton points and book a room at the Millennium Hilton in Seoul. When we got to the Hilton I was so amazed with all of their beautiful holiday arrangements! This hotel was 5 stars in my book. After checking in and heading up to our room, we put the Dom Perignon on some ice and made our way to the executive lounge where we were greeted with appetizers and drinks, free of charge! (It pays to be a Diamond member!!!)

 Me in our hotel room! :)

After many lovely drinks in the lounge and hours of gazing out the window looking at beautiful Seoul Tower, it was time for dinner! The Millenium Hilton had about 5 restaurants, this place was more like a resort. We chose a wonderful French restaurant to eat at, where I had a serving of Monkfish, and Zak had Korea's version of Kobe Beef. We snapped a photo by the beautiful tree after dinner:

After dinner we went back to pop open our bottle of champagne!! I (understandably) after already enjoying happy hour and wine with dinner.. hit the pillow after only a glass! Here are some pictures:

(The only picture I got of Zak, and of coarse he is always goofin off! lol)

So onto the next day, my actual birthday. We set out to find the duty free shop hoping to get some items tax free since we are foreigners.. but apparently you have to have a plane ticket back home to actually receive the items because they are shipped to your gate before you board the plane. Hmph. So feeling a bit let down after that discovery we walked to the main level of this huge mall, only to find the exact store we tried to buy from up stairs right next to us! YAY! Only this time we had to pay taxes and the prices were jacked up from the products being imported.. but all is well because I am now the proud owner of a new set of black onyx earrings and toggle bracelet from Tiffany & Co. I told you my husband is the best didn't I?!

We walked around Apgujeong did a little more shopping, then went out to eat at TGI Friday's. Disappointedly there were no potato skins or fried green beans on the menu. :( The TGI Friday's in the states is definitely much better than what is offered in Korea. We did pass by an "On the Border" Mexican restaurant that landed in Korea, so we will have to try that one out soon and see if it is comparable to the one in the states. 

Zak at TGI Friday's

So there you have it, my birthday in a nutshell. I had an awesome time, and am really thankful for being able to spend it with Zak. I am one lucky girl to have such a loving husband.

Thanks for reading!

PS> Here is a picture of Zak getting kicked in the face by Kung Fu Panda!