Seoul recap, what we did, and what we ate

Sharing a recap of what we did in Seoul, the place we stayed, and my ideas on the entire expertise. The nutshell model: I CAN’T WAIT to return.

Hello buddies! How are you? I hope you had an incredible weekend! We simply caught up with home stuff right here, lastly recovered from jet lag (I used to be barely jet lagged once we obtained there, however ended up driving the battle bus once we got here dwelling), and met up with some buddies.

I’m so excited to share some recap posts on our journeys with you!

Right here’s a listing of what I’ve deliberate in order that after they go reside, I can add the hyperlinks to this submit.

Seoul recap, what we did and what we ate (this submit)

Tokyo and Kyoto itinerary and ideas for journey

What we ate in Japan

My Korean Head Spa expertise

Seoul recap, what we did, and what we ate

Earlier than I get began, I wished to start with an apology.

To my buddies in South Korea and Japan, I used to be ignorant, and now I do know. I had NO CLUE how a lot I’d been lacking out. The women picked the places for this journey, and I figured it might be one thing that I loved, however it wasn’t my first alternative for a trip. (I’d be blissful repeating least 12 months’s 5+ weeks in Spain journey.) I didn’t count on to fall in love with these locations, however I completely did. This journey completely modified my life. I’ll share extra in my Japan submit, however these locations didn’t really feel like totally different international locations… they felt like totally different worlds.

The folks in Seoul had been SO sort and beautiful. The meals was unimaginable. It felt so very secure, and there was a lot to do. We might have doubled our time there and been blissful. The humorous factor is that we had the chance to be stationed in Korea a number of instances throughout Tom’s army profession. All of our buddies who lived there beloved it, and now I perceive why.

We flew from Phoenix to San Francisco, after which direct from SFO to Seoul. The flight was lengthy – about 12 1/2 hours – however I managed to nap on and off (the ladies stayed unsleeping the entire time) and we landed at about 3pm. I believe that is the proper time to land in a brand new nation as a result of your resort room is prepared, so in case you’re completely wrecked and wish a nap, you possibly can. You don’t must wander round and wait till your room is prepared.

We knew that it might be a low-key day, so we checked into the resort and got down to discover. We stayed on the RYSE Autograph Assortment resort and I might 100% advocate it for the superb location, facilities, and eating choices. (I booked every thing utilizing our Amex platinum. My referral link is here!)

It was surrounded by nice eating places and outlets, and simple to get round.

I didn’t take a pic however the rest room had an infinite waterfall bathe with nice water strain.

We had been shocked to see complete streets stuffed with little kiosks and cute outlets only a block away from the resort.

We explored and met our new skincare bestie at TONYMOLY and P was exhausted, to we went again to the resort whereas Tom and Liv grabbed dinner. All of us slept by means of the evening and had been totally set the subsequent day!

We did quite a bit whereas we had been in Seoul, however listed below are a few of the highlights.

Lotte World

Lotte World is a gigantic indoor and outside theme park. Liv instructed this one – she added her concepts to our journey planning spreadsheet – and we had a blast. We joked that it was like a speakeasy. It’s many ranges and fairly a number of sights appear to be hidden, however there was a lot to do. It additionally blew my thoughts that obtained 4 tickets with 3 skip the road passes for every of us and the overall was $200. (I used Journey.com to e book.)

I didn’t take a pic of the skin however image a citadel, numerous curler coasters, a drop journey, and many outlets and meals stands.

We did all the finest rides – they’ve a mixture of rides for youthful kiddos and extra thrilling rides and coasters for older children and adults – and spent the complete day there. Journey to Atlantis was AMAZING; positively one in all my high theme park rides.

Baseball sport and Korean BBQ

We spent a whole day buying and exploring, and that night, we went on a tour with an English talking information to Korean BBQ

and a Dusan Bears baseball sport.

Baseball is HUGE in Seoul and a real cultural expertise. Every hitter has their very own chant and cheer, and the complete enviornment is dancing and cheering. The baseball meals is subsequent stage, too. They bought beers with an the wrong way up baseball cap that was stuffed with shrimp – it regarded SO good- along with tteokbokki, cheese and meat skewers, tons of actual meals choices. You can even usher in your individual meals and drinks; so totally different from the States the place they power to you go inside to purchase $8 bottles of water.

Head spa and petting zoo

The pinnacle spa will likely be receiving its personal submit, however it was a spotlight of the journey! Whereas I used to be having the most effective spa experiences of my life, the Pilot and the kiddos went to a petting zoo the place they had been in a position to maintain raccoons and pet meerkats.

Residing the dream:

Purchasing at Olive Younger

In case you go to Seoul, buying at Olive Younger is a should. You’ll be able to top off on all the finest Ok magnificence merchandise at wonderful costs. It’s like an infinite Sephora with rows of skincare and cosmetics… all the very best stuff. I used to be anxious we wouldn’t discover an Olive Younger or it might be onerous to get to, however they’re in every single place. We had three places proper by our resort.

Gluten-free eating in Seoul

On this journey, I attempted my finest to eat gluten-free as intently as potential, however understood that it may be very troublesome – not every thing is labeled – and accepted that there can be some wheat in sauces and condiments. Additionally as a result of I don’t communicate the language, I didn’t need to be troublesome to attempt to modify the meals.

I’ve been strict gluten-free for 3 years for the autoimmune stuff and it’s made an incredible distinction for me, and P has been gluten-free for the previous 12 months. (She was crimson on her IgG check and she or he used to have unhealthy abdomen ache and joint ache, which has resolved since we lower it out.) I instructed her we’d simply do our greatest as a result of fortunately we’re not allergic to gluten, however we’d most likely have some in sauces, and many others.

We had been in a position to eat at two 100% gluten-free eating places in Seoul: Sunnyhouse and Monli2. Each had been A+ experiences.. higher than any of the gluten-free choices I’ve had in Tucson.

Sunnyhouse gluten-free restaurant in Seoul, Korea

Sunnyhouse has breakfast all day, sandwiches, platters and desserts. It’s type of a hidden location however is extraordinarily cute inside.

P had a fluffy nutella waffle, a grilled cheese,

and I had the Mediterranean plate. I might eat this on daily basis. The bread was SO mushy and fluffy. Why do US eating places have such a tough time making good gluten-free bread???

Monli2 gluten-free restaurant in Seoul, Korea

Monli2 has CHURROS, pizza, sandwiches, and baked goodies. I ordered a pesto pizza and it critically the most effective gf pizzas I’ve had in my life (#1 is Italy, #2 is that this one, and #3 is NYC).

I knew that I might eat totally different meals whereas we had been in Korea and Japan and the complete time we had been gone, I felt wonderful. My power was nice, I didn’t get a abdomen ache from something, and the meals had been all so extremely contemporary and scrumptious.

Our resort had an enormous breakfast buffet every day and you would get American breakfast staples (like fruits, pastries, eggs, potatoes, bacon and juice) in addition to custom Korean gadgets, like kimchi, beef bulgogi, fried rice, pickled veggies, and many others.

Ideas for visiting and issues we seen:

– Undoubtedly study a handful of phrases however Google translate generally is a useful gizmo. I used to be stunned to search out that fairly a number of folks spoke English, and when ordering at kiosks, it’s simple to modify the language to English. The women know so many Korean phrases so that they had been in a position to assist us out.

– The bus and subways are very clear and environment friendly, however we ended up utilizing Uber to get round. It was far inexpensive to get round than it’s within the states. We favored Uber as a substitute of conventional taxis as a result of you possibly can enter the situation – no language limitations this manner – and you may see the precise fare.

You can even get a Local weather Card or T Cash card for limitless passes for transportation in case you determine to make use of public transport.

– Carry a little bit trash bag with you. Public trash cans aren’t in every single place, so you might have to hold trash with you till you could find a trash can. Don’t assume that each one trash cans are public; it might be owned by a retailer.

– Don’t stroll and eat. It’s unhealthy manners, so in case you get a meal or snack, simply cease and revel in it earlier than persevering with on. I charge like this can be a higher technique to eat anyway! In case your nervous system is calm, you’ll have a greater time digesting your meals.

– Google maps doesn’t work. We used Naver as a substitute to get round. Google transit points earlier than utilizing Naver for public transportation. You must get these on public alerts when you’re there, however it’s good to confirm earlier than hopping on public transit.

– Tipping shouldn’t be a factor in Seoul, however you possibly can add compliments in Uber.

– Name your cellphone supplier earlier than leaving to arrange a world plan. We normally do that earlier than we journey in order that we will have voice and information. We use AT&T and it routinely prompts as soon as it detects that we’re in a distinct nation they usually supply offers; Liv’s cellphone was half off whereas we had been there.

– Korean Air! That is what we used to get to Tokyo, and it was an elite expertise. Ticket costs had been very cheap,

– Take your sneakers off in your resort room. Often they’ll have little slides by the door that you may put on.

– Go away your shampoo and conditioner at dwelling. Pack LIGHTLY on the toiletries as a result of you will discover higher stuff there and the shampoo and conditioner within the resort will likely be wonderful high quality.

– Korea makes use of European retailers. I’ve had these converters for years and introduced them on this journey. They work for laptops and telephones however don’t plug your hair dryer or styling device into these! The most effective guess is to purchase a hair device there, go to go spa or get a blow out someplace (!), or let it air dry and do some sock curls.

– You’ll be able to’t carry CBD to Korea. I’m glad I researched this beforehand and left my beloved gummies at dwelling. I introduced melatonin however didn’t find yourself needing it. There are additionally some medicines which are prescribed right here that aren’t allowed in Korea, so examine the laws earlier than you go.

In case you’re headed to Seoul anytime quickly, you’re in for a deal with 🙂 I’m right here if I can assist with any questions and I’ll be again with my head spa recap tomorrow!
xo

Gina