Hanging out at Gyeongbuk Palace
It is safe to say I have the world's best sister! She finished up three years teaching in China, and decided to stop by Korea for a bit over a week before heading back home to the U.S. It was so great to see her again! Unfortunately I had to work during the week, so we mostly just hung out in the evenings in Daegu, going to dinner, watching a light show at one of the lakes, and celebrating the Fourth of July on the local U.S. army base Camp Walker. We then headed to Seoul for the weekend, staying in Hongdae. We got in quite late Friday night, so we just went to I Am Makgeolli to drink some makgeolli and eat haemul pajeon. Shanna wasn't a huge fan of the drink, but she did enjoy the pajeon.
Saturday we started fairly early. We had a scrumptious American style breakfast at a restaurant near our hostel. I got a french toast set complete with eggs, hash browns, bacon and sausage. And Shanna got a blueberry waffle. Everything was so good and tasted like something I could get back home. And the chef, who I assume is also the owner, was so sweet. Then we headed to Gyeongbuk Palace, arriving just in time to catch the tail end of the changing of the guards.
A great group for my birthday festivities.
For my birthday, I gathered up my friends for a delicious dinner at La Luce, a "contemporary European cuisine" restaurant in Daegu. I had never been to the restaurant, but read a glowing review about it in the local magazine, Daegu Compass, so I figured I'd give it a try. I was pleased with the decision the moment I sat down at the table! The restaurant served up proper bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. Something that is such a staple elsewhere in the world is certainly not a common occurrence in Korea's restaurants. I would have been content just munching on the delicious bread alone. But my meal was spectacular, so I'm glad I got that too. I enjoyed a hamburger with a blueberry sauce. Hard to explain, and weird in theory, but oh-so-delicious once it hits the palate. It was certainly the best burger I have had in Korea.
After dinner (and a quick stop at Cold Stone to indulge in their ever delightful Mud Pie Mojo mix) we headed to a multibang, which is a room with multiple forms of entertainment, like DVDs, video games and karaoke all in one spot. It was the first time I have been to one, but certainly not the last time I will go. I had so much fun. We did a little Mario Kart racing, karaoking, and my favorite part, Just Dance game dancing. I had never played the game before. It was such a good time. I thoroughly loved dancing to the songs and trying to get a high score. Now I really want a Wii and the game so I can do it at home! It was a really great evening filled with good food, good laughs and good friends. I had such a wonderful time hanging out with the wonderful people around me.
Mud wrestling!
Who knew playing in mud could be so much fun?
On Friday, July 19, I went to the Chicken and Beer Festival in Daegu, which turned out to be pretty decent. The festival offered up to six (six!) glasses of beer for free, of which I only drank two. And I also grabbed some tasty chicken. It was a pretty good time, but I didn't stay at the festival too long.
Saturday I headed to Boryeong for the famous mud festival. It was such a blast! I absolutely loved playing in the mud and covering my body from head to toe. We got to the festival fairly late, so we didn't have a lot of time in the actual activity area with slides and obstacle courses. But we did have enough time to do some mud wrestling. It was so fun to splash around and tackle each other in the mud pit. I've always wanted to join in some mud wrestling action, so I was so excited to cross that off the bucket list. And I also got to cross partying on a beach--complete with a water cannon "misting" us with water as a DJ rocked some beats--off of my bucket list. It was such a great time! After that we swam in the ocean for a bit. It was a pretty strong current, but the stretch of sandy beach was huge! Probably one of the biggest beaches in Korea. We ended the evening by dancing at some of the more energetic temporary bars set up around the town and relaxing on the beach. It turned out to be a really wonderful time and even included a sweet firework show. I will certainly be returning back to Mudfest next year.
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