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 pals! How are you? I hope you had a tremendous weekend! We simply caught up with home stuff right here, lastly recovered from jet lag (I used to be barely jet lagged after we obtained there, however ended up using the battle bus after we got here house), and met up with some pals.

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 once they go stay, I can add the hyperlinks to this publish.

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

Tokyo and Kyoto itinerary and suggestions 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 pals 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 could be one thing that I loved, however it wasn’t my first selection for a trip. (I’d be pleased 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 publish, however these locations didn’t really feel like completely different nations… they felt like completely different worlds.

The individuals in Seoul had been SO type and beautiful. The meals was unbelievable. It felt so very protected, and there was a lot to do. We might have doubled our time there and been pleased. The humorous factor is that we had the chance to be stationed in Korea a number of occasions throughout Tom’s army profession. All of our pals who lived there liked 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 women stayed unsleeping the entire time) and we landed at about 3pm. I feel that is the proper time to land in a brand new nation as a result of your lodge room is prepared, so when you’re completely wrecked and want a nap, you may. You don’t must wander round and wait till your room is prepared.

We knew that it could be a low-key day, so we checked into the lodge and got down to discover. We stayed on the RYSE Autograph Assortment lodge and I’d 100% suggest it for the wonderful location, facilities, and eating choices. (I booked all the things utilizing our Amex platinum. My referral link is here!)

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

I didn’t take a pic however the lavatory had an unlimited waterfall bathe with nice water stress.

We had been shocked to see total streets full of little kiosks and cute retailers only a block away from the lodge.

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

We did so much whereas we had been in Seoul, however listed below are a number of the highlights.

Lotte World

Lotte World is a gigantic indoor and out of doors theme park. Liv steered 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 just a few 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 whole was $200. (I used Journey.com to e-book.)

I didn’t take a pic of the skin however image a fort, varied curler coasters, a drop trip, and plenty of retailers and meals stands.

We did the entire greatest rides – they’ve a mixture of rides for youthful kiddos and extra thrilling rides and coasters for older children and adults – and spent your entire day there. Journey to Atlantis was AMAZING; undoubtedly considered one of my prime theme park rides.

Baseball sport and Korean BBQ

We spent a complete day procuring 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 your entire enviornment is dancing and cheering. The baseball meals is subsequent degree, too. They offered beers with an the other way up baseball cap that was full of shrimp – it seemed SO good- along with tteokbokki, cheese and meat skewers, tons of actual meals choices. You can too herald your individual meals and drinks; so completely different from the States the place they pressure to you go inside to purchase $8 bottles of water.

Head spa and petting zoo

The pinnacle spa will probably be receiving its personal publish, however it was a spotlight of the journey! Whereas I used to be having among the finest spa experiences of my life, the Pilot and the kiddos went to a petting zoo the place they had been capable of maintain raccoons and pet meerkats.

Dwelling the dream:

Procuring at Olive Younger

If you happen to go to Seoul, procuring at Olive Younger is a should. You possibly can top off on the entire greatest Ok magnificence merchandise at wonderful costs. It’s like an unlimited 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 could be onerous to get to, however they’re in every single place. We had three places proper by our lodge.

Gluten-free eating in Seoul

On this journey, I attempted my greatest to eat gluten-free as carefully as doable, however understood that it may be very troublesome – not all the things is labeled – and accepted that there could be some wheat in sauces and condiments. Additionally as a result of I don’t converse 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 amazing distinction for me, and P has been gluten-free for the previous 12 months. (She was purple on her IgG take a look at and he or she used to have unhealthy abdomen ache and joint ache, which has resolved since we lower it out.) I informed her we’d simply do our greatest as a result of fortunately we’re not allergic to gluten, however we’d in all probability have some in sauces, and so forth.

We had been capable of 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 every single day. The bread was SO delicate 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 severely among the finest gf pizzas I’ve had in my life (#1 is Italy, #2 is that this one, and #3 is NYC).

I knew that I’d eat completely different meals whereas we had been in Korea and Japan and your entire 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 lodge had an enormous breakfast buffet every day and you may get American breakfast staples (like fruits, pastries, eggs, potatoes, bacon and juice) in addition to custom Korean objects, like kimchi, beef bulgogi, fried rice, pickled veggies, and so forth.

Suggestions for visiting and issues we observed:

– Positively study a handful of phrases however Google translate could be a useful gizmo. I used to be stunned to seek out that fairly just a few individuals spoke English, and when ordering at kiosks, it’s straightforward to change the language to English. The women know so many Korean phrases so that they had been capable of 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 cheaper to get round than it’s within the states. We favored Uber as a substitute of conventional taxis as a result of you may enter the placement – no language obstacles this fashion – and you may see the precise fare.

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

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

– Don’t stroll and eat. It’s unhealthy manners, so when you get a meal or snack, simply cease and revel in it earlier than persevering with on. I price like it is a higher approach 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. It is best to get these on public alerts whilst you’re there, however it’s good to confirm earlier than hopping on public transit.

– Tipping isn’t a factor in Seoul, however you may add compliments in Uber.

– Name your telephone 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 mechanically prompts as soon as it detects that we’re in a distinct nation and so they supply offers; Liv’s telephone 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 affordable,

– Take your sneakers off in your lodge room. Normally they’ll have little slides by the door you could put on.

– Go away your shampoo and conditioner at house. Pack LIGHTLY on the toiletries as a result of you’ll find higher stuff there and the shampoo and conditioner within the lodge will probably be wonderful high quality.

– Korea makes use of European shops. 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 software into these! One of the best guess is to purchase a hair software there, go to move spa or get a blow out someplace (!), or let it air dry and do some sock curls.

– You possibly can’t convey CBD to Korea. I’m glad I researched this beforehand and left my beloved gummies at house. I introduced melatonin however didn’t find yourself needing it. There are additionally some drugs which are prescribed right here that aren’t allowed in Korea, so verify the laws earlier than you go.

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

Gina