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 a tremendous 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 using 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 once they go dwell, 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 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 ladies picked the places for this journey, and I figured it will be one thing that I loved, nevertheless it wasn’t my first selection for a trip. (I’d be glad 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 totally different international locations… they felt like totally different worlds.

The folks in Seoul had been SO variety and wonderful. 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 glad. The humorous factor is that we had the chance to be stationed in Korea a number of occasions throughout Tom’s navy profession. All of our buddies 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 wakeful 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 resort room is prepared, so in the event you’re completely wrecked and wish a nap, you’ll be able to. You don’t should wander round and wait till your room is prepared.

We knew that it will 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’d 100% suggest 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 retailers, and simple to get round.

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

We had been shocked to see complete streets crammed with little kiosks and cute retailers 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 way of the evening and had been totally set the following day!

We did rather a lot whereas we had been in Seoul, however listed below are among 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 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 surface however image a fortress, varied curler coasters, a drop journey, and many retailers and meals stands.

We did the entire 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 whole day there. Journey to Atlantis was AMAZING; positively considered one of my high theme park rides.

Baseball sport and Korean BBQ

We spent a whole day purchasing 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 whole enviornment is dancing and cheering. The baseball meals is subsequent stage, too. They offered beers with an the wrong way up baseball cap that was crammed with shrimp – it appeared SO good- along with tteokbokki, cheese and meat skewers, tons of actual meals choices. You can even herald 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 top spa can be receiving its personal publish, nevertheless 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.

Dwelling the dream:

Buying at Olive Younger

If you happen to go to Seoul, purchasing at Olive Younger is a should. You’ll be able to top off on the entire finest Ok magnificence merchandise at wonderful costs. It’s like an unlimited Sephora with rows of skincare and cosmetics… all one of the best stuff. I used to be fearful we wouldn’t discover an Olive Younger or it will be onerous to get to, however they’re all over the 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 attainable, however understood that it may be very tough – 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 wish to be tough 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 check and she or he used to have dangerous 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 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 form 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 daily. 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 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’d eat totally different meals whereas we had been in Korea and Japan and the whole 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 recent and scrumptious.

Our resort had an enormous breakfast buffet every day and you can 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 so forth.

Suggestions for visiting and issues we seen:

– Positively be taught a handful of phrases however Google translate could be a useful gizmo. I used to be stunned to search out that fairly just a few folks spoke English, and when ordering at kiosks, it’s straightforward to change the language to English. The ladies 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 cheaper to get round than it’s within the states. We appreciated Uber as a substitute of conventional taxis as a result of you’ll be able to enter the situation – no language obstacles this fashion – 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 the event you resolve to make use of public transport.

– Carry a bit of trash bag with you. Public trash cans usually are not all over the place, so you will have to hold trash with you till you could find 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 dangerous manners, so in the event you get a meal or snack, simply cease and revel in it earlier than persevering with on. I payment like it is 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. It is best to get these on public alerts whilst you’re there, nevertheless it’s good to confirm earlier than hopping on public transit.

– Tipping just isn’t a factor in Seoul, however you’ll be able to add compliments in Uber.

– Name your cellphone supplier earlier than leaving to arrange a global plan. We often do that earlier than we journey in order that we are able to 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 provide 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. Normally they’ll have little slides by the door that you could put on.

– Depart your shampoo and conditioner at dwelling. Pack LIGHTLY on the toiletries as a result of you can see higher stuff there and the shampoo and conditioner within the resort can 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 instrument into these! The perfect wager is to purchase a hair instrument there, go to move spa or get a blow out someplace (!), or let it air dry and do some sock curls.

– You’ll be able to’t convey 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 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 will help with any questions and I’ll be again with my head spa recap tomorrow!
xo

Gina