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 bought there, however ended up driving the wrestle bus once we got here house), 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 stay, I can add the hyperlinks to this submit.

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

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 needed 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, nevertheless it wasn’t my first selection for a trip. (I’d be joyful repeating least 12 months’s 5+ weeks in Spain journey.) I didn’t anticipate 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 completely different nations… they felt like completely different worlds.

The individuals in Seoul have been SO form and beautiful. The meals was unimaginable. It felt so very protected, and there was a lot to do. We might have doubled our time there and been joyful. The humorous factor is that we had the chance to be stationed in Korea a number of instances throughout Tom’s navy 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 right time to land in a brand new nation as a result of your resort room is prepared, so if you happen to’re completely wrecked and want a nap, you’ll be able to. 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 the whole lot utilizing our Amex platinum. My referral link is here!)

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

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

We have been shocked to see total streets full of 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 means of the night time and have been absolutely set the subsequent day!

We did lots whereas we have been in Seoul, however listed here are among the highlights.

Lotte World

Lotte World is a gigantic indoor and out of doors theme park. Liv prompt 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 points of interest appear to be hidden, however there was a lot to do. It additionally blew my thoughts that bought 4 tickets with 3 skip the road passes for every of us and the overall was $200. (I used Journey.com to guide.)

I didn’t take a pic of the surface however image a citadel, varied curler coasters, a drop trip, 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; undoubtedly one in every of my prime theme park rides.

Baseball recreation and Korean BBQ

We spent a whole 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 recreation.

Baseball is HUGE in Seoul and a real cultural expertise. Every hitter has their very own chant and cheer, and the whole area 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 regarded SO good- along with tteokbokki, cheese and meat skewers, tons of actual meals choices. You may as well usher in your personal 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 submit, nevertheless it was a spotlight of the journey! Whereas I used to be having probably the greatest spa experiences of my life, the Pilot and the kiddos went to a petting zoo the place they have been in a position to maintain raccoons and pet meerkats.

Dwelling the dream:

Buying at Olive Younger

For those who go to Seoul, procuring at Olive Younger is a should. You possibly can replenish on the entire finest Okay 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 anxious we wouldn’t discover an Olive Younger or it might be laborious to get to, however they’re in all places. 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 troublesome – not the whole lot is labeled – and accepted that there could 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 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 she or he used to have dangerous abdomen ache and joint ache, which has resolved since we minimize 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 most likely have some in sauces, and so on.

We have been in a position to eat at two 100% gluten-free eating places in Seoul: Sunnyhouse and Monli2. Each have 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 day by day. The bread was SO tender 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 probably the greatest 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 completely different meals whereas we have been in Korea and Japan and the whole time we have been gone, I felt wonderful. My vitality was nice, I didn’t get a abdomen ache from something, and the meals have been all so extremely contemporary and scrumptious.

Our resort had an enormous breakfast buffet every day and you might 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 on.

Ideas for visiting and issues we observed:

– Positively study a handful of phrases however Google translate generally is a useful gizmo. I used to be shocked to search out that fairly a number of individuals spoke English, and when ordering at kiosks, it’s straightforward to modify the language to English. The women know so many Korean phrases so that they have 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 favored Uber as a substitute of conventional taxis as a result of you’ll be able to enter the situation – no language boundaries this fashion – and you may see the precise fare.

You may as well get a Local weather Card or T Cash card for limitless passes for transportation if you happen to resolve to make use of public transport.

– Carry slightly trash bag with you. Public trash cans will not be in all places, so you’ll 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 dangerous manners, so if you happen to get a meal or snack, simply cease and luxuriate in it earlier than persevering with on. I charge like this can be a higher solution 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’s best to get these on public alerts whilst you’re there, nevertheless it’s good to confirm earlier than hopping on public transit.

– Tipping shouldn’t be a factor in Seoul, however you’ll be able to 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 routinely prompts as soon as it detects that we’re in a special nation they usually supply offers; Liv’s telephone was half off whereas we have been there.

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

– Take your sneakers off in your resort room. Normally they’ll have little slides by the door that you would be able to put on.

– Go away your shampoo and conditioner at house. Pack LIGHTLY on the toiletries as a result of you will discover higher stuff there and the shampoo and conditioner within the resort 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! The most effective 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 carry 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 might be prescribed right here that aren’t allowed in Korea, so test the laws earlier than you go.

For those who’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