A day exploring museums in Seoul

After JM's visit to the dentist, we decided to tour some museums in Seoul. We had taken an early train in and booked the last train back to Cheonan.

The first stop was the National Museum of Korea. There were many ancient artifacts, including rock tools and jewelery made of jade, and even old graves and bones. JM really liked the paintings. With free entry, you can't go wrong!

JM with some roof tiles

A really old compass

Room dividers that we want in our apartment

Next, we headed off to the war memorial of Korea. Not just a memorial, but a full museum, we were pleasantly surprised with all the information about Korean history and the full sized replicas of the turtle boats. Turtle boats were used to defend against the Japanese invasion in the 1590s. Admiral Yi Sun Shin was in charge of these boats and even though he was severely outnumbered, his men won the battle of the sea because of the innovative design of the boats. Outside of the museum was a display with fighter jets and tanks, many of which were open for the public, especially children, to climb aboard.

Panoramic view of the front of the war memorial

Turtle Boat

JM hanging onto a rock

We then went to Itaewon to try a new taco place, Vatos, for dinner. While we had to wait 2 hours to get a table (we headed back to the Canadian bar for some cider to pass the time), the tacos were quite delicious. Next time we'll make sure to come on the off hour or for lunch.

We finished our day with a trip to the Lotte Mart right near Seoul station. We were in search of some padding for the spare bed before JM's parents arrive in 2 weeks. We did not find what we were looking for, but, quite fortunately, we did find the massage chair section. With 30 minutes to kill before the train, JM and I took full advantage of some expensive chairs. he he.

Adios amigos, until next time ...

Jennika

Saipan Day 3 - New Years Eve

Day 3 - December 31

This was the first day JM and I just randomly picked a beach on the tourist map of Saipan and drove over to it. Laulau Bay was a recommended snorkelling site. It was our first adventure on the mopeds, and we loved it!! So much fun driving around on those babies.

We arrived at the very private Laulau beach in the mid-afternoon and it was gorgeous. There was not a person in sight, and we did not see another person for the rest of the day. We got our snorkel gear on and hit the water. It was a little rough though, so we chose to stay closer to the shore. The waves on the break were a couple feet high and we were a little afraid of getting caught in some rip tide, especially me because I'm not a strong swimmer. Hours passed and we saw so many fish!! We swam all the way out to the reef where the fish were colourful and abundant. There was even a mama fish protecting her rock. She kept aggressively swimming at us when we got too close. We saw lots of coral and sea urchins too.

After the best day yet, we got dressed up and headed into town for a romantic New Years Eve dinner at Aglaia and then we crashed a beach party to celebrate the start of 2013! It was so much fun.


Lau Lau Beach

Brain Coral

Yellow fishy!



Protective Mama fish

Yellow fish are my favourite!

 (Sadly, we did not have an underwater camera, so those are not our pictures, but ones I found on the internet of exactly the same fish we saw!)

Getting ready for NYE

Lista!

Fancy drinks at dinner

Coconut sashimi

Beef with mushrooms and onions (AMAZING!)

Pineapple fried rice

Party crashers

Leaving his heart on the dancefloor

Video of the countdown - our last moments of 2012!

Map of Saipan for Day 3 - including our hotel, Laulau beach,
and the hotel where we partied for NYE

Saipan Day 2 - The First Beach Day

Day 2 - December 30

Jean-Marc and I got into a routine pretty quickly. We would sleep in, eat some breakfast in our room (something we bought in town the night before), get ready, and head out for lunch and the afternoon. Our first beach day was at the Main Beach in Garapan. We found some chairs and relaxed the afternoon away and watched the sunset. We had bought some cheap snorkel gear in town and decided to try it out in the large bay. This beach is protected by a huge natural breakwater, creating a calm, shallow area all along the west coast of the island. We discovered that we really liked snorkelling and, after acquiring a tourist map of the island, we decided to explore the island ourselves and scoot to some of the remote beaches for snorkelling.

Main Beach

Relaxing on the beach, while JM is being a creeper

JM attempting some jumping shots

Nailed it.

We also developed a night routine that included returning to the hotel to shower and heading back into town for dinner at a restaurant, usually recommended by TripAdvisor. That night we ate dinner at Shenanigans, a restaurant on the main strip that had amazing pasta dishes and burgers. We loved it.

We topped off the evening by having pedicures to make our feet look dashing.



Map of Saipan with the Prince Hotel and the Main Beach in Garapan

Life in Vermont

Jennika and I started the day off with a pottery class. It was our first time and I think we did a good job. We still need a good deal of practice centering the clay on the wheel. As the wheel spins you are supposed to force the clay to the center by a series of karate chop-palm smoothing motion and a coning action. When the clay is centered you can then start shaping it into a bowl, plate or vase. Jennika made a beautiful vase to place flowers in for our place in Korea.  

This was done at the Wilder Farm Inn which is a great B&B in Waitsfield, Vermont run by Luke and Linda. After our class Luke, also the pottery teacher, told us of a nice hike and river to bathe in. The hike’s peak allowed for a view of lake Champlain and Canada after a steep ascent. The river was spectacular. It had lots of little water falls and secluded pools. We profited from one of these pools to cool down after our long hike. I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to cold water but Jennika was happier than a clam.  

Tired from our adventures we went to American Flatbread in Warren, VT. Before eating in a barn like structure, we observed three piglets feeding in their pen. Their little noses pushing in the ground looking for grubs and eating some grass when the mood struck them. They are a very cute animal and Jennika coaxed a few oinks out of them. The pizza was made from local produce and cooked in a wood fired oven to perfection. Half of the pizza was made from a ragu and the other from maple-fennel sausage. We both preferred the caramelized onions and mushrooms on the sausage side. 

Tomorrow we are hoping to go into Richmond, Vermont to meet up with my university friend Graham. He is getting married in a few days and many of my university friends will be there to celebrate. Tomorrow, however, the reason to be in Richmond is their fourth of July celebration. It will be the first time I celebrate America’s Independence day. I have in the past watched the movie Independence Day with Will Smith but that doesn’t count.

JM

The smoking dog!

Tonight is our last night in Montreal. We celebrated with Mel and Jo because it also their last night. They move to Quebec city tomorrow. Oi! We went out to Le Chien Fumant; what a great meal. I had the 1/2-Poulet et Morilles Lavalloises and Jennika had the Porc Aigre-Doux a La Rhubarbe et Petoncles. Oh was it good! I can still taste the morilles with the gravy so yummy. And for the first time in my life I had tartare. Making Papa proud I think.

Jennika is packing like a fiend and I'm trying to help but I'm mostly reading "A Storm of Swords". It is hard to help someone else pack. Not because I don't want to, but because you can't organise it the way they want it done. So I've been trying to stay out of the way and help clean up instead.

My last two classes tomorrow, a quick run to the old port with stop at a dollarama, a bit of packing my own shiznak, and a five hour drive to Ontario tomorrow. Time for some sleep.... Or maybe I will see what Tyrion is up to next.

Ciao, JaM's