Venturing Outside of Dongducheon

So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind....

We went to Seoul today.

It was initially planned as part of a tour group to go and see one of the palaces. Due to several factors, we decided to just head out and do a little sight seeing on our own. (Mistake number one.)

I had really played it down to the girls - Erin particularly, since Meghan was going to be working, and Erin was not interested in "old things that used to belong to dead folks." However, at some point on Thursday, Erin spoke with Johnny (Cary's assistant) and got the lowdown that plans had changed. (Mistake number two.)

On the bus trip to Yongsan, I told Johnny to pick something near Kangnam that he and Erin would like to do. (Mistake number three.)

I, Betty Lynn - the person that hates shopping and spent nearly 12 months in Columbus, GA before she ever ventured past JC Penneys into the rest of the Peachtree Mall - ended up in a Korean Mall the size of Rhode Island! This cotton picking place has its own subway stop, Kimchee Museum and an Aquarium, among other things. The COEX Aquarium is the part that got Erin's attention so I spent my first day in Seoul looking at fishes and stores. Oh, joy! Rapture!

Erin communing with the fishes.

A big fishy laughing at Erin. This is a porcupine fish, and Erin was trying to get it to "blow up" and look porcupine-ish. No such luck.

Johnny and Company

We had eaten a quick lunch at little Korean cafeteria when we first arrived, but later that evening we were needing some nourishment. We met Miri, my friend from Seoul, for dinner. I am not sure where we were - I was hungry and suffering from Mall overdose - but Miri had picked out 3 or 4 little places nearby where we could eat. While she is reciting the restaurants and their fare to us, Cary missed it all because he was fixated on the Bennigan's sign behind Miri. No kimchee tonight, this crowd had steak, grilled chicken and good old cheese fries for supper.

Even though it was not exactly what I had envisioned for my first trip into the big city, it was profitable. I now know I can get my way around the subway - or at least think I can. I got to meet up with Miri and lastly but not leastly, Cary got to eat at Bennigan's!

Culture will have to wait until the next trip...