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 mates! 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 bought there, however ended up using the wrestle bus after we got here house), and met up with some mates.

I’m so excited to share some recap posts on our journeys with you!

Right here’s an inventory of what I’ve deliberate in order that once they go stay, I can add the hyperlinks to this put up.

Seoul recap, what we did and what we ate (this put up)

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 mates 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 might be one thing that I loved, but it surely wasn’t my first alternative for a trip. (I’d be blissful repeating least yr’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 put up, however these locations didn’t really feel like totally different international locations… they felt like totally different worlds.

The individuals in Seoul had been SO type and beautiful. 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 blissful. The humorous factor is that we had the chance to be stationed in Korea a number of instances throughout Tom’s army profession. All of our mates 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 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 if you happen to’re completely wrecked and wish a nap, you may. You don’t should 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% suggest it for the wonderful 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 straightforward to get round.

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

We had been shocked to see complete 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 the night time and had been totally set the subsequent day!

We did lots whereas we had been in Seoul, however listed here are a number of the highlights.

Lotte World

Lotte World is a gigantic indoor and outside 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 a couple of sights 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 whole was $200. (I used Journey.com to guide.)

I didn’t take a pic of the skin however image a fortress, numerous curler coasters, a drop journey, and many retailers and meals stands.

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

Baseball sport 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 sport.

Baseball is HUGE in Seoul and a real cultural expertise. Every hitter has their very own chant and cheer, and the complete enviornment is dancing and cheering. The baseball meals is subsequent stage, too. They bought beers with an the wrong 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 too can usher in your individual meals and drinks; so totally different from the States the place they pressure to you go inside to purchase $8 bottles of water.

Head spa and petting zoo

The top spa shall be receiving its personal put up, but it surely 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 capable of maintain raccoons and pet meerkats.

Dwelling the dream:

Buying at Olive Younger

In the event you go to Seoul, procuring at Olive Younger is a should. You possibly can top off on all the greatest Okay magnificence merchandise at superb costs. It’s like an unlimited Sephora with rows of skincare and cosmetics… all the very best stuff. I used to be fearful we wouldn’t discover an Olive Younger or it might be arduous 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 greatest to eat gluten-free as carefully as doable, however understood that it may be very tough – not every thing 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 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 yr. (She was crimson on her IgG take a look at and he or she 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 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 sort 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 on daily basis. The bread was SO gentle 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 significantly 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 might eat totally different meals whereas we had been in Korea and Japan and the complete time we had been gone, I felt superb. My vitality was nice, I didn’t get a abdomen ache from something, and the meals had been all so extremely contemporary and scrumptious.

Our resort had an enormous breakfast buffet every day and you possibly can 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 be taught a handful of phrases however Google translate generally is a useful gizmo. I used to be stunned to seek out that fairly a couple of individuals 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 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 appreciated Uber as an alternative of conventional taxis as a result of you may enter the situation – no language boundaries this fashion – and you’ll see the precise fare.

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

– Carry slightly trash bag with you. Public trash cans aren’t in all places, so you will have to hold trash with you till you could find a trash can. Don’t assume that every one trash cans are public; it could 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 payment 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 an alternative 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, but it surely’s good to confirm earlier than hopping on public transit.

– Tipping is just not a factor in Seoul, however you may add compliments in Uber.

– Name your telephone supplier earlier than leaving to arrange a world plan. We often 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 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 footwear off in your resort room. Often they’ll have little slides by the door which you can put on.

– Depart 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 shall be superb 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 very best wager is to purchase a hair software there, go to go 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 examine the rules earlier than you go.

In the event you’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