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 associates! 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 associates.

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 reside, 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 wished to start with an apology.

To my associates 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 could be one thing that I loved, but it surely wasn’t my first alternative for a trip. (I’d be completely satisfied repeating least yr’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 totally different international locations… they felt like totally different worlds.

The individuals in Seoul had been SO form and beautiful. The meals was unbelievable. It felt so very secure, and there was a lot to do. We may have doubled our time there and been completely satisfied. 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 associates 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 conscious 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 want a nap, you’ll be able to. You don’t should wander round and wait till your room is prepared.

We knew that it could 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 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 outlets, and straightforward to get round.

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

We had been shocked to see complete streets full of little kiosks and cute outlets 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 evening and had been totally set the subsequent day!

We did rather a lot whereas we had been in Seoul, however listed below are a few of the highlights.

Lotte World

Lotte World is a gigantic indoor and outside 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 obtained 4 tickets with 3 skip the road passes for every of us and the full was $200. (I used Journey.com to e-book.)

I didn’t take a pic of the surface however image a fortress, numerous curler coasters, a drop journey, and plenty of outlets 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 youngsters and adults – and spent the whole day there. Journey to Atlantis was AMAZING; positively certainly one of my prime theme park rides.

Baseball recreation and Korean BBQ

We spent a complete 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 enviornment is dancing and cheering. The baseball meals is subsequent stage, too. They offered beers with an the other way up baseball cap that was full of 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 submit, but it surely was a spotlight of the journey! Whereas I used to be having among the finest 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:

Purchasing at Olive Younger

In the event you go to Seoul, procuring at Olive Younger is a should. You may 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 frightened we wouldn’t discover an Olive Younger or it could be exhausting to get to, however they’re in every single 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 carefully as potential, 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 need 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 purple on her IgG check and she or he used to have dangerous abdomen ache and joint ache, which has resolved since we reduce it out.) I advised 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 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 may eat this day by day. The bread was SO mushy 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 among the finest 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 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 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 gadgets, like kimchi, beef bulgogi, fried rice, pickled veggies, and so forth.

Ideas for visiting and issues we seen:

– Undoubtedly be taught a handful of phrases however Google translate generally is a useful gizmo. I used to be shocked to seek out that fairly a number of individuals spoke English, and when ordering at kiosks, it’s simple to change the language to English. The women know so many Korean phrases in order 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 inexpensive to get round than it’s within the states. We preferred Uber as an alternative of conventional taxis as a result of you’ll be able to enter the situation – no language boundaries this manner – and you’ll 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 slightly trash bag with you. Public trash cans will not be in every single place, so you could 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 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 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. You must get these on public alerts when you’re there, but it surely’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 world plan. We often do that earlier than we journey in order that we are able to have voice and knowledge. We use AT&T and it mechanically prompts as soon as it detects that we’re in a distinct nation they usually supply 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 affordable,

– 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 one can find 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 software into these! One of the 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 may’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 medicines which can be prescribed right here that aren’t allowed in Korea, so examine the laws 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 may help with any questions and I’ll be again with my head spa recap tomorrow!
xo

Gina