Humbled once again.

When Jeong hui came home in December 2006 we were given an option to travel or have him escorted home. For many reasons, having him escorted home was the best option for us. The agency would arrange to have people in Korea fly over with babies to meet their families. We knew that Jeong hui would be escorted home by a man named Mr Kwon, but that was all the information we were given.

On a VERY cold evening we all met, for the first time, in Omaha, Nebraska. It was a surreal moment. Strangers, who would be forever connected. Because I was able to "find" Mr Kwon on facebook, we were able to meet again tonight in Seoul!!! I was VERY happy and excited to be able to see him again, but he once again delivered a priceless gift...PICTURES!!!

If you know me at all, you know my love of photographs. I love to take them and document everyday life, I adore taking pictures of my family, and I love the art form they provide. Jeong hui's omma loved him VERY much, but we only got 8 pictures of the first 6 months of his life. I'm positive that 3 of those pictures are NOT of my baby. :( Jeong hui has really started taking an interest in seeing pictures of himself as a baby and I don't have much to show him. The pictures tonight DOUBLE the number of pictures I have of him at an early age. I sat here and cried as I looked through the pictures.

THANK YOU MR KWON!!!!!!!

Top O' the Tower

 At the top of the tower, every window has the name of a place and the distance to that place from Seoul Tower. I find it very interesting that they are all written in English.

 Hyeon su was born in Busan so I had to take a picture of this window for him.

As I was busy snapping pictures of the city scape out the windows, I hadn't even noticed the shadow. Elizabeth pointed it out and I'm SO glad she did!! I thought this was a very interesting way to see the tower!
The man in the orange in the middle of this picture was doing some kind of martial arts and it was pretty interesting. It didn't turn out too well in the picture, but what I didn't realize that I got a great view of the chimneys! What a happy accident! On the right side are 5 chimneys that were used as beacon signals in the olden times.

 A view of the cable cars from on top of the Tower. Looks pretty harmless, right?

 I told Hyeon su that he needed to pick which "tree" for us to put our locks on and in true fashion, he picked THIS tree!!! Um, yeah, not exactly what I had in mind but he looked awfully cute because he was so proud of himself!!

We finally all agreed to put them on the last tree to the right and hooked them together. It seems like such a silly little thing, but again, I shed a tear. :)

We then had hamburgers, chicken strips and the most delicious french fries in the restaurant on the first floor level. The fries had been tossed with rosemary and were so yummy!! While we were eating, one of the employees was kind of staring at us and nobody could figure out what was happening...until Elizabeth kind of screamed. There was a pigeon that had made its way into the restaurant in search of dropped crumbs. If you ever been around my boys, you know that it could have had a feast! We saw it down a couple fries and then the employee kind of walked it back out of the place. We were all DYING laughing!!!

 This is a much better view of the chimneys. They were enormous, but I suppose they would have to be so that they could be seen for miles around!

 I have refrained from posting any pictures of Elizabeth on the way down. She was a bit green around the edges by the time we got off the cable cars. We walked around and finally found a taxi. The WORST taxi ride of the whole trip. I knew where we were going and was pretty sure we went the wrong way for quite some time! Then we got close to the cafe and he had to pull over and CALL to figure out where we were going. It was NOT fun. We finally made it to the Kitty Cat Cafe...as it is known to the boys!

 I like pink, but this was really almost even too much for me!!! After a quick snack, we took a VERY good taxi ride over to Namdaemun market. It was one of the most overwhelming things EVER. We found most of the other things we were looking for shopping wise so it turned out to be a very beneficial stop!

 We couldn't resist the photo op with the police car!! It was nice that Elizabeth decided to wear her bright orange hoodie today because it made her easy to pick out in the crowd. Hyeon su checking out the Pororo loot we picked up for friends and the beautiful hanbok we bought for a very special little girl at home.

North Seoul Tower

I really don't know why they call it North Seoul Tower. I'm pretty sure there isn't a South Seoul Tower. Maybe I'm wrong. I've spent nearly 2 weeks of my life in this beautiful city and feel like I've seen a fair amount. We didn't make it to Seoul Tower the last time we were here so it too was at the top of my list for this trip. I can HIGHLY recommend it to anybody who makes the trip to the city. You get such an incredible sense of how amazingly large and expansive the city really is. We were showing Elizabeth the area that we had spent most of our time the last few days. I feel like we've covered a fairly large area...until you see the REST of the area!!!  I can tell you about this, but to really see it is unexplainable. I suppose it may be because I had a bit of a meltdown on the terrace. One our last trip, I remember watching all the pretty (more like beautiful) women walking down the street. Any one of them could be my sweet Jeong hui's birthmother. I really hadn't thought about it this time...until I was sitting and staring out at the expanse of buildings, cars and people. His birthparents are DOWN THERE. They are working and sleeping somewhere right out there. So I sat and bawled for a few minutes. Part of me will always be in this city because he was born here.

 I know that I *may* be a little biased, but I really think that Hyeon su has some MAD photog skills!!! Just look at that stance! Both boys have had such fun taking pictures with our point and shoot and Elizabeth's camera. They are not allowed to touch Mommy's camera...yet.

 Now that "little" hill may not look like a big deal...but you cannot even see the top of it!! So much for the bus dropping you off "right at the gate." Did I mention that I really don't do well at higher elevation? :)

 Oh look! We finally made it...but not without huffing, puffing and laughing our way up!!! Jeong hui says: It is TOO FAR!!! I'm SO glad we decided to take the bus up the mountain and the cable cars back down...even if Elizabeth was LESS than thrilled about the cable car!!! I love how they love each other!!

 At some point, people started hanging locks on the tower. Couples would pledge their undying love for each other and then hang their locks and toss the keys over the side. Well, THAT became a safety issue and I think they weight of the locks forced them to take some of them down. They now have these 7 "trees" to hang locks onto. so we were able to leave a piece of ourselves in Seoul!!!

 I'm really not sure what this hand on the hips thing is, but I find it too amusing to ask him to stop. Perhaps he has a future career in modeling!!

I know that we haven't even made it to the top of the tower yet, but I honestly cannot keep my eyes open and the boys will be up before we know it! I will finish this in the morning!!

I did just want to give a little shout out to my baby brother! Happy Happy Birthday Kichael!!! Now we are the same age again!!

Cheonggyecheon Stream - part 2

Apparently I had too many pictures on the last post because it wouldn't let me post anymore! But I have just a few more to share. I didn't want to post too many pictures, but it still seems like a lot. But when you consider that I took 290 pictures today, it really ISN'T that many posted pictures!!!
She wanted to see just how cold the water really was...yep VERY cold!!!

 Monkey see...

 Monkey do...

And then we needed to get ACROSS the stream. I'm not really such a fan of moving water as it is whizzing past me, but it doesn't seem to bother Mr Navy man Stacy. Personally, I thought he was a bit crazy for attempting to cross with BOTH boys, but they made it with no problem!!! It was actually quite comical to watch because Hyeon su was always in front of everyone and they Jeong hui had to HOP across every stone.

 Elizabeth really wasn't sure about crossing the stream either...this picture was taken right after I told her that I could send Uncle Stacy back to hold her hand too if she wanted! HA!!! And yes, I'm sure she is going to kill me for posting this, but it is just too funny!

 Anybody watch the Amazing Race? Last season, they made a stop in Seoul. This pagoda was a Pit Stop for the leg of the race. It is directly behind the Westin Chosun hotel. I didn't realize that it was also directly across the street from City Hall!

 Speaking of City Hall...it did NOT look like this when we were here 4 years ago!!! I'm assuming that they are doing some kind of renovation and the lower left part is a facade while they do repairs. While we were here, we HAD to do some geocaching!!! We were 1 for 2 today. There are just SO many people it makes it extremely difficult to find anything without being noticed!

 The building in the distance, on the left that says Officia on the top is the building is where the Bibigo restaurant is located. Not too far at all!!

Across from City Hall is Deoksugung Palace. It is another palace that was built during the Jeoson Dynasty. We were able to tour it 4 years ago and it was closed today. But one very interesting part that we hadn't paid any attention before is the southern most wall. It is rather beautiful and the street that runs along it is aptly named "Stone Wall Road." We walked along it to try to find another geocache and I couldn't pass up this wonderful photo op!

Gyeongbokgung Palace Tour

I have to start out by saying that we all really were so tired that Elizabeth skipped swimming last night and went to bed early. Jeong hui woke up at 5am and neither Stacy or I heard him!! Thank goodness Elizabeth was up and got him a bowl of cereal!! She has been so much fun to have on this trip and it has been priceless to have an extra set of hands...especially when they are tickling a little boy!!!

When we came 4 years ago to pick up Hyeon su, we had a city tour that was hosted through our adoption agency. The ONE thing I wanted to make sure to do on this day was to go to Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was the Main Palace of the Joseon Dynasty. The Joseon Dynasty was founded in 1392 and the palace was built in 1395. The Dynasty ended in 1910 when Japan forcibly annexed all of Korea. Well, our city tour day was Tuesday...which is the ONLY day of the week that the palace is closed. I almost cried. So in essence, I've waited 4 years for today!!! And it did NOT disappoint!!

We were fortunate enough to be just a few minutes early for the English, docent led, tour of the palace. So while we waited, there were a few games of "chase me" and I'm really not sure which one of the 3 boys was having the most fun!!

The woman who led the tour was extremely knowledgeable and quite funny. She was dressed in a sort of traditional hanbok type dress. I hope she had one some long underwear under the dress because it was quite cold here today. Stacy & I both opted to not drag around our jackets all day...and regretted it the entire day. During the tour, we learned that the best angles to view any building in a courtyard was from a 45 degree angle. So we went over to the corner and looked back at this building, which is the Throne Room for the palace. Notice how the roof line matches up with the mountain in the background? This happened often on the palace grounds. Korean architecture doesn't want to compete with nature, but it seeks to find harmony with nature.  

 Inside the thrown room it was fairly sparse except for the throne itself. This would have been perfectly fitting for a Confucian King.The picture below was taken from the east window of the thrown room. The dragon painting on the ceiling can only be seen from this spot. It was amazing, but difficult to get a picture of because it was so dark inside. The thrown can be seen in the lower right hand corner of the picture.

I'm SO glad we decided to take the docent led tour. We actually made it through the palace grounds a lot faster than we would have if we would have just wondered around by ourselves and we learned SO much on the tour. For instance, I knew these little spiky things were to keep birds from perching. What I didn't know was why it was SO important to keep birds away. If birds were to perch on the pillars, they could set up a nest and then lay eggs. Snakes like to eat bird eggs, so the wire mesh and spikes also helped to keep SNAKES out of the palace!!

I feel like this is one of the most recognizable views from Korea. It can often be seen in advertisements or promotional videos. It is a beautiful pavilion in the back of the palace. This would have been were most of the women on the palace would have lived. Of course, mine is the only one which will also include one of the prettiest girls to walk around Korea. :)

 Poor Stacy! I'm not sure how he did it because my arms would have been FALLING OFF at this point. He carried around 37 pounds of dead weight through most of our tour because apparently Jeong hui is going to sleep his way through Korea again...just like he did 4 years ago!!

We almost ran back up to the front gate at this point so that we would be able to see the changing of the guard ceremony. It was so interesting to see all the colors of the traditional outfits worn by the men who were marching around!

 And for those of you who think Koreans are short. Most of these men HAD to be over 6 feet tall!! Stacy isn't short and they towered over him!

 The irony of this picture makes me smile. This is the back of a young Korean soldier, (there were 3 of them together) taking a picture of the gates to the old palace. It may just be me, but it made me smile.

 The great King Sejong the Great is the creator of Hangul, the written Korean language. It is the only language in the world you know who created it and why it was created. He wanted common people to be able to read and write. The main palace gate is in the background. It was a very neat view.

We finally found the perfect spot to have lunch!! Well, it was completely planned, but a bit difficult to find! We originally went to the wrong side of the building. If you've watch the Kimchi Chronicles series on PBS, you'll know this place!!! It is a modern take on a very traditional dish.

 The food was pretty good. I had a hot stone bowl with black rice and topped with bulgogi. I picked the sesame sauce, but wished I would have picked a different sauce. The meal came with a cold kimchi soup and a hot soup that had mung beans sprouts in the bottom, but the broth was clear. I do not know what it was, but it was hot and delicious. Everyone was about frozen through at this point and to just sit and warm up was refreshing. The boys gobbled up the food and we had to have a second order of mandu! I love this picture of the outside of the restaurant. Like everything in Korea, space is a prime commodity. You cannot spread out...everything goes UP. When we walked up to order, we didn't think there was any place to sit down, but the downstairs dining area could seat quite a few people and the upstairs dining area was twice as big!

After our visit 4 years ago, I learned more about Cheonggyecheon Stream. It has a very interesting story over the years. It went from a humble stream, to home to shanty towns after the Korean War in the 50s, to having concrete and a highway go over it and finally being restored to its current condition in 2005. What I didn't realize, until after we were home from our last trip, was how incredibly close it was to our hotel!!! So today, we were finally able to see parts of the stream. The whole thing is 8.4 kilometers long. This very interesting piece of artwork is at the beginning of the plaza to where the stream starts.