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 buddies! How are you? I hope you had an incredible weekend! We simply caught up with home stuff right here, lastly recovered from jet lag (I used to be barely jet lagged after we obtained there, however ended up using the wrestle bus after we got here house), and met up with some buddies.

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 after they go stay, I can add the hyperlinks to this submit.

Seoul recap, what we did and what we ate (this submit)

Tokyo and Kyoto itinerary and ideas 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 buddies 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 areas for this journey, and I figured it will be one thing that I loved, but it surely wasn’t my first alternative for a trip. (I’d be pleased repeating least 12 months’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 submit, however these locations didn’t really feel like completely different nations… they felt like completely different worlds.

The individuals in Seoul had been SO type and wonderful. The meals was unbelievable. It felt so very protected, and there was a lot to do. We may have doubled our time there and been pleased. 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 buddies 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 believe that is the right 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 must wander round and wait till your room is prepared.

We knew that it will 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’d 100% advocate it for the wonderful location, facilities, and eating choices. (I booked all the things 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 rest room had an infinite waterfall bathe with nice water strain.

We had been shocked to see whole streets crammed with 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 via the night time and had been absolutely set the subsequent day!

We did lots whereas we had been in Seoul, however listed below are among the highlights.

Lotte World

Lotte World is a gigantic indoor and out of doors 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 just a few 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 entire was $200. (I used Journey.com to guide.)

I didn’t take a pic of the surface however image a fort, varied curler coasters, a drop experience, and plenty of retailers and meals stands.

We did all the finest rides – they’ve a mixture of rides for youthful kiddos and extra thrilling rides and coasters for older children and adults – and spent your entire day there. Journey to Atlantis was AMAZING; undoubtedly one among my high theme park rides.

Baseball sport and Korean BBQ

We spent a complete day buying 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 your entire enviornment is dancing and cheering. The baseball meals is subsequent degree, too. They bought beers with an the other way up baseball cap that was crammed with shrimp – it seemed SO good- along with tteokbokki, cheese and meat skewers, tons of actual meals choices. You can even herald your personal meals and drinks; so completely different from the States the place they drive to you go inside to purchase $8 bottles of water.

Head spa and petting zoo

The top spa might be receiving its personal submit, but it surely was a spotlight of the journey! Whereas I used to be having among the best spa experiences of my life, the Pilot and the kiddos went to a petting zoo the place they had been in a position to maintain raccoons and pet meerkats.

Residing the dream:

Purchasing at Olive Younger

Should you go to Seoul, buying at Olive Younger is a should. You may fill up on all the finest Ok magnificence merchandise at superb costs. It’s like an infinite Sephora with rows of skincare and cosmetics… all the most effective stuff. I used to be fearful we wouldn’t discover an Olive Younger or it will be laborious to get to, however they’re in every single place. We had three areas 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 all the things is labeled – and accepted that there can be some wheat in sauces and condiments. Additionally as a result of I don’t converse 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 12 months. (She was crimson on her IgG take a look at and she or he used to have unhealthy 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 most likely have some in sauces, and so on.

We had been in a position to 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 may eat this each 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 severely among the best gf pizzas I’ve had in my life (#1 is Italy, #2 is that this one, and #3 is NYC).

I knew that I’d eat completely different meals whereas we had been in Korea and Japan and your entire time we had been gone, I felt superb. My power was nice, I didn’t get a abdomen ache from something, and the meals had been all so extremely recent and scrumptious.

Our resort had an enormous breakfast buffet every day and you would 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 on.

Suggestions for visiting and issues we seen:

– Undoubtedly study a handful of phrases however Google translate is usually a useful gizmo. I used to be stunned to search out that fairly just a few individuals spoke English, and when ordering at kiosks, it’s simple to change the language to English. The ladies know so many Korean phrases in order that they had been in a position to 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 obstacles this fashion – and you’ll see the precise fare.

You can even 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 every single place, so you could have to hold trash with you till you could find a trash can. Don’t assume that every one trash cans are public; it might be owned by a retailer.

– Don’t stroll and eat. It’s unhealthy manners, so if you happen to get a meal or snack, simply cease and revel in it earlier than persevering with on. I price like it is a higher method 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 need to get these on public alerts when you’re there, but it surely’s good to confirm earlier than hopping on public transit.

– Tipping shouldn’t be a factor in Seoul, however you may add compliments in Uber.

– Name your telephone supplier earlier than leaving to arrange a global plan. We normally do that earlier than we journey in order that we will have voice and information. We use AT&T and it robotically prompts as soon as it detects that we’re in a distinct 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 affordable,

– Take your sneakers off in your resort room. Normally they’ll have little slides by the door that you may put on.

– Go away your shampoo and conditioner at house. Pack LIGHTLY on the toiletries as a result of you will see that higher stuff there and the shampoo and conditioner within the resort might be superb high quality.

– Korea makes use of European retailers. 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 instrument into these! One of the best guess is to purchase a hair instrument 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 house. I introduced melatonin however didn’t find yourself needing it. There are additionally some medicines which are prescribed right here that aren’t allowed in Korea, so test the laws earlier than you go.

Should 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