Friday after work Mel and I decided to take a walk down Garosu-gil, a ginko tree-lined street just a short walk from Sinsa Station exit 8.
Get this: this street- in Seoul- has
trees! Trees are certainly one way to get noticed in a city that can sometimes feel like an endless concrete jungle. We've actually walked past the entrance of Garosu-gil several times before because our favorite Thai restaurant (Yum Thai) is located close by, but we'd never really taken a good look up the street. At first glance it looks just like any other street in Seoul. That's the great thing about this city- it's a very diverse area that sometimes changes in tone street by street.
My assistant teacher Mindy told me that Garosu-gil was a favorite "date street" for Korean couples and I can see why. The street is full of cozy restaurants, cafes, galleries and unique shops. I guess I'd say the vibe is kind of artsy-European if I were to but a label to it.
There was a few interesting restaurants to choose from but we decided to eat at a place called Oriental Spoon. The restaurant was small but comfortable, and the food was really good. We ordered noodles and apricot chicken.
I made a new friend outside of the restaurant at a cosmetics store that didn't quite fit in with the streets still-evolving artistic theme.
I've always liked the MMMG line of products at Hot Tracks and Kosney and was pleased to see a stand-alone store on the street.
One of the galleries on the gil.
We went to a toy store that was selling some very used, very Value Village-esque toys. Who's buying these?
At the end of Garosu-gil we found ourselves just a short 10 minute walk from the Han River, so we walked down to the riverfront 7-Eleven for a draft and some people-watching.
The people-watching never disappoints by the Han. The cyclists all wear spandex from head to toe, as well as goggles and a bandana across their faces. Exercising ajummas wear a visor (sun or no sun), sleeves and bandannas to cover their faces too. Why can no part of any of these peoples' bodies be exposed to the elements and should I be cloaking my skin as well?? It was dusk so the sun can't be their excuse!
We'd been to most parts of Hangang Park but we walked to an area that was new to us, close to Banpo Bridge, and were surprised to see the walking trails lined with 7-foot tall grass. And bugs. Millions and millions of bugs. Maybe that's what the bandannas were for.
There was some kind of water and lights show off the Banpo Bridge at 8pm (set to the music of Josh Groban's needs-to-be-retired "You Raise Me Up"), so we walked down to the water to get a better look (due to the tall grass obscuring our view). Turns out the waterfront in this area is lined with white sand. It looked quite nice and felt a bit like a proper beach! Except for the part where parts of your body would probably start to mutate should they come into contact with any of the Han River's water.
Mel's nosebleed on the beach. Seoul <3
My assistant teacher Mindy told me that Garosu-gil was a favorite "date street" for Korean couples and I can see why. The street is full of cozy restaurants, cafes, galleries and unique shops. I guess I'd say the vibe is kind of artsy-European if I were to but a label to it.
There was a few interesting restaurants to choose from but we decided to eat at a place called Oriental Spoon. The restaurant was small but comfortable, and the food was really good. We ordered noodles and apricot chicken.
I made a new friend outside of the restaurant at a cosmetics store that didn't quite fit in with the streets still-evolving artistic theme.
I've always liked the MMMG line of products at Hot Tracks and Kosney and was pleased to see a stand-alone store on the street.
One of the galleries on the gil.
We went to a toy store that was selling some very used, very Value Village-esque toys. Who's buying these?
At the end of Garosu-gil we found ourselves just a short 10 minute walk from the Han River, so we walked down to the riverfront 7-Eleven for a draft and some people-watching.
The people-watching never disappoints by the Han. The cyclists all wear spandex from head to toe, as well as goggles and a bandana across their faces. Exercising ajummas wear a visor (sun or no sun), sleeves and bandannas to cover their faces too. Why can no part of any of these peoples' bodies be exposed to the elements and should I be cloaking my skin as well?? It was dusk so the sun can't be their excuse!
We'd been to most parts of Hangang Park but we walked to an area that was new to us, close to Banpo Bridge, and were surprised to see the walking trails lined with 7-foot tall grass. And bugs. Millions and millions of bugs. Maybe that's what the bandannas were for.
There was some kind of water and lights show off the Banpo Bridge at 8pm (set to the music of Josh Groban's needs-to-be-retired "You Raise Me Up"), so we walked down to the water to get a better look (due to the tall grass obscuring our view). Turns out the waterfront in this area is lined with white sand. It looked quite nice and felt a bit like a proper beach! Except for the part where parts of your body would probably start to mutate should they come into contact with any of the Han River's water.
Mel's nosebleed on the beach. Seoul <3
No comments:
Post a Comment