Seoul, Korea (Ladies' Trip)

Each month I plan a fun activity for our spouses' club from the hospital the "Oakleaf Club", my little subgroup is called the "Adventure Club". We travel to foreign countries, try new outdoor adventures and have a great time doing it! For the month of November I planned a ladies' trip to Korea but the only people who were able to go were my friends Dayna & Lindi (from church not Oakleaf) so our wonderful hubbies watched our kiddos for that 3 day weekend we were gone.
One of the highlights of our trip was getting the chance to see our good friend Nathalie (our French friend who moved from here to there last summer). We had fun with her as our tour guide. Our first full day in Seoul was my favorite, starting with the DMZ tour. It was so exciting to be on the border of North & South Korea, to learn about the history (from our adorable tour guide whose favorite comment was "It's a problem". Like when she explained how they had to shut down a joint factory on the border "Kaesong Industrial Park" because some of the workers sent balloons into N. Korea with messages that promoted democracy. I don't see that being a problem, but apparently the not-so-great ruler of North Korea does. I also enjoyed seeing the train station the South Koreans built (but no one uses) in hopes of one day the border opening up again. I kept thinking "If you build it, they will come..." We even got to tour some tunnels that were dug by the North Koreans, leading into South Korea. After our tour we went to the amethyst factory (my birthstone). Even though I don't like jewelry, I had to buy some cute amethyst butterfly necklaces for my girls. That night we went to an awesome show called Nanta. My friend Dayna described it best when she said "It was a dance, comedy, drum, musical event that was incredible. It was like Stomp but better because it had knives and drumming." Afterward we went to Nandaenun Market and where we tried to bargain but got yelled at for doing so. If I didn't love those 8 headbands I got for my girls so much, I would have just left the store but they were worth the abuse. :) Koreans are very proud of their products (because they're not made in China and will show you every chance they get that the tag says, "Made in Korea". I never knew this was a selling point, but I tried to look very impressed when she showed me. The following day we went to Nathalie's beautiful palace/apartment to have brunch and see more of the city. She took us to the art district where we saw some amazing street performances. After buying way too many cute things for my girls we ate some delicious Korean Barbecue. We wanted to see the Korea House next but it was too late and too cold so we warmed up at the onsen in Nathalie's building instead. I've gotten use to communal bathing with other women, it's so relaxing, strange but true. Afterward we went upstairs to the apartment for hot cocoa and laughing about funny memories. We got back to the hotel late but still had enough energy to play with the toys we bought for our kids (see photos of Dayna & Lindi shooting arrows in our hotel room). The next morning we were sad to say good-bye to our fun girls' weekend (and Korea) but we were also missing our kiddos. I'm so grateful to have such awesome travel buddies! Good times!