You know it’s hot when..
Can you see how hot it is in this photo? The first person who can tell me I’ll treat you to ice cream.
This is actually a restaurant just a couple of doors down from where I live. It’s always lively and the crowds tell me that the food there must be good as well. Summer here is a time to sit out on the terrace or even in the street around a table of good food and friends. Places like these are all around and if you choose to eat enveloped in air con, you can, but isn’t summer all about sweating it out with cold beers and hot stories with chill friends? To your health!
Have a seat.
Riddle me this: Why is it that I can fall asleep in a chair but have a hard time sleeping in a comfortable bed?
I’m so used to walking or as my dear brother says “running”, that I don’t sit down that much. I have so much energy and since my legs are very long (a point that Korean men and women like to point out) I might as well keep them in relatively good shape. I mean, if you had two thoroughbreds you wouldn’t keep them in a barn all day, would you?
Where’s there’s smoke…
You will rarely find me in a bar.
Yes, I’ve drank cold and lukewarm beverages in bars, but it’s the smoke that creeps in my nostrils while drinking said beverages that spoils it for me. I’ve had boyfriends of different nationalities and some of them have been smokers, but they respectfully did not smoke around me. Thanks again, guys! From what I’ve noticed, it is typical for some Koreans and expat teachers to swill away the weekend over shot glasses of soju and/or beer with friends or colleagues. If you are Korean you will probably at some time or other, at your bosses “request” go out and drink with your team until the cows come home or until your boss has decided to go home. It is a custom in Korea to frequently go out with your co-workers as it believed to create a stronger, more cohesive team which will only create a formidable company. Of course with any custom there are rules or proper mode of conduct. I’ve also been told that this custom is changing. There are a lot of reasons for the change; one of them being that wives are tired of their husbands coming home drunk at any hour of the night.
Don’t be mislead. Most of my students drink with their friends in nice bars or restaurants not seedy little places like in the picture I’ve posted for you, but hey, someone must drink there. How else could it exist?
Happiness is a warm puppy
I believe that the late Charles M. Schulz said this and I believe that he’s right: “Happiness is a warm puppy”.
Yesterday I met this little puppy for the second time and although he gave me such happiness, he seemed a little sad. Perhaps it was the heat, or that he knew that we like so many others, were just stopping by briefly, not there to play with him and give it some much needed attention. I don’t know. What I do know is that whatever was going on in that pretty little head of his, it was deep. To me, it’s as if he’s contemplating humans, or life or his place in the universe.
Or maybe he knew that Monday was coming.
Espresso Affogato makes it all worthwhile
Twas’ another stifling hot afternoon in Seoul and most normal people would have stayed at home. Since I’m not normal, I chose to go for a stroll with a new friend of mine: “Sweetie darling”. “Sweetie darling” is quite a cook and we went grocery shopping to help me choose the ingredients to make a decent meal for myself, gasp! under my own roof, in my own kitchen! Food here is so good and quite inexpensive that you could literally eat out every night, but I wanted to christen my new apartment with the smell of a great home cooked meal. It was delicious! Thank you “sweetie darling”!
As I said, I’m not “normal” so before a meal was cooked my friend and I walked around and I actually had dessert before dinner. Imagine that! We stopped to get some much needed air-conditioning and I made sure that we’d stop by a little cafe called The Cafe Cafe. That’s not a typo.
Min, a lovely man who runs the place, greeted us warmly as always and whispered an apology to me as he was very busy preparing some gorgeous waffles for some very hurried guests. Not a problem. It’s such a small cafe that it’s actually quite nice to wait as I can pretend a good friend is preparing something delicious in the kitchen for us to share. The waffles he served looked gorgeous. Ah, but it’s the espresso affogato that I came for and man did I get it. I know that I had a wonderful conversation with my friend, but you know how you can become mesmerized by a good man or you have the most sensual dessert ever in your mouth that things, sights and sounds can suddenly disappear? Well, that’s what I feel when I have an espresso affogato at The Cafe Cafe. Something so simple, so wholesome can make me smile like a little child or cause me to fall silent in deep contemplation. What are some of your favorite desserts?
Cafe aA: An inspiring place
A cool breeze and sunny sky greeted me this morning while on my way to work. Thank goodness! I sometimes have to brace myself for the humidity waiting outside my door. I thought to myself that today would be a great day to visit my favourite cafe thus far: Cafe aA.
It is located in the very trendy neighborhood of Hongdae, home to Hongik University (great university!) and some of the hippest cafes I’ve ever seen. My love of cafes first started in Gothenburg, Sweden and was later intensified in Paris, France. However, Hongdae has a different vibe. It’s young, forever changing, has all kinds of music venues, etc. The cafes here have imagination, color, texture, and design. Cafe aA has all this and more. It’s certainly one of the largest cafes I’ve been in and that would be due to the fact that this cafe is located on the second floor of The Design Museum (that’s another post). What I like about this cafe is that there’s no tension, or pretentiousness. It’s just good coffee and amazing style. I feel welcomed when there and satiated when I leave.
Drink of choice:The Green Tea Latte is what I usually imbibe.
Food: The mozzarella, cherry tomato panini with potatoes on the side. Yum.
Never lost in Bukchon
The Omija tea must have “put a root” on me because I walked around Bukchon (neighborhood known for its hanoks) for the next 5 hours when temperatures were in the 90’s! I loved every minute of it and even moreso when I was invited by a very handsome, young Korean man for an ice latte. More about that later. Numbers were exchanged, ahem!
Bukchon has loads of alleyways, no streets exactly. There are some places where you can park your car outside but for the most part you will walk winding or straight paths that may make you a little dizzy at first. You’d be better to let your inner child take the lead and just go where you see an interesting shadow, a slick little alley cat or the lovely eyes of the the older and wiser residents of the area. I speak perhaps three words in Korean but a smile and a bow to the elders here will get you the sweetest smiles and help when you need it or even when you don’t. My tall dark frame must be quite a sight for them as well. Ha!
I love Samcheodong, Bukchon and all the other “ons”.
Finally the blog that I’ve been waiting for. My own!
I needed a new adventure, a new way of seeing things, so I moved to Seoul.
Of course I am going to write about the great people, food and culture I encounter on a daily basis. How could I not? I’ve lived in and traveled to many countries in Europe but never Asia, well not until now.
I hope to inspire, excite and encourage you to travel the world no matter where you are.
Let’s start in Seoul, first stop, a traditional tea house.
After walking in the scorching heat and ready to stroll ever higher in Samcheong-dong, I found at the foot of Bukchon, a tea house. Housed in a traditional Korean house or hanok, this tea house is a haven for those who love tea and those who love beautiful surroundings while drinking it. This is Omija tea, O (five) in Korean and mi (tastes). A naturally sweet tea, very refreshing, having many health benefits. One of my friends told me that it is popular with singers as it is good for the throat. I say, it’s just delicious and the color says it all.
