I had high hopes to use the gym in our hotel - a rare amenity at most of our accommodations - in preparation for our thanksgiving feast Thursday evening but unfortunately we were both too sore from our epic climb on Wednesday. We got cleaned up and headed toward the Changdeokgung Palace for our scheduled tour. On the way we stopped by a Dunkin Donuts and - a thanksgiving miracle! - they actually had regular drip coffee (it's almost entirely espresso in this part of the world).
Properly caffeinated, we spent a couple hours touring the palace gardens with a fantastic English guide. While we didn't see many colorful trees during the previous day so we were happy that the garden was full of lush autumn-tinted foliage.
Standing in front of the entrance to the palace.
This pond was designed to represent the Korean view of the world: square pond for the earth, a circular island for the sky and the pagoda for humans.
Taking in the scenery.
The ceilings throughout the palace were beautifully decorated.
So glad the leaves were still bright and colorful!
Alex, looking straight out of a J.Crew catalogue.
Within the men's quarters.
I loved the purple berry bushes we saw during our tour.
Entrance to the women's quarters.
We wondered why most of the inscriptions appeared to be in Chinese but our host helpfully explained that Koreans previously used Chinese characters to communicate; however, as the language was generally limited to the elite, the Korean language was introduced so that everyone could learn to read and write. We left with a few questions about Korea / Asia relations and are looking forward to visiting the War Museum tomorrow to better understand the country's history.
After our tour we wanted to get a "light snack" to tide us over until our big dinner so we headed down to 5BEY in Itaewon. Enter the most incredible kimchi cheesesteak ever and some craft beers (Korea isn't known for its local beers as we have learned).
They even had Brooklyn lager!
After a few hours catching up on the computer over a few beverages it was time for Thanksgiving dinner! While we only have each other to celebrate, we are still feeling very grateful. We miss our friends and family (and have been salivating over everyone's social media posts) but are thankful for everything, including our delicious American-style meal in Seoul!
Not bad South Korea! Craftworks did a great job - the turkey and apple pie were especially noteworthy.
After dinner we were able to meet up with one of Alex's college friends who is based nearby (he's a lawyer for the army, spending a year over here). It was great catching up with him - and seeing a friendly face on Thanksgiving on the other side of the world made the evening even more special!