Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul

On Saturday, Tim and I had our first experience in Seoul! We hopped on the subway, which took about an hour and half from where we live, and it was really easy. We had to transfer twice, but everything here is really western friendly, so we were able to figure it out with no problem. And the subways are so clean and comfortable! Nothing like New York! We were meeting up with our friend, Matt, who is here teaching in Seoul for the year. He and Tim are college friends. It was so great to see him, and crazy to be hanging out with him in Korea! Anyway, he took us to see the Gyeongbokgung Palace, and it was amazing! He had been there before, so he was kind of our tour guide. I'll give you a little history lesson. :) The Gyeongbokgung Palace was originally built in 1395. It means "Palace greatly blessed by heaven." There were lots of different buildings and halls that all had different purposes. I really liked the Sajeongjeon Hall. It was the "hall where the king should think deeply before deciding what is right or wrong." Smart idea. We saw the Queen's main residence, as well as the scandalous residence for the concubines and the court ladies. One of the most stunning spectacles was the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, where the King would throw lavish banquets. It was two levels, the top level held up by 48 stone columns. I could just picture the parties that must have been held there. It was great to sort of step back into history, and think about what happened thousands of years ago in the very spot that we stood. After the Palace, Matt took us to a Korean restaurant and I got dolsot-bibimbap. It was a hot rice bowl with lots of different veggies and things I was unsure of. But it was really good! I liked it a lot! And I am a picky eater. So it was a good day. One guy on the street even started singing to us in English. We don't know what song it was, but he wouldn't stop! It was awkward and hilarious. On the way home, Tim and I had our first experience getting lost (I'm sure it will not be our last). And of course I was freaking out and saying, "We're never going to get home!" It really was kind of scary, not being able to communicate and all. But Tim assured me that we would be fine, and we were! A $3 taxi ride saved the day! All in all, we loved our first experience in Seoul, but we were happy to come back to our cozy apartment in the quiet streets of Yongin.