It was discovered that I had a tire low on air so the search began for a gas station that could fill up tires. None was found. Apparently, gas stations here don't have air. You have to go to a specific tire place. I now know where one is, and pass one almost everyday when I go to the kids school. During our search, however, I got honked at twice for being in the wrong place... and lost Heather. Jason relayed directions to Heather on the phone (she has driven to Seoul several times and was more familiar with the route). Luckily I have taken the bus enough times into Seoul that I knew generally where I was most of the time. The only thing I hadn't done before was drive through the building just past Insadong. You can't even call the thoroughfare through the building a tunnel since there is an intersection in the middle. Somehow we found Heather just on the other side of the Han River Bridge. Not much farther and we reached the Gyeongbokgung Palace and the parking garage near the beginning of our Blue House Tour.
A short bus ride later and we reached Cheong wa dae which translates as blue tiled roof. This is where the Korean President works and lives. We went through the expected security and even received a free gift, cube box for the adults (turned out to be a mug) and a small skinny box for the kids (turned out to be a small notebook with a pen and post it notes pad). There was some confusion over Galen and the security guard decided she was an adult and gave her a mug. The look on his face was priceless and she was actually surprised to get the mug.
We continued on through the gardens and different buildings. There is so much history here and the people are so proud. Originally a royal garden during the Joseon Dynasty, the Japanese built a house for the Korean Governor on the property during their last occupation After World War II the new Korean President used the area for offices and residence. Over the years the Japanese building was dismantled and the new buildings were completed in 1991. I never realized how much bigger Korea used to be centuries ago, but it is amazing to think these people have survived so long situated between China, Japan and Russia.
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| Reifsnider Family in front of historic lawns and gardens. |
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| Fabulous gardens and trails. |
Eventually we got close to the house but never got to actually go inside, which I will admit was a little disappointing. We did get to go inside the Reception Building but only on the outer hall for a picture with a life sized cut out of the President and First Lady. We lined up Steve and Jason for the shot and the whole crowd laughed and started taking pictures.
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| Jason and Steve with the President and First Lady. |
There aren't many pictures of this trip because security was so tight. In fact I learned the hard way not to stray off the path and try to take a picture. I was trying to get a shot in front of a mythical Haechi dragon and was immediately surrounded by security. Luckily they didn't take my camera and let me finish the tour.
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| Reifsnider Family in front of Changwadae (Blue House). |
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| The Blue House |
After the Blue House tour there were several small museums nearby. We had lunch in the neighborhood next door. It was a small artsy community with lots of small museums, private galleries, boutiques and cafe's occupying old Korean houses. My kinda place!!
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| Lunch at 8 Steps with Diane. |
The drive home was uneventful although I did get honked a few more times. There was a close call under the building intersection because a dark gray van didn't have its lights on. Otherwise I drove straight home.
The posts are going to start coming a little faster than the normal once a week. We are traveling more now that the weather is better! Stay tuned for our trip to Jebu-do Island.
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