I only violated a few traffic laws

The last few days, we've been traveling around the southern coast of South Korea. First we took the train to Busan.

This year, we stayed on Haeundae Beach - where our view from the hotel was this:

Haeundae is a popular area for travelers. The beach is lined with hotels and the bustling street leading up to it is filled with tarot readers, food stalls, shops and restaurants. Plus very fun lights. Wes of course got dwejigukbap... at least 4 times in Busan. I lost count.

On day 2 in Busan, we took a train out to the Busan Airport in Gimhae. Once we got there, we realized we should've gotten off one stop earlier, because the rental car place was not AT the airport. So we took a long walk (around 20 minutes) through a neighborhood. Once we got there, the place was both open (phew) and had plenty of cars (even though we were an hour later than the reservation).... not that we were worried about this. 😶

Guess who's learning to drive aggressively in Korea?

(it's me)

Luckily my friend lent me this car magnet to put on the back bumper (it translates to "beginner driver") 😂 So hopefully the other cars on the road are forgiving.

From Busan, we headed towards Jinhae - where I was born. If you don't remember from last year, the maternity clinic is now a dentist office.

When I planned this roadtrip months ago, I thought it would be so nice if we caught ANY cherry blossoms. So it was a pleasant surprise when I found out the last two days of the Jinhae Cherry Blossom festival was happening when arrived. We immediately went to the Yeojwacheon Stream where the famous "Romance Bridge" stands. The trees are nearing the end of blooms with many of them starting to turn green with leaves already. Some of them were still full of beautiful blooms. This trip has been many things so far but the luck of timing has been something else.

Now, we're settling into our home for the next two nights in Jinhae with this view:

There's something that just feels so right about being here. xoxo Stef

Comments

우리 한국에서 있어요~ // We're in Korea!

36 hours Our first 1.5 days already feels like a week. Returning to Seoul brought feelings of familiarity and belonging. I'm no longer scared of trying to speak the language and there's a huge sense of ease when it comes to walking the streets. I'm home but not. We decided to work remotely to save on PTO so we could be here for an extended time while experiencing what day-to-day life is like. Finally got settled in an Airbnb, our home for the next 10 days, which is plucked right out of a Kdrama alley. Living in the afternoons/early evenings, working overnight... we're surviving night 2. The sun is rising and the city is starting to wake up. And I'm ready to go to sleep. Day 1: 2 chickens Lunch at 큰집 닭한마리 (Big House Chicken, Yongsan). We ordered 닭한마리 (1 Chicken) which ended up being a huge shared boiling soup with a full chicken. For dinner: chicken no. 2, hand breaded and fried with love @ Eongteoli Fried Chicken , Itaewon. Frie...

round 2

oh hi again. we're about to take off to Incheon and I've already cried twice today. I shared this on Instagram but wanted to share here as well. big feels for this trip... in a lot of ways I feel more ready to step foot in Korea for the third time in my life but in many many many ways I feel less so. the rollercoaster that is life never fails to surprise me. especially in these nearing mid-life years where I have such freedom to choose my path forward. thank you for being my friends, family, and chosen family through it all. and thank you to Wes who's encouraged me to be myself always while pushing me to be more. I guess I'm ready for takeoff.

Nature Stuff

FINALLY I SAW NATURE (& some other things) If you're a Kdrama fan, maybe you've seen Jirisan? Drove to a ranger station so I could pretend to be a hiker that needed saving by Jun Ji Hyun. On the drive to Gwangju, the fog settled in. Only slightly terrifying. Especially when a downed trees just showed up out of nowhere. Anyways, we made it to Gwangju safely. The next day we went to the Bamboo Forest in Juknokwon. It was likely the cleanest air we've been able to breathe since arriving. It was so peaceful. THE OTHER THINGS Food of course. Noodles and dumplings Sushi with friends of friends. Bibimbap topped with beef tartare. Korean beef bulgogi. Short ribs at an obviously after work drinking establishment. Bibimbap topped with beef tartare in the Shinsegae mall food court. Dakgalbi with cheese, ramyeon, ttoek, sujebi,...

bae's blog

Search This Blog