Luke's Birthday Weekend
Luke is another year older, and for his birthday, I let him make the decisions all weekend. Whether that's a gift or torture, I'm not sure, but it happened. We started with a Korean BBQ dinner on Friday night after work with a couple of our coworkers. We ordered LOTS of meat and had a grand ole time.
We hiked Bugaksan.
Saturday, we had banana honey pancakes for breakfast and went into Seoul to hike Bugaksan. Mount Bugak is located right next to The Blue House, or the President's house. Which means it is also very close to military. In 1968, there was an assassination attempt so now there is a pine tree along the route with about six or seven paint spots to show where the bullet holes are. Because of this, we had to show our ID cards and get badges in order to do this hike. A bit more intense than our regular hikes!
It was really pretty though all throughout. We started at Waryong Park and about 2 hours later, finished on the other side at the Changuimun Gate. There were sooooooooo many stairs, but views along every part of the hike as we followed the fortress wall. All in all, it was a gorgeous hike.
On our way back into the city, we did quite a bit of "stumbling into" as we first stumbled upon a "political parade". I will say nothing more, but I will provide these pictures...
Our next "stumble" was onto this super cool, slightly hidden food street where I found the most immaculate restaurant ever called, Beerza. BEERZA! Beer + Pizza = Michelle's #1 Restaurant. We couldn't stop there that day, but you bet I have it on my list to go back to very soon!
At the end of the street, we popped on over to a convenience store and each enjoyed a dollar ice cream on an outdoor step in the midday heat. Afterwards, we met up with some friends and had some spicy food (octopus!) for Luke's birthday weekend. I tried a bite, it wasn't bad, but definitely too spicy for my sensitive wittle mouth, so I enjoyed the plethora of banchans, pajeon, and my side dish of rice! It was a fun night full of alcoholic beverages and yummy food!
We Ate Burgers. And Watched A Space Fight.
The next day we took it pretty easy in the morning, but it was a gorgeous day so I wanted to do something outdoors. I ended up getting to try out my new hammock I got for Christmas (thanks, Greg!) and it was perfect. We walked a couple minutes away from our apartment into a tiny little "park" and I hung there in the trees for about a half an hour. It was very relaxing! I eventually packed it all up and headed back to the apartment.
A few minutes after I got back, we headed to dinner on Triple Street at Luke's favorite Korean burger joint - Burger & Friez! It's pretty similar to "In-N-Out Burger" back home, but it's easily one of if not THE best burger we've had in Korea. Plus, you can get cheese fries. #Winning
After our bellies settled down from the excitement of dinner, we made our way to the theater to see Solo: A Star Wars Story. We ended up seeing it in the MX theater which contains super comfy, big chairs and some uber fancy sound system where I'm certain I almost went deaf. I have to say, I'm not much of a Star Wars fan which is likely because I've seen a handful of movies over 2.5 decades in a random order and can't seem to stay focused during the hour long action scenes. BUT...personally, I did actually enjoy this movie. Perhaps because I didn't need to know much about the history of Star Wars or maybe it was something else. Regardless, it was a sweet theater, a good movie, and Luke thought his birthday was... "Gucci Mane". So I think it's safe to call the day, and the weekend a success. ☺
