Joe and I just got home from what will be our last weekend in Seoul. We leave in about 3.5 weeks and are wrapping up our time here in Korea. Joe had Friday off and we decided to head to Seoul and stay at the Dragon Hill one last time. I wanted to show him Apgujeong and we wanted to spend some quality time together since he was just gone for a few weeks.

(I just had to show you all my goofy husband, trying on my hat and scarf – I was hysterical!  Sorry Babe!) 

We headed up after lunch on Friday, settled into the Dragon Hill and jumped on the train to Apgujeong.

(A blurry shot of us outside the Dragon Hill) 

We wandered around looking for somewhere to eat an early dinner and stumbled upon a place called Peppermint Dream.

It was the only place that actually had customers at the early time of 6 PM. An extensive wine list, an Italian menu and a romantic table on the second floor were perfect for us.

After dinner we wanted to explore the neighborhood a little more and wandered around for about 2 hours. Some window shopping, some Italian gelato and some very tired feet and we were back at the Dragon Hill by curfew.

(The gorgeous Galleria shopping malls) 

(How cute is this polka dot Smart Car?  Right up my alley!) 

(Amelie, a little cafe in Apgujeong) 

(Another little cafe, the name speaks for itself) 

(Zen Hideaway – a restaurant I would love to come back for, it looked awesome!) 

(A few more cute little places in Apgujeong) 

(This Italian restaurant was called, Mafia – hmmm!) 

(We didn’t realize New York was so well known for their fries, I guess Koreans wouldn’t really understand Coney Island Fries)

(Yes, this store is called Buckaroo Jeans – Joe and I think it’s for the few Big and Tall Koreans that can’t fit into Young Men’s sizes – hilarious!) 

For those of you that don’t know Joe and I all that well, we love to travel and have very similar interests when travelling. Two summers ago we went to Europe for 3 weeks on our honeymoon and had the time of our lives. We wandered around France, Germany and Italy never stepping foot inside a museum. It’s not that we don’t like art or culture, it’s the fact that we prefer to learn about how the locals live. We prefer hotels and restaurants in less touristy areas, befriending locals and asking for their advice and recommendations. We have a more laid back approach and prefer not to prepare an itinerary beforehand. We get up late, wander around, exploring the side streets and taking in the local atmosphere. Grab lunch, wander some more. Head back to the hotel for a nap and then get ready for the evening. We then head out for dinner and drinks, usually accompanied with more wandering until we are tired and find our way back to the hotel. It matters not where we are, this is our style and it suits us very well. We have been known to wander aimlessly for 2 hours just looking for the”perfect” place to eat, shop or even just sit.

We woke up late this morning (Saturday) and headed over to an orphanage with our squadron. We were going to hand out Christmas presents and play with the kids for a while.

(All the gifts the weather squadron brought – each child got at least 2 presents and there were even extras for them to hand out on Christmas Day) 

(Joe’s commander dressed up like Santa and handed out candy canes on the subway en route to the orphanage.)

Joe and I provided some of the gifts for the oldest teen boy at the orphanage, which included some hooded sweatshirts, a handknit scarf and a young man’s toiletry kit.

(Here is the oldest boy receiving one of his sweatshirts from Santa – he also got a personal CD player and some CDs) 

We got to play with the kids and watch them open their presents. It was a great day!

My little buddy, all afternoon, was a little girl who got 2 doll babies.  She was so cute, she would imitate everything I did with the baby, from rocking it in my arms to kissing it on the head.

(Capt. Ferland helping a little boy assemble his new toy) 

(One of Joe’s little buddies.  All of the kids had received stickers from another group that visited that morning so the kids were putting stickers all over our faces and hands.)